Data backup is one of the most crucial, must-have functions of any business. Did you know that up to 140,000 hard drive crashes happen every week? And up to 48% of data stored on the cloud is affected by malware? These scary statistics are only the tip of the iceberg in the importance of backing up your critical and sensitive company data.
To gain some perspective, it is important to know why data backup is such a fundamental part of facilitating business continuity. While it is clear that many companies overlook this function, it is a crucial component in establishing and maintaining consistent operational efficiency. Why is data backup critical, and what does it do for your business?
What is Data Backup?
Data backup entails duplicating critical company information for safekeeping. The primary function of this process is to ensure that no data is lost in case of a hard-drive crash or a breach of your company network.
Data backup is a process that anticipates and effectively plans for a data loss event. Did you know that up to 70% of new businesses expect a data breach in the first year? This is because most new businesses don’t invest in top-tier cyber security.
Several statistics show how dangerous a data loss event can be to a company without the proper data recovery protocols. First, 31% of companies lose their entire data infrastructure because of uncontrollable events. New companies with few employees are the primary targets of most cyber attacks. 93% of companies without proper data backup strategies are more likely to file for bankruptcy after a data loss event.
It is also concerning that 80% of organizations do not effectively back up their data, and less than 10% of these businesses do it daily. There is no denying how critical data backup is to an organization. Here are a few reasons you need to back up your data as often as possible.
Importance of Data Back-Up for Your Business
Businesses have large volumes of private data stored on the cloud or company hard drives. This information can be anything from client information to strategy statements and even account details. The loss of such data can be devastating to company operations and clients as well. Cyber attacks target this information and use it as ransomware. To prevent such a scenario, data backup and online security merge to function as your primary defense line.
The purpose of data backup is to protect against the loss of information that would cripple business operations. By using cloud resources, companies can duplicate large volumes of data and create an impenetrable firewall. Using other resources such as VPN, it's very simple to hide IP addresses and online footprints. A company can keep all its operations secure and untraceable by using various online resources. This security expands to data encryption as well.
Data backup is also a fail-safe for many other causes of data loss.
A business' primary concern may be hackers, but there are several ways to lose data. A fire in the office, accidental deletion, or even intentional sabotage by disgruntled employees. Research shows that 43% of breaches in offices happen in-house. This statistic means that your biggest concern is your employees.
Complete data loss involving operational processes, industry secrets, and patent specifics will cripple you and put you out of business. An effective data backup system will help you recover faster and with little fuss. Any data loss that lasts more than ten days to fix will make you lose business and revenue.
The fundamental function of a data backup solution is to restore you to capacity in the least time possible. This capacity means a network solution that is fast, reliable, agile, and user-friendly. Several online solutions are top tier, but they are hard to operate and have complicated interfaces.
Go for a solution that is simple and facilitates rapid data restoration. You require an efficient backup of your private data, a secure backup plan, and easy integration into your business system. You also want a system that can be automated to schedule backup protocols daily. Remember that you also need a lot of leeway in storage space. Daily backup systems require plenty of space, and hence this is a feature that you need to prioritize.
Lastly, do not back up all your files. Some information in your business is redundant and useless. Only prioritize the data that you see as critical and focus on it. Backing up everything can cause your system to lag and it will affect your output.
Bottom Line
Recovering from data loss is a costly, time-intensive, and frustrating process. To prevent your business from going under, ensure you invest in data backup resources. You will not regret it.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes