Is your company covered in the event of a system failure, natural disaster or other unforeseen danger to the loss of critical data? In today’s fast paced business world there is a staggering amount of data being created on a day to day basis. It is vital to have a business continuity or backup plan for recovering your company’s work in case of a disaster. Having a backup and recovery plan in place can save your business time and money. Consider the amount of work done by your employees each and every day, then think about how much of that work your business can afford to lose. Chances are the answer is none. Your data is your company’s life blood and losing it would mean losing productivity and profit. There a few different solutions to avoid having this catastrophe affect your company.
Will the day to day running of my business be affected?
Most businesses in this day and age produce and receive a staggering amount of data, a trend that has been continually growing in recent years. A security breach to your company’s data could be extremely damaging. In order to make sure your data stays secure your employees must be educated about taking security measures with their online files. A virus, malware or spyware unintentionally downloaded by an employee can wreak havoc upon your company’s database. In addition, proper security measures such as regularly scheduled backups are necessary. The general rule of thumb for keeping data secure is to do a complete backup weekly as well as an incremental backup each night. Taking measures like these and others can keep an overwhelming amount of data safe and secure.
Think about the critical data stored on your company’s computers and servers. You may use your computers to track inventory, deliveries, drive sales, record employee details and client information. Some of your stored information is confidential, as well as being an integral part of your company’s day to day operations. When you think about all the critical data created on a daily basis, it’s clear that it is all extremely important to retain in a safe place. Losing data could mean losing credibility with your clients and potentially damage your company’s reputation.
Does your company have a backup strategy in place? If not, now is the time to formulate one. What data can you afford to lose? What potential damage could occur as a result of losing your company’s vast and growing amount of data? Identifying risk is the first step in designing and ultimately implementing a backup and recovery strategy to fit your company’s needs. Over forty percent of businesses presently have a business continuity strategy in place. In order to compete in today’s marketplace, your business should be one of them.
What about your clients?
Don’t forget about your clients’ role in your business. Your clients rely on your business to keep their data safe and confidential. In the event of a security breach or loss of data, you could find yourself in the predicament of losing your clients’ trust and their business. Even the smallest amount of downtime can be an inconvenience that clients will not be willing to tolerate. In a fiercely competitive environment, clients have many options available and expect the best service possible from the companies they choose to do business with.
When planning your backup or business continuity strategy some things to consider are: What are your critical data systems? What is your critical business driving data? How much data needs to be backed up? Your company’s individual needs should define your strategy. There are many options for backup and storage and a plan can be tailored to reduce your risk and give you your best return on investment. Some data backup and recovery methods are on site hardware solutions, online backup, snapshot based backups and cloud based backup to name a few. If you aren’t sure what the best solution for your company is, help is available.
What’s the answer?
Your IT department can create a business continuity strategy on its own or in conjunction with an outside agency. There are agencies that will work with your IT department, or act as your sole provider for IT services if you don’t have one. One such company is the UK based IT services company, ICU. ICU can design, implement and provide continual management of a backup strategy for you business. ICU will assess and seek to help mitigate your business risks on an ongoing basis, changing as your company grows and your needs change. You will be able to tell your clients with confidence that their personal and business information is under the highest level of protection at all times. In the event of a network outage, virus, malware or even natural disaster, your company’s data is too valuable to lose. If you haven’t developed your business continuity strategy now is the time to cover your back with a backup plan. Give yourself the peace of mind you deserve and your company the protection it needs to stay on top.
For more information about planning and preventing disasters within your business, please go to our blog post, Could PPM save your business?
