The data your business keeps is vital because it informs decisions and enhances knowledge of customers and your business processes. Data backup is an essential part of any successful business because it can protect businesses from data loss that occurs due to a variety of reasons.
What is Data Backup?
Data backup is when you store a copy of your business data in another location in case your usual data is lost. To prevent something like this from happening to your business, you can use this source so you can understand and learn how you can develop a server backup strategy. Servers are used for a variety of different things within a business such as web servers, email servers, and database servers, to name a few. You should back up these servers frequently to avoid losing too much information should data loss occur.
How Can Data Get Lost?
Even if you are super careful when it comes to the data you store, there can be things out of your control that can lead to the loss of it, including the following.
- Security Attacks
Unfortunately, cyberattacks are not uncommon. Even though security from these kinds of attacks has improved over the years, the ability of cyberattackers has also improved. They target sensitive business information which they can then use to their advantage; one example is using customer data to con them out of their money. Even a disgruntled employee could pose a threat and purposefully delete data they have access to!
- Technical Failures
Technology has come a long way but can still, on occasion, have its moments. Unexpected technological failures or shutdowns of data centers can cause unsaved, or even saved, data to be lost.
- Human Error
Accidental deletion of data happens more than you think. In some cases, data can be wiped out just by the push of one button or become encrypted by a confused employee. Everyone makes mistakes but, in this case, it could lead to the loss of extremely important information.
Why Is Data Backup Important?
Data backup is crucial in ensuring the success of your business; in fact, a report has shown that 60% of small businesses close within 6 months after a loss of data. So minimizing the negative effects that data loss could have on your business is vital. Here are some of the reasons why it can be so devastating for a business to lose data, and why backing up the data can really help.
Minimise Loss Of Important Information
The most obvious point, but probably the most important. Data is extremely important to a business, as we’ve already established, so being able to recover it to continue the work you’re doing is crucial. Knowing the data is backed up can also provide peace of mind.
Improve Security
A lot of data that you keep as a business will actually be customer information and details. Backing up your data will improve the security of this information and actually also comply with certain regulations and laws. This also boosts your reputation because customers feel comfortable giving their information to you because they know it is safe. This, in turn, can increase your business’s revenue and profits.
Preventative Measures Can Fail
As a business, you should be taking as many precautions as necessary when it comes to protecting your data. But no matter how much you put into the security of your data, there’s always a chance that it can be lost. Backing up your data regularly is therefore never something you should skip.
Reduce Downtime
If you have backup data, and you know how you can easily assess it, then you can reduce the time that your business is offline by a significant amount. This can give you an advantage over the competition in the case of a technological failure because other businesses suffering the same issue may not be able to get back online as quickly. This can enable you to win over more customers and take advantage of the time that a competitor is struggling.
Avoid More Work
Losing data with the inability to recover it means starting from scratch. This takes a lot of time, money, and frustration that could have been avoided. Even with backed-up data, you may have to redo some work, which is still annoying, but at least it’s not starting over completely.
Data can be lost easily by cyberattacks, human error, and failures in technology. But by backing up our business data, you will be able to minimize the negative impacts that it has on your company. Your security will be improved, downtime can be reduced and you can avoid having to start over completely.