In the world of cyber-crime and hackers, the issue of data backup has expanded far beyond professional IT companies and tech laboratories. It's a pressing necessity for every individual and business, no matter how small. Losing sensitive user data can cause litigation and enormous fines, while the breach of valuable business information can cause bankruptcy. Thus, as you can see, data protection is not a child's game or a whim of computer geeks anymore. From file replication and off-site data storage to advanced vSphere backup, you need to take care of several data protection options for the sake of business stability and a good night's sleep.

Why Is Backup Increasingly Important Today?

Let's reveal the ugly truth right away: data loss can cost you your business. Unfortunately, the impact of data loss on business health and operations is so serious that few companies manage to live over one year after suffering significant data losses. Here are a couple of statistical facts proving that discomforting reality:

-50% of businesses that suffered a data loss with operational disruption for over 10 days filed for bankruptcy immediately, while 93% of such data loss victims went bankrupt within one year after the accident.

-20% of SMEs are doomed to suffer major, disruptive data losses within the first 5 years of their operations.

-Over 70% of businesspeople suffer data loss of some kind, including system failures, virus attacks, emergencies, and natural disasters at some point in their work.

As you can see, data vulnerability is commonplace, and nobody knows when and where the disaster strikes. A wise approach is not to despair, but rather seek advanced, comprehensive data backup and recovery solutions that will cover your back in all emergencies.

To Back Up or Not to Back Up?

Though data backup may seem a tech-intensive task, the modern software market has made things much simpler. So, today even laypersons can introduce a variety of rigorous data protection and backup measures for securing their intellectual property and data assets. Learn more about data backup fundamentals and the most common misconceptions people have about this relevant, critical concept.

"Data Loss Will Never Happen to My Business"

Unfortunately, this misconception is far from the truth. Statistics show that 6 out of 10 businesses experience some network or technology failure ending up in $9,000-60,000 of repair expenditures, not to mention the time and effort spent on the data restoration. Thus, it's better to be safe than sorry. Instead of saving money on the data backup solutions, every business owner should cover their backs by implementing a robust data protection policy.

"I Already Use Basic Data Backup Measures"

Tape backup still remains one of the most popular data backup tools among businesses. But here is an uncomfortable fact - 100% of tape backups will fail at a particular moment, sooner or later. Thus, they never provide a robust data backup edge for you to rest assured that you're keeping everything under control. Besides, tape backup is still an on-site backup method, which will also be lost irreparably in case a natural or other disaster. To avoid frustration resulting from over-reliance on tape backups, you should add an alternative, off-site backup method.

"I Don't Have That Much Data to Recover"

Even the smallest business has tons of files and data items to take care of. You'll never know how much you lost until you lose it. Thus, we recommend taking precautions before a disaster actually strikes not to be unpleasantly surprised by the magnitude of the problem afterward.

If you're sure that your data is not worth the money to back up, you can always opt for free backup solutions. There are many competitive products on the market, providing excellent features free of charge or at a minimal fee. So, you shouldn't drain your business budget with expensive backup solutions if you can start small, deciding on the premium backup packages later if you consider necessary.

Reasons to Consider Remote Backup

The emergence of cloud services revolutionized data backup, so now it's the top priority in everyone's data backup plan. The reason is simple: the cloud is located off-site, with robust data protection measures taken by the service provider. Thus, for a modest fee or even free of charge, you get secure remote storage of your data that will be immune to any disaster, flood, or fire that may occur to your physical office. If you remember the login data, you'll be able to recover cloud data on any new device within seconds.

Here is a list of unbeatable benefits cloud backup offers:

-Super advanced security protection (especially on large, globally known cloud platforms)

-Ability to receive hardware copies of your data when you need them

-Daily status reports on backup

-Multiple data centers located in various regions and replicating stored data for enhanced backup

-Technical support 24/7

A Checklist to Verify Your Backup System Effectiveness

So, now you know much more about the importance of data backup and options you have to protect you precious data. Maybe you even have a backup system already in place. But how do you know that it really works and that it will save your assets during an emergency? Here is a simple checklist to find that out:

1. How do you know that your backup works?

2. How regularly do you test backups?

3. Do you back up all the business data or some types only? Have you included tablets, smartphones, memory sticks, and cloud storage into the backup plan?

4. How often are backups performed?

5. Do you have a minimum of two backup options in place?

6. What is the expected downtime of your business operations in case of data loss?

So, Do You Need a Backup Plan?

As you can see, data is the most precious asset companies have, and a significant data loss dooms a business to failure. To avoid this gloomy outcome, you can put up a robust data backup strategy in place, ensuring that no disaster, physical or digital, takes down your business operations. Use our tips and checklist provided above, and you'll manage your data professionally, even without in-depth tech knowledge.