Operating a small business often feels like it is hanging on by a thread. That thread is often its data. From client lists, inventory, history, billing, all of this information is critical to the continued operation. All too easily data can be corrupted, erased, or mangled in some way.
There are a number of reasons you should be sure to have backup for your information. Some of the more common are fire, employee tampering, antivirus software isn’t updated regularly, and hacking.
Small businesses often overlook the necessity to back up their data or do not perform backup frequently enough to cover a catastrophic loss.
Back Up
Initially you need to determine what needs to be backed up. While that sounds simple, various pieces of information can often be filed in: file server, hard drives, USB hard drives, USB thumb drives, CDs or DVDs, laptops and tablets. Because some of these items are highly portable, they can easily be lost or stolen, leaving you without data and possibly leaving you vulnerable to the loss of confidential information from your clients.
The only way to be sure you know where all the data is stored is by talking with each of your employees and making sure every piece is backed up in some way. Especially as your company grows, this can become difficult.
Cloud Storage –
This is one of the best options today. It can accept feeds from multiple devices and provides automatic back up. There are a number of services to choose from. Don’t make your choice solely on price. You probably should check on the ease of recovery and any costs that might be involved. A good place for advice is your accountants. They work with many small businesses and are able to make a good recommendation based on your business type and needs.
Tape –
This is one of the traditional methods and is used in most larger companies. It will hold a great deal of data and will last for some time. Tapes will require a bit of time to complete the back up and probably multiple tapes.
Disk and DVDs –
You can use a series of independent hard drives to store your information. This can be expensive but you have a quick recovery of data. To keep costs low and simplify the issue, some small operations just back up to a DVD. Just remember that DVDs won’t last forever.
Tape, Disk, and DVDs need human intervention. That means someone needs to sit down at the device and purposely download the data. It is also important that they be stored safely, usually offsite.
As you can tell, there are a number of options. Whichever you choose, review your backup and data recovery plans at least annually. Situations change and technology is evolving.
If you are interested in cloud based accounting storage, contact us at Capex. We are happy to discuss how we handle storage and retrieval of your important data.
Contact your Accountants today click on this link —> https://capexcpa.com/contact
- The Capex Team