Why ‘full circle’ data protection and recovery is so important for your business success

Data loss. It’s not if, but when…

The question is not if you will experience data loss, but when. Read that again. This fact cannot be stated clearly enough.

While it can be devastating to lose all your home or personal data, small- and medium-sized businesses have a lot more to lose.

Businesses are particularly susceptible

Businesses are particularly susceptible when the inevitable happens because they are often totally unprepared for the economic and business impact.

Often businesses are prepared to pay almost anything to recover their lost data, but never take the correct steps or act on advice given before the data loss.

40% of businesses don’t backup their data

A study by global market intelligence firm IDC found, for example, that 40% of SMEs don’t back up their data at all. When they do, 40-50% of backups are not fully recoverable.

60% of businesses that lose all of their data shut down within 6 months

This is not good news for businesses that suffer from data loss. According to the Boston Computing Network’s Data Loss Statistics, 60% of companies that lose their data will shut down within six months of the disaster.

Data loss occurs all the time

What this illustrates is that data loss happens more frequently than we’d like to think.

And when it does, the impact is significant enough to mean the end of businesses that suffer from an event.

Small window of data recovery opportunity

There is a small window of opportunity where the chance to recover data is available. If a business fails to take advantage of it, the most likely outcome is that they end up closing their doors. FYI, PC Pitstop are fully equipped to assist you in the data recovery process.

What’s the best way to back up data?

So, what is the best way to minimise your vulnerability to data loss? And if it does happen, how can you make sure your vital business or personal data can be recovered quickly and effectively?

Invest in a complete solution

PC Pitstop and IT experts recommend implementing a ‘full-circle’ data backup in your business. This entails four key steps: data backup, secure storage, data recovery in the event of data loss, and reinstallation.

1. Data backup

An automated data backup is essential to neutralise the risks attached to human error. Most studies put the data loss rate due to human error at around 25% and, while it’s possible to reduce the risk of data loss through training and safeguards, it’s not possible to eliminate it completely.

According to a survey by StorageCraft, 61% of respondents reported their company had suffered a data loss over the past two years. Strikingly, 67% said employees’ everyday mistakes were the main reason for data loss and system outages.

This illustrates why it’s so important to back up your vital business data securely and reliably 24/7, 365 days a year. The most effective way to do this is through installed software set to automatically backup and upload your data to a secure location.

2. Data upload and storage

To truly protect your data from loss, it’s essential to back it up regularly to more than one location. You may feel safe having a robust onsite backup, or you may believe that having a copy of your data stored remotely in the cloud is sufficient.

However, PC Pitstop recommend having both a secure onsite and offsite backup for your client, operational and financial data.

Include in this versioning, or shadow copies, of your data. This is your data that is saved in multiple time formats so you can essentially travel back in time to recover a previous date’s version of that file or backup.

There is an old data recovery saying we often use that goes like this: You have not backed up, unless you have backed up three times and one of those is stored offsite (or in the cloud).

3. Data recovery

Having a strong backup strategy is essential for protecting your data. However, the key isn’t just to create a copy – you also need to be able to recover your data quickly and effectively.

If you experience a data loss event, you must be able to locate and retrieve your backup source speedily and restore it, so your business continuity isn’t interrupted. This is the small window of opportunity referred to earlier.

4. Reinstallation

This is the final step of an effective full-circle backup. Many modern businesses rely on digital workflows these days for the efficiencies they bring, so it’s essential to reintroduce restored data as quickly as possible.

It’s clear just how important a full-circle data backup is to the future viability of your business. With so many natural and human risks at play, you need to adopt a mindset of when a data loss happens to your business, not if.

Thankfully, there are home and business computer experts like PC Pitstop available, who are willing to share our expertise and travel on the data protection and data recovery journey with you. Get in touch with us to find out more.

If you’d like to talk first, just contact us or give us a call on 02 6584 1551.