Protecting your company’s data is important. Don’t believe us? Let’s see if the following statistics will convince you. 39% of businesses report having cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, and 1 in 5 of these end up losing data, money, or other assets (Government Survey). SMEs experience some form of data loss around 5 times a year, and 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months. And finally, it is estimated to cost the UK economy £4 billion a year to restore lost business data. With these figures in mind, and cyber threats on the rise, it is clearer than ever that secure data backups are essential.

At Three Cherries, we help businesses stop gambling with their Telephony and IT Infrastructure. Our experienced technicians make IT support simple with easy-to-understand solutions. From cloud telephony to email best practice and cyber security, we take the tech speak out of tech support and allow SMEs to thrive.

In this article, we explain how businesses should back up their data and why it’s vital to do so.

How Do Businesses Lose Data?

Technology Failure

Technology can break; it’s as simple as that. When a tech malfunction strikes, you don’t want your data to be inaccessible while it’s being fixed or, even worse, lose the data entirely. Technology can also be dropped, bumped, and even have coffee spilled on it. Little accidents like these can have big consequences if your company isn’t properly prepared.

Human Error

Everyone makes mistakes. If one of your employees accidentally leaves their laptop on the bus, and this laptop happens to hold the only copy of an important file, it’s gone. Without data backups, inevitable mistakes like these can be a big deal.

Disasters

A flood or fire can wreak havoc for businesses, tearing through the premises and destroying all technology and data in its path. If no copies of company data are stored off-site, an event like this is likely to result in significant losses.

Theft

Businesses often lose data if there is only one copy stored on a computer and that computer gets stolen. As well as this, there have been incidents of angry ex-employees stealing or deleting data as they leave.

Cyber Attack

Cyber attacks often aim to access, change, or destroy data. Hackers often spend months putting in the groundwork before they attack, tailoring their approach to your business and using a variety of techniques to gain access to your IT systems such as malware links and phishing scams. Hackers can profit from data, inflict reputational damage, and harm your business. Having proper cyber security protection in place can reduce this risk, but backing up your data is essential in case the worst does happen.

A Beginner’s Guide to Cyber Security for Small Business >

Why is it Important to Backup Business Data?

Don’t gamble with your data; as a global resource it’s reportedly more valuable than oil! Here are some key reasons why it is crucial companies have a data backup strategy in place.

In Case Prevention Doesn’t Work

Of course, avoiding data loss in the first place is best, but this is not always within your control. You can implement cyber security measures, train staff, and make sure your building is secure, but the worst can still happen. Having a backup can help you mitigate the impact of unforeseen events.

Competitive Advantage

While other businesses might struggle to bounce back from data losses, you will be able to recover quickly and return to operating as normal. This will give you an edge over your competitors and may convince their customers to come to you.

Business Continuity

Backing up your data reduces your business’ downtime as it means data can quickly and easily be restored. As part of a disaster recovery plan, data backups are crucial and enable you to get critical operations back up and running as quickly as possible, minimising disruption.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

GDPR outlines various requirements that organisations must adhere to in order to protect consumer privacy and prevent data misuse. Essentially, if your business collects data, it is responsible for keeping that data secure. Any slip-ups or data breaches could result in hefty fines.

See more: Why IT Infrastructure is Key to Your Company’s Data Protection

How to Backup Your Company’s Data

When backing up your data, the 3-2-1 rule can offer a good framework to follow. It outlines that businesses should keep 3 copies of all data so no single event can destroy everything, store this data in 2 different formats, and keep 1 copy offsite. 3-2-1 – simple, right?

For many businesses, data is dispersed across a variety of computers, phones, and other devices. Even online tools like Microsoft Office 365 need backing up. Using a centralised cloud-based storage provider can therefore make a simple, streamlined solution. Not only that, but cloud-based storage is highly scalable and secure.

Other options include:

• USB Drives
• External Hard Drives
• Network Attached Storage (NAS)
• Direct Area Storage (DAS)
• Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Backup Software

For more guidance specific to your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Three Cherries. We offer a premium backup service for SMEs to help secure their network against the unknown.

How Often Should You Backup Your Company’s Data?

To figure out how often you need to backup your data, you need to determine your Recovery Point Objective (RPO). This is the maximum amount of data that can be lost without significant harm to the business and is expressed in time. So, if you can recover operations using week-old data, your RPO is a week.

At Three Cherries, we offer automated backups with multiple schedules per day, to give our clients peace of mind. In the event of a breach, hack, or other disaster, they know we’ve got a secure copy of all their files safely stored off-site.

Learn more about our backup service >

Protect Your Data with Leading IT & Telephony Support for SMEs

Three Cherries have years of experience helping businesses achieve greater efficiency and productivity through seamless IT and communications support. From tiny businesses with 5 laptops to enormous organisations requiring 24/7 support, we can adjust our service to suit your needs.

If your data isn’t backed up, don’t put it off any longer. Talk to our team today and we’ll help you rest easy knowing all your files are secure.

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