When you think about the data you keep in your business, you can begin to work out whether or not you want to have a back up available in case something happens to it. You probably store client contact information, information about the products and services you provide to each client, details of current jobs, supplier contact and other information, staff data, banking and other important web portal information, and so on, and on…
But is there really any risk of losing this data? What could actually happen to it?
- Accidental deletion of files – however careful you are, no-one is exempt from making mistakes.
- Viruses and malware can corrupt your data.
- Hard drive damage – moving parts make hard drives vulnerable to failure some times. It happens.
- Power failures – these can damage files, or lose them before saving, unless you have an uninterruptable power supply.
- Computer theft (laptops are especially easy to remove)
- Water damage. We’re not just talking flooding here – spilling a cup of tea can cause the same
damage. - Fire. This will also destroy a backup stored nearby.
- Alien invasion. Just joking – we’ve never had a report of this happening to any of our clients so far!
damage.Ultimately, you are responsible for protecting the data you keep. You have several options, which depend primarily on how important the data is. These are:
- Accept the risk of loss should it happen,
- Make a second copy, in case something happens to your main copy (you accidentally delete it, say),
- Run your own backup system, to systematically protect all your data, or
- Use a managed backup system, for all the bell and whistles and ultimate peace-of-mind.
It would be worth taking a few moments to decide which option would be the most appropriate for the data you hold. And then of course, the important bit: Don’t walk away – work out what you’re going to do to put the right solution in place.
N.B. File sharing systems, like DropBox, OneDrive and GoogleDrive are NOT backup systems. A backup system takes you back to a point in time you choose and shows you what your files were like then (BEFORE you accidentally deleted work, say).
If you want to talk it through with one of our team, do call our office on 0114 287 0510. Our technical team will be happy to help you work out what’s available, and what would work best with your data, IT system and requirements.