As a business owner, you have lots of things to worry about, from making payroll to finding new clients. It is easy to understand why things like the security of your data and the safety of your network infrastructure often fall through the cracks. But just because something is easy to overlook does not mean you can afford to overlook it. In fact, the technology that runs your business is one of the most critical parts of your operation.
If you doubt this, just consider what would happen to your business if all your critical files were suddenly gone. Your customer data, your client list, your email and contacts – everything. Chances are your business would be crippled, probably beyond repair.
If that idea frightens you – it should. The irretrievable loss of data is an all too common event in the world of business, and one that many companies can never recover from. If you think backups are the answer, just consider this startling statistic – a whopping 51% of small and medium size business owners admit that they do not back up their critical computer systems and data files on a regular basis. Before you start congratulating yourself on your own data protection practices, just ask yourself when you last did a complete system backup, and when you last did a test restore to make sure you really can recover your files.
But while this lack of reliable backups might be startling, it is not difficult to understand. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and as a business owner you are already working 12, 16 or even 18 hour days on a regular basis. With that type of schedule you could be forgiven for not making those daily backups a top priority.
The solution to this problem is not to clone yourself, or to hire an expensive IT team to handle those routine tasks. Instead, the best solution is to outsource your backups to professionals, much the same way your business outsources its accounting and tax preparation needs.
Think of it this way – you would never dream of doing your own heart surgery! Instead you rely on the best medical professionals to take care of you, knowing that you are in the hands of highly trained professionals. The same is true of your data backups and network protection. Choosing experienced and trustworthy experts from the IT industry is the best way to keep your data backed up, and out of the hands of snoops, thieves and hackers.