Data is the lifeblood of any business enterprise. Some examples of important business data include customer information, sales information, marketing analytics, employee records, and training manuals. Data disruption can mean that your enterprise has experienced a partial loss or even total loss of access to your business data. If you do not have a systematic plan implemented to recover quickly from such an event, your business could suffer financial losses or even ruin.
1- Hardware and/or Software Issues
Data loss can inadvertently occur when enterprises upgrade their hardware or software if care is not taken to properly back it up and secure it from loss. An example of this could occur during Windows PC or Linux server updates and upgrades. Data loss or corruption can occur if systems fail due to events where parts overheat or due to software glitches or failures that lock you out of your data.
Such losses, with systems that have not been backed up, can be catastrophic. Your business may not be able to serve clients with your product and/or service, work efficiently with vendors, meet compliance regulations, or track performance metrics. Sometimes, businesses without an adequate backup plan for their data end up shuttering.
2- Disaster
Disasters, such as floods, fires, and earthquakes can damage equipment irretrievably. If you are in the midst of an important computer process when a power outage hits, key data can be lost. Sometimes, expensive methods can be utilized for partial or full data recovery. It just makes more sense to have data stored in multiple locations, so it can be recovered as quickly as you can get hardware available to get back to work.
3- Cybersecurity Breaches and Ransomware
Potentially, one of the most devastating circumstances in which to lose data is through a cybersecurity breach. In a cybersecurity breach, a hacker could hold your data for ransom until you pay them a certain sum of money. Such events are becoming more common. Of course, you cannot guarantee that paying a criminal to get your data back will turn out as promised. Data that is safely stored with your data security vendor can be retrieved, so the hacker can twist in the wind.
4- Employee Error and/or Malicious Activities
If you do not have your data properly backed up and stored in multiple locations, you could experience loss of access to or deletion of some of your data through employee error. Another scary prospect is an employee who becomes disgruntled and sabotages data, deletes it or unleashes a virus within the system. Data that is backed up and stored in the hands of a reliable data security firm can quickly be retrieved and brought back online. For many firms, the loss of business data brings work to a standstill, creating revenue losses.
Data can be disrupted through unforeseeable events such as disasters, hardware or software failures, cybersecurity issues, and accidental or malicious employee data wiping. A professional data backup plan can drastically minimize the loss of revenue during such events and ensure that your business enterprise does not fail due to the disruption.
