Data can be just as important to your business’ success as the people that run your business. Imagine losing data. Would you be able to continue business? You would likely be able to continue, but not without a large cost and an extreme struggle. Computer and technology are integral components of business today and continuing with out them after a can bring a company to the brink of extinction.

THREATS TO YOUR BUSINESS DATA

HARDWARE FAILURE:

If your hard drive fails, data has a chance to be recovered. However, depending on the extent of the recovery needed, it can be very expensive to extract data. If there is a hardware failure, and you do not have backups in place, you risk losing the data.

POWER FAILURE OR SURGE:

A power failure or surge can jeopardize hardware by preventing devices from working properly or damaging them entirely.

MALWARE:
Malware such as the CryptoLocker virus can encrypt your data. If data is not backed up, there is no way to restore because of the encryption that the malware does.

NATURAL DISASTERS:

Fires, floods, hurricane, and other natural disasters can wipe an entire area. It is important to have your data saved in more than one area because of natural disasters.

THEFT/ BURGLARY:

Your data can be stolen online or someone actually entering your business and taking devices containing data.

HUMAN ERROR (Intentional or not):

People can accidentally delete or destroy data. A disgruntled employee can also delete or harm data.

ENSURE BUSINESS CONTINUES

Protecting your data is key to making sure that a business can continue after any of the above disasters. This is done through backups.

What makes for a good backup system?

Redundancy: To ensure protection, data needs to be stored in more than one geographic place. The more places, the more likely data will be able to be retrieved. For instance, data only backed up in facilities New York City that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy could not be saved.  However, the data that was saved both there and a separate geographic location would be secure and retrievable. Natural disasters are the main reason that redundant data backup is encouraged.

Frequency: The suggested amount of time between each back up will vary depending on the amount of data that is created and used each day. A good rule of thumb is to schedule a backup every 24 hours.

Automation:  It can be challenging to remember to conduct a backup every day and that is why it is suggested to schedule automatic back ups. Automatic backups take human error out of the backup equation. With automation, businesses to do have to worry about an employee simply forgetting to save data.

Networks Unlimited offers a variety of technology solutions and computer support to help your business continue.