In my role as a Berkshire based computer support and repair professional I see small firms taking major chances with data that if lost, could be the end of the firm overnight. But it need not be that way for YOUR small business so read on!
Why data-loss could threaten your business
When starting and running a business there are so many things to think about and so many issues to deal with, Data Backup and Recovery often takes a back seat. In fact, a large proportion of small businesses either have no disaster recovery plan at all, or if they do, it is insufficient.
The subject of backups and disaster recovery can seem daunting – one reason many small business owners shy away from it – yet an effective plan need not be complicated or expensive. Following some simple steps will help you decide what the risk to your business is and what you can do to mitigate it.
Ask yourself, what would happen if your office burned down tomorrow
This may seem melodramatic and hopefully it will never happen but it is a good example of complete data and systems loss from your main office location, and something akin to it could happen at some point. So imagine what you would need to do in order to get your business back up and running. For many businesses that backup their data using an external hard-drive located on the desk next to the computer, the situation would be dire since all their backups are also in that office.
Prioritize your data
If you only have small amounts of business data, you might be able to back it all up regularly onto a disk and take it home. But once you start building up larger quantities, you will need to decide which data is absolutely business critical, which is merely important, and that which you could do without if you really had to. Make sure you include accounts, customer data, emails, databases and company documents.
Treat your data accordingly
For business critical data, it is essential that you back it up regularly, in several places, and that you get that data off site after each backup. There are various options including taking external drives home, tape backups and online backup services. For less important data you might decide that you are happy with just on-site backups since you are only really worried about recovering from something like a broken hard-drive.
Consider backup hardware for business-critical functions
Theft, fire or flood can mean you cannot use your current computer, possibly permanently. If this would cause business losses you cannot afford then consider having some backup hardware which you can move onto quickly. Depending on your company size and complexity, it might not need to be anything more than a home PC or laptop.
Conclusion
Effective backup and recovery plans are essential for any business, of any size. Backups which turn out not to work or take weeks to restore can be useless so it is worth employing the services of a local computer firm to help you develop a backup system which works for you, and to check your system is backing up what you need and that it will restore your data in an emergency….
About the Author
Neil Chambers is the proprietor of MobileTechie a Berkshire, UK based computer repair and IT support firm. He can be found at http://www.mobile-techie.com
You can read his blog at http://www.mobile-techie.com/blog.html
Article source: http://keyknowhow.com/business/how-data-loss-is-threatening-your-small-business-and-what-you-can-do-about-it.html
