How much data would you have to lose before it began to hurt your business? The answer is not very much. Depending on what data is lost, it may only take no more than a file or two to cause havoc and create chaos.
Did you know that 70% of people have never backed up a phone, computer, tablet, or any electronic device?
Backing up a computer or phone is one of those things that seems so simple, like getting the oil changed in your car. But it is so often overlooked. And like overlooking changing the oil in your car, not backing up your files can shut your entire network down.
The world is filled with cautionary tales about the files and pictures and memories that are lost when data is not backed up. More than 60,000,000 computers will fail this year, and more than 200,000 smartphones are lost or stolen every year.
Think about the files you have open on your computer right now. If you lost any of them, would you be in trouble? What if your computer stopped working as soon as you were done reading this. What would you never get to see again?
Here are the 3 most common reasons for data loss and how you can prevent it:
Problem #1: Software failure
Prevention: Whether we are talking about a desktop, laptop, or mobile device, software can fail, and when this happens, data can be lost. Prevention is simple. Two critical steps to software failure prevention are making sure you always keep your operating systems updated and backup your computer or devices. For example, Microsoft comes packaged with a backup feature that can assist in restoring files if anything were to happen. Run these save points often, and you’ll be so glad you did when the time comes that your system ends up with a virus or files have been lost. We recommend installing and activating anti-virus and anti-malware software to keep common threats out that can corrupt software and leak data to hackers. To find out more about data loss prevention for your system, check out 5 Ways to Establish Your Hacker-Proof System.
Problem#2: Hardware failure
Prevention: We never really know when hardware within our computers or mobile devices will fail. The only way to protect our PCs and devices would be to run backups that store the backup files away from the computer or devices you backed up. Cloud storage can be a safe way to do this as the backups are stored with encryption to ensure the data is not stolen or lost. To find out more about the cloud, check out How To Continue Running Your Business Through Any Unforeseen Problem.
Problem #3: Theft
Prevention: Just like hardware failure, we never really know when our computer, laptop, or mobile devices will be lost or stolen. This can happen for a multitude of reasons. Still, the best preventative measure would be to ensure your device has a remote wipe option, and your files are routinely backed up and stored on another device or remote location, like the cloud, for example. To see more about how to secure mobile devices, check out Tips For Effective Smartphone & Tablet Security.
Not losing critical files is an easy business reason to make sure that you’re backing up your files. But as the statistics indicate, most people aren’t. Don’t wait for it to happen to you. Reach out to me and I can show you some simple solutions to make sure you never add to the list of cautionary tales.
Be proactive against any risk to your companies security by implementing these important strategies today.
