Data recovery watchdog idea misses the point
Data recovery watchdog idea misses the point
A proposal floated by a leading scientist in the U.S. for the creation of an independent data recovery trade association to certify data recovery companies in order to verify their capabilities detracts from the real issue organisations should be addressing when it comes to managing their data.
That is the view of Dr Kevin McIsaac, Asia Pacific research director, META Group, following the suggestion by Charles Sobey, chief scientist of technology consulting organisation ChannelScience, that data recovery specialists should be independently evaluated to ensure that they can deliver on their claims.
"This is an industry that provides vital services that any of us may need at some point, but it is completely without benchmarks or standards," said Sobey, who added, "Currently, there is no way to know if a data recovery company can do what they claim, or if they will instead make the chances of recovering your data worse."
"I guess the point of the matter should be that why are you trying to recover from a damaged disk anyway," argued McIsaac. "It should never get to that stage. On the surface it sounds like a good idea, but why are users relying on that as a way of protecting their data.
"Any organisation that relies purely on one copy on a disk rive for recovery and has an expectation that that data is going to be around and always available is putting themselves at enormous risk."
McIsaac said that while the suggestion is an interesting idea, what is far more important to organisations is to ensure that they have an appropriate backup policy in place to ensure their data is constantly protected.
SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) chairman Mark Heers, said there is little need for such a body to be introduced, as the SNIA already has guidelines in place.
"SNIA is trying to develop standards around data protection. We make our specifications and guidelines so that if followed, there is really no reason for someone else to do that validation as well. For example, in the US, SNIA's set up includes laboratories where vendors demonstrate their fulfilment capabilities."
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