Mother Nature is known for her unparalleled beauty but feared for her unforgiving wrath. But what does this have to do with business? You might not see a direct correlation, but imagine one day you arrived at the office and found nothing but the scattered remnants of all the time, money and energy you invested into building your organization -- all because a hurricane hit your area.
Even if the chances of a natural disaster striking your business are microscopic, it’s best not to be complacent. That’s where disaster recovery solutions come in. Unfortunately, not all small- and medium-sized businesses take them seriously. Only 35% percent of SMBs are confident with their backup and disaster recovery plans, meaning two-thirds of SMBs don't believe they'll make it through a natural or man-made disaster.
On average, every 60 minutes of downtime costs small businesses around $8,000, and the average recovery time is approximately 18.5 hours. So as you can see, businesses that fail to implement reliable data backup and disaster recovery solutions are at serious risk of going under if disaster strikes. Besides avoiding bankruptcy, the right data backup and disaster recovery plan will help you in many other ways.
Convenience
Backup and recovery solutions provide businesses with numerous benefits. Although data can be stored on mobile devices such as flash drives or external hard drives, they still require the same level of manual and physical maintenance. Using online backups, you can save and retrieve your data from any internet-enabled location, eliminating the need for traditional tape backup methods.
Safety
Because data is safely stored in the cloud, it becomes immune to localized fires, floods, and theft. Moreover, your data is generally kept safe on encrypted servers, which enhances data integrity. But don’t get too comfortable. The type of backup and recovery solution you should invest in depends on the type of data you’re planning to store. So look into additional cloud security for good measure.
Recovery
The National Archives & Records Administration in Washington states that 93 percent of companies that lose their data center for more than 10 days after a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year following the disaster. It’s safe to say that prolonged downtime is linked to difficulty in recovering lost data due to insufficient data redundancy. Online backup services, however, store multiple copies of your data across separate locations, ensuring full IT redundancy.
Data versioning
Certain things can’t be achieved with manual data backups, and data versioning is one of them. Data versioning involves preserving sequential data copies, enabling you to search and recover data from earlier versions as well. This comes in handy when you are working with data files that are regularly updated and need to recover versions that have been accidentally overwritten or deleted.
Enhanced affordability
When compared to the cost of tapes, servers and other backup-related software, the operating costs of cloud-based backup solutions are significantly lower. Besides operational costs, you’ll be pinching a few pennies on storage media, data transportation, and IT labor required to adequately manage and troubleshoot your backup systems. Simply put, small- and medium-sized businesses that decide to invest in data backup solutions can save large sums of money.
Backup and recovery solutions are undeniably integral to the longevity of any business. By investing in a reliable and efficient backup solution, your hard work won't be left vulnerable to disasters.
We at Complete Technology would like to partner with you to safeguard your business from human errors, natural disasters, and other uncontrollable factors that jeopardize the safety of vital business data. We determine the ideal backup and recovery solution that meets your company’s needs, ensuring you are well-equipped for today’s ever-changing business environment. For more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email.
