April 2021

Data has become the backbone of businesses in the 21st Century. Companies and organizations make decisions based on the data they have collated over time. This data is often stored in the cloud because we trust the cloud to keep our documents, pictures, and project data safe.

The cloud is supposed to be immune to issues like lost, faulty, or damaged hardware, or no available backups that result in data loss when using physical storage. The cloud is meant to be the safest place there is and is believed to be indestructible. But how many of us know that storing data in the cloud does not mean a backup is any less important.
Having a functional backup solution for all your saved data ensures that you do not lose any important information and gives you peace of mind in case the original data crashes or gets damaged, because lost data may mean the loss of investors and customers.

Recently one of the world’s largest cloud hosting providers suffered an outage in one of their data centres, which affected servers hosting millions of technology platforms. Ultimately, any platform which did not have an effective backup solution would have been in trouble.
Of course, incidents like this do not give warnings before happening, but you can plan for these events. For individuals and companies, the solution is simple. Always have a backup and test your backups to be assured of their effectiveness. Having a backup solution that is easily accessible and operable when an unforeseen circumstance occurs is essential.
It is also important to test your backups regularly to be sure that they are working properly. Create pseudo disasters to see how your backups respond and if you get all saved data back. It is not enough to successfully backup your data, you have to be sure that there are no underlying problems that you do not know about, like backing up a corrupted file, a faulty server, etc.

For advice on how best to safeguard your data and systems, how to test your backups, the do’s and don’ts of data safety and security, contact ePareto information systems at [email protected].

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, countries have been forced to quickly implement safe and effective ways to store and manage pandemic-related data. From the reporting of numbers of people tested, infected, recovered, and dead to contact tracing and, vaccines rollout, technology has been used extensively and been a key tool for the pandemic management.

Many countries have created applications to track, collate and store test data and enable effective contact tracing, and vaccination programs. COVID-19 vaccine passports and status apps are being used to help impose lockdown restrictions and restore some sort of normalcy in society.

In Ghana, we have the GH COVID-19 Tracker application, which helps citizens report their symptoms and test results. The data collected, enables the application to alert individuals if they have come in contact with people who test positive for the virus. It is also a key system for self-quarantine management, contact tracing, and the dissemination of relevant COVID updates and guidance.

Other countries like Brunei and China have developed applications that display different colours for individual’s mobile phones, based on their Covid-19 status. The colours indicate each citizen’s health status, travel history, and places they are allowed to visit, with QR codes making it easy for the information to be shared at venues.

These applications are examples of how countries are using technology in their management of the pandemic, helping to lift lockdown restrictions and safeguard the lives of their citizens.

Ghanaian companies and organizations will want to protect the lives of their employees, partners, and customers by knowing their travel history, test, and vaccination status if they are to return to full working capacity.
If your company is interested in launching an application or other technical solutions, to safeguard lives, then please contact ePareto at [email protected]. We have experience in developing sophisticated e-health systems.