Salon Software Power Backup, Data Backup, and Security

Hey there! Second post coming right up ...

A quickie about backups and security.

One of the worst, check that, THE worst, feeling I ever experienced relative to computers is when I had a crash and lost EXTREMELY valuable data and work.

When you are thinking about which salon software to use, be sure you add: power backup, data backup, and security to your list.

Power backup usually is as simple as a battery backup up (BBU), sometimes called an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). This is a like a power strip on steroids. Even if you piece your own salon management system together, be sure you have UPS. You can get one in the 425 VA range for about $40 to $50 these days at Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy, even Walmart. This is a must.

The time the system "stays up" during a power outage depends on the size of the battery. That 425 VA number is the indicator. 750 VA is better than 425 VA etc. With a light-duty computer you may hope for about 10 minutes of "up time" after the power goes out. This is a very variable number. You should count on finishing what you are doing and powering down safely.

Plug only the essentials into the battery side of the UPS, no sense in keeping anything but the screen and main unit on.

Note: do not plug printers into the battery side of the UPS as their power circuits don't play well with the battery circuits and can cause funny behavior of the system.

Maybe the most important value of the UPS for your salon system is the power conditioning, not necessarily the up time. A bad power glitch can ruin a system if it is just plugged directly into the power receptacle. The battery "filters" those bad glitches, potentially increasing the useful life of your salon system.

Next, be sure your systems includes data backup. For example, TouchSuite provides both a local (right in the unit) data backup drive, the ability to backup to an external drive, as well as an online data backup option. Be sure your system has at least one if not all three of these options. It only takes one time to have a crash and lose your critical data for you to never have it happen again. Hopefully it never happens!

Security is huge. No other way to say it. The liability you face for having credit card information taken is not trivial. Be sure, like TouchSuite, your salon system is PA-DSS validated. The Payment Application-Data Security Standard is the payment industry's standard for securely taking payments. PA-DSS is the only way to be sure your system is validated to comply, and, this is a critical component to PCI compliance as a merchant who accepts credit cards.

Be sure you do not retain credit card info, be sure your system is running with a Router/Firewall (e.g. Cisco/Linksys) in between the Internet and the system. The Firewall is security software that runs in the router. The normal setup is to have a modem (DSL or Cable) plugged into a router and your system plugged into the router;

line->modem->router->system.

This is pretty basic stuff these days and your Internet provider can usually help; e.g. a router can be as low as $29.

One of the advantages of considering TouchSuite is that your Touchsuite provides the UPS and the data backup included, along with the complete hardware and software salon system.

Anyway, until next time, keep 'em beautiful!

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