Backup or pack-up

Alan Moody, UK managing director at Mamut, discusses the risks for small companies in today's business environment and the importance of backing up data.

When most people think of a disaster it conjures up images of a flood, fire or terrorist attack. But accidentally deleting an important document could have just as disastrous effects for the business, resulting in the loss of vital customer records or order information. So why are so many small businesses not protecting their data from this type of occurrence?

It won't happen to me

Our increased reliance on technology to store information and communicate with one another can put important data at risk if we do not take measures to protect it. The introduction of the government's e-procurement guidelines and the increase in mobile working for example means that more and more tasks are being undertaken electronically and as such ensuring the safety and accessibility of information should be paramount.

However, recent research from Cable & Wireless regarding the importance of backing up data off-site has once again highlighted the disparity in business continuity provision between large and small businesses. It found that one third of small companies do not backup data off-site, putting them at risk if their offices became inaccessible. As many as 65% also admitted that their businesses would be materially impacted if staff were unable to access the office for a day or less.

In my experience working with SMEs, the vast majority remain unprotected due to a perception that a disaster recovery or business continuity strategy is prohibitively expensive. Many more just think 'it won't happen to me' and, as a result, leave the company vulnerable should a disaster occur.

But it can happen to any type and size of business. Data can be lost inadvertently through human error. How many times have you pressed the delete key accidentally, and wished you could retrieve the document or email that you were working on? Documents can become easily corrupt and the data unreadable. Not saving a new document and then losing all the information due to a power cut is another very common occurrence.

With the increased use of the internet, businesses are becoming more susceptible to virus attacks and hackers, which could result in data becoming infected and potentially lost.

Safeguarding the small business

The business continuity industry has traditionally been geared towards providing protection for the larger organisation and ensuring 'business as usual' in the event of a disaster. This consists of providing alternative work place facilities should offices become inaccessible, redirecting phone and communication lines to an alternative site or replicating websites or email accounts to be used in the event of primary systems being unavailable.

But for the smaller business, such provision is not practical or, most important of all, affordable for their size of business. That is why so many do not have any form of backup in place, as it is considered something only large businesses do. But this needn't and shouldn't be the case. There are a number of inexpensive steps which smaller businesses can put in place to ensure up-to-date data is retrievable in the event of an occurrence such a virus, power cut or corrupt file.

Backing up data on a daily basis will ensure that businesses can access the most recent information. This can be done by saving mission-critical information onto tape or CD. For added security the tapes or CDs should be taken off-site each night in case of fire or theft.

There are also online services available free or for very little charge, which allow businesses to upload files and documents at any time of day, to be kept in a secure location and retrieved if needed meaning the need to "remember to backup" is removed. Additionally the data will automatically be held at a different location making it even more secure. Documents in progress can also be saved as the user works, keeping a copy of the most up to date version should the PC crash or the hard drive fail.

With research showing that only 7% of companies that lose their data following a disaster will survive without contingency measures in place, smaller business can't afford to think business continuity provision doesn't apply to them.