For many small- and medium-sized businesses, it’s about 24 hours. Are you making daily bank deposits? Does your medical practice staff make changes to patient files each weekday? Do you update spreadsheets weekly? Think about how long you can go in between backups and survive a data disaster. Here is a list of items to factor into your data backup plan: Consider placing physical duplicates in a safe space like a fire-proof safe and/or an off-site storage unit. Contracts, tax forms, certificates…these should all be a part of your backup plan. In an increasingly digital business landscape, your computer and online data is both highly valuable and accessible by hackers around the world. A Data Backup Plan Must Be… ComprehensiveĪnything is better than nothing, but a comprehensive plan will ensure that you can recover a large swath of data in the event of a loss. Having a data backup plan in place is vital for ensuring that an accident, or hack, or disgruntled staff doesn’t force your business doors closed.

Break-ins, natural disasters, viruses, malware, dropped laptops or phones - all are instances that can lead to mass data loss. The causes of data loss can range from human intent or error (around 30% of catastrophes) to hardware or system failure (also around 30%). A bad-tempered employee can access and delete your digital files. You can be the victim of malware that corrupts your systems.

You can lose data to thieves who want to sell your information to online bidders. What Does a Data Loss Catastrophe Look Like? A data backup plan isn’t excessive or over-planning…it’s absolutely essential for companies to have an effective data backup plan in place to avoid data loss catastrophes. A data backup plan is essential for businesses of any and all sizes, since your data is one of the most vital assets your organization has. What is a Data Backup Plan?ĭata backup involves making copies of your data (such as files, programs, softwares, passwords and codes) and storing them in a secondary location to protect against data loss. Yes, developing a comprehensive backup plan takes effort and money, but recovering from data loss takes much more. However, spending time on your data backup strategy now can save you time in the future. Payroll, accounts receivable, team meetings, inventory…oftentimes, the importance of backing up your data is minified by the hundreds of other things you do as a small- or medium-sized business owner every day.

Creating personal backup plan