So. Now that the introductions are out of the way, I'd like to address a rather serious issue. Backups.

Now of course you, the reader, have backups running, right? Of course you do.

Especially if you run a business, and your business relies...no...depends on the data that's on those funny beeping boxes on your desks, and in your server room(closet).

So, you test those backups, right?

Right?

If you don't...Um. Well, you might want to. Seriously.

Having been in this business for a long time, I've seen and heard all sorts of, let's just say "interesting" stories over the years of disaster striking people who actually have backups.

You ever hear the one about the company that, when they went to recover all their data from their reliably run backups - discovered that all the tapes were blank? Of course, it wasn't a test, it wasn't a drill. It was the real thing, an emergency. Not the time to find out your backups hadn't been working properly. Sure there was a logical, technical reason why it didn't work; but that's no help at a time like that.

This is a harsh lesson the folks over at "Business 2.0" found out last month.

When I'm talking with customers about their backup system, one question I like to ask is: "How much data would you have to lose before you would start to hyperventilate?"

That's the bare minimum you should be backing up.

So, go check your backup server. Easy to do, just go recover a few things, see if you get them back. Have your IT guys do it for you, if need be.