IT Business Edge contributor Paul Mah addresses backup strategies for small businesses in this post.

The three strategies are as follows:

1) You don't need to back up all your software. Simply maintaining a copy of the latest version of the installation files will be more than adequate.

2) Backing up should be everyone's prerogative. Instead of backing up everything, a good middle ground would be to create a repository of storage space that is properly protected and backed up regularly. Users are then allocated a finite but adequate amount of space for their storage purposes and trained to store all their files on this volume. This passes the baton on to the user, since they are the best candidate to know what is important to them.

3) Create additional tiers of storage.You can create additional tiers of storage that reside on cheaper appliances. In fact, they can even be stored on tape drives or hard disk drives that are switched off and stored in a safe location. A special repository could be created, for example. Data stored in this repository could be taken offline periodically, perhaps weekly, and transferred to either the cheaper tape or hard disk.

For more resources on backup, check out the Knowledge Network. Available tools include Backup Guidelines and the NIST Contingency Planning Guide for IT Systems.

IT Business Edge contributor Ralph DeFrangesco also posted a discussion thread that addresses "What should you do with critical data?"