It’s likely that at some point in your life, you will suffer from losing data. Whether it’s important files for work, sentimental family photos or client information, you should ensure that important data is backed-up properly to avoid unnecessary panic.
A back-up’s purpose is to create a copy of your data so that if the worst should happen, you can recover and restore. There are many ways which your data can be lost such as hardware/software failure, accidental deletion (human error) or viruses & malware etc.
It is always important to ensure your back-up medium is kept away from your primary data location, whether that’s a different location online (like the cloud), or taken offsite on a piece of hardware like a USB or external hard-drive.
Why should I back-up my data?
Archiving information
Some businesses need to ensure they have copies of information (like receipts & expenses) for various time periods just in case they are requested by organisations like Companies House. Keeping a copy of these files via back-up will ensure you won’t be caught out.
Note: If you work with clients in sectors like finance or law, keeping good records can get you in your clients good books when their technology fails and they don’t have the relevant contingencies in place.
Be quicker than competitors
In such a fast-paced world where data breaches happen regularly, it’s important to be on the ball and have a contingency plan in place to get ahead of your competitors.
If your critical data is backed up and can be quickly restored and your competitor doesn’t have the same measures in place, it is likely that you will take advantage of their mis-fortune with clients turning to you for help instead. Always remember that this can happen vice versa too.
Downtime can kill businesses
Some companies that suffer from major data loss never re-open. The time you spend recovering your data brings the business to a stand-still, meaning you can’t make money or process orders and you can’t pay your staff.
If the issue persists, you may find that staff leave & customers start to disappear to your competitors. It can also taint your brand by making it look unreliable. All of this can be avoided by having a good contingency plan in place that heavily includes a back-up system.
Back-ups are critical to maintain a trustworthy image, and to protect your businesses future.
Our team of specialists are here to help you ensure your business doesn’t suffer when it comes to data loss. If you need a hand or some advice on back-ups, please call our friendly team at the office on 0121 289 4477 or email us at info@solutions4it.co.uk
