In 2017, all businesses should have a data backup and recovery plan for their most critical data.
Regardless of the size of your business, it's likely that data is an essential aspect of running it. If you don't yet have a solid plan to keep your data safe, there are three things you should consider:
- All humans make errors.
- All computer systems crash.
- Disasters happen when you're least prepared.
In the event of any of the above situations, you need to have your data backed up and available.
Read on to learn more about why you need to have a data recovery plan ready to go.
Why is Data Backup and Recovery so Important?
Data loss can happen in many different ways. Just because you've been lucky enough to avoid a huge loss of information doesn't mean that your luck will hold.
The most common causes are an accidental error, employee or competitor theft, or physical failure to computers. They also include disasters like floods, fires, or even a spilled cup of coffee.
Unfortunately, some business owners are still saving important data in one place. Maybe they save it all on the hard drive of their desktop or laptop computer.
Here are the 6 reasons why you must have data recovery for your company.
1. Technology Fails
Throughout the last 15 years, we've seen massive changes in the technology that we use. Many businesses are now virtually paper-free. So, important documents are stored locally, on computers.
The problem? All equipment fails eventually. Desktops get infected with ransomware and viruses. Laptops inexplicably stop working. Power surges blow out hard drives.
If your business relies on data (which most businesses do these days), this is bad news. Telling a customer that their service will be interrupted or losing the information you need to make a key business decision is the last thing you need.
2. People Make Mistakes
While we may wish that our employees were perfect, they're only human.
That means that they'll make mistakes. A data backup and recovery solution is crucial. This will ensure that any mistakes can be corrected.
It's easy to overlook an important step in a certain process. You can accidentally enter the wrong data or delete data. Sure, you need to have quality assurance programs and efficient processes in place. However, having an online backup plan is just as important.
Employees accidentally leave laptops on public transport. A cup of coffee can fry a hard drive in less than a minute. Disgruntled employees delete key data on their way out the door.
If any of the above happens, you need to have a data backup and recovery solution in place.
3. Mother Nature
Unfortunately, mother nature is unpredictable and can be devastating to your business. All over the world, mother nature has wreaked havoc on company technology systems.
These events include extreme heats, deep freezes, mass flooding, and natural disasters like earthquakes and tornados. And of course, electrical faults and fires can also happen anytime.
If you don't have a data backup and recovery plan in place and you're trying to resume operations after a natural disaster, you're in big trouble.
When businesses have a backup solution in place, they don't need to worry about damage to their operations or reputation. Instead, they can simply locate key information from their storage solution on the Cloud. Then, they can continue business as usual.
4. Competitive Advantage
When you have a data backup and recovery solution ready to go, you have an advantage over your competition.
Businesses around the world have suffered huge losses and reputation damage after losing data. TalkTalk lost £60m after a major hack in October 2015, after IT costs and the loss of 101,000 customers.
More than 156,000 had their personal details accessed by hackers, causing many customers to jump ship.
And who can forget Salesforce, which lost four hours of transactions and customer data in May 2016? Lloyds, Barclays, and Bank of America have also all had customer data losses and malicious data hacks as well.
These types of breaches reduce trust in the business itself. The customer relationship is impacted. So is the confidence of staff, investors, shareholders, and future customers.
When you can guarantee your customers that you have a solid data backup and recovery plan, you stand above businesses that can't say the same.
5. Theft
Sadly, corporate theft is on the rise. Biscom found that 85% of employees have admitted to taking information and company documents they created.
30% admitted that they took company information and documents that they didn't create.
If employees were fired or laid off, 20% said they would be more likely to take data due to the anger they're experiencing. They also said they would be more likely to pass it off to a competitor.
Unfortunately, when these employees steal data, they're often trying to hurt your business. That means that if you don't have that data backed up, it may be deleted permanently from your system.
6. The Future is Here
Businesses that fail to embrace the future will be left behind. Storing data locally and risking losing important information is no way to run a company.
An online backup service allows you to and your employees to access your data whenever you like, from wherever you are. This means that your team can work remotely, collaborate on the same document or task, and ensure the integrity of that information.
One of the biggest problems for businesses that have failed to upgrade their systems is corrupted or incomplete data. It's not uncommon for multiple employees to have edited versions of the same document saved locally on their computers.
And of course, each believes that they have the most relevant or updated version.
Wrapping Things Up
An online data backup and recovery solution provides peace of mind for you, your employees, and your customers. That means you can retain your credibility, boost your reputation, and protect your data and information.
In the event that you lose your data, you can easily recover it and continue on with your day.
Do you have a data backup and recovery solution you can count on? If not, schedule a demo today.
