01-05-2008
Insuring your business data for a secure future
While most small businesses take out insurance to cover them against losing assets and property, few realise that the asset that would have the most detrimental impact on the business if lost or destroyed is their digital data.
Small business IT support company zuuMedia suggests that 60% of businesses close within six months of losing their data. Given that a business is therefore at risk of folding should their data be lost, it is surprising that many SMEs assume that keeping data back-ups on the premises is sufficient fall back and that many more do not perform regular back-ups at all.
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Digital data can be lost in a number of ways and so restoring it is not always as simple as loading up the back-up data onto the hard drive. Unexpected disasters such as power failures, power surges, fires, floods and also human errors can all destroy data permanently.
In addition, the possibility of losing important or sensitive data is higher than ever, with the widespread use of laptops and portable data devices. Research from Office Answers shows that over a six-month period London taxis collected a total of 2,900 lost laptops, 62,000 mobile phones and 1,300 PDAs. The firm also notes that out of every ten laptops one gets stolen and 88 per cent of these are never found.
The impact of either type of data loss will be profound. Even if sensitive data is backed up, its loss affects the reputation of the business and its staff and the security of its customers. Many businesses would find it difficult to operate without their data and potentially years of lost information.
It is therefore vitally important that small businesses are aware of the risks and the consequences and that they take action sooner rather than later. All data should be backed up daily and kept off-site wherever possible, and the business should put into place a disaster recovery plan to ensure that it can keep going no matter what the circumstances it finds itself in.
“Disaster recover is important, as is having a secondary back-up system that is off-site so you can restore the data”, says a representative from Small Business Computing.
One of the core components of any disaster recovery strategy is assessing the risk and putting together the plan. According to the ‘Disaster Recovery Guide’, a business's disaster recovery plan is its most important component that may ultimately determine whether a business can survive after a data loss event. Moreover, disaster recovery plans should be understood by all employees so that action can be taken immediately when necessary.
The key to an effective plan is to identify which critical business functions need to be restored and in what order. Employees responsible for each function should be fully trained as to their role in keeping the business up and running.
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"Hopefully, you will never have to use [the plan], but if you do, it can be the difference between the loss of your organization and its survival. It is therefore absolutely critical that it is workable - that it is of sufficient quality to guide you through the crisis. Shortcuts here are sheer folly," said the Disaster Recovery Guide.
Off-site data back-up may seem like an expensive option for small businesses, however there are a growing number of suppliers that specialise in IT support services for small companies and individuals. It is simply a matter of finding a company whose service matches the needs and expectations of the business.
zuuMedia for example, offers automated off-site back-up at small business rates, along with a number of other useful IT services including remote or onsite PC support.
Even though off-site data back-up does a similar job to an insurance policy, a business should not forget about the actual insurance covers designed to help them recover from disasters. Business contents cover will help repair or replace office equipment including computers; there are specific covers for mobile equipment such as laptops and PDAs; and business interruption cover could help keep a business afloat if it finds itself unable to trade for a period of time.
Small businesses can find out more about these insurance covers on the Simply Business website.
Risk management and insurance intermediary firm, Willis, also offers a new range of products that protect against the recovery costs of data loss. The service is called CyPro and includes a number of features, such as financial assistance for companies in need of repairing a battered reputation.
In summary, the small business should ignore the risks of losing data at their peril. Putting the right planning and protection in place will ensure that the business survives even if the worst were to happen.