Data is the life blood of your company. It plays a critical role in keeping your business running, and enables you to grow and remain competitive. Therefore it makes sense to take every possible measure to fully protect your data and ensure any loss or damage does not put your business at risk.
There have been a number of surveys by Microsoft, Gartner and other UK business groups. The results are consistent in highlighting that only a fraction of SMEs are managing their core business data effectively. This applies primarily to data stored on servers where there are inadequate backups and/or lack of a disaster recovery plan. There are proven solutions and ways of addressing such risks and issues, and numerous IT service providers who can help. The key points are:
- Most data changes on a regular basis, so backups need be scheduled to provide an adequate safety net (e.g.typically daily and not longer than weekly)
- Avoid having all data stored in just one place; always keep at least one separate up-to-date copy or instance, ideally in a secure remote location
- Make sure your data can always be retrieved, even after the worst possible incident (e.g. buildings lost or damaged by fire, acts of nature, terrorist attacks, etc.)
As we move into the 21st century and embrace new and flexible ways of working, new threats to the business emerge from mobile computing. The growing dependency on smart phones, laptops and portable storage devices has led to business data becoming more and more distributed. In many cases, we do not even think about it until something goes horribly wrong.
A good example I came across recently involved a company MD with an iPhone. It contained details of all his key business contacts together with their phone numbers and email addresses. The phone malfunctioned and all the data was lost. There is an even worse scenario, the phone is lost or stolen, especially if the data is not protected... Think about the impact on the business!
Lost data, particularly personal data, can cause serious damage to the reputation and well-being of your business. We don’t need to be reminded of the numerous cases hitting the headlines that involve health and defence data, but it can happen to any business.
Your business continuity plan is a key tool for managing risk. However, to be fully effective, it must be include all critical business data, not just what is held on central servers. As a matter of good practice, all data held on mobile devices should be (a) secure and (b) backed up or synchronised with a central filestore or repository on a regular basis.
I recommend your company conducts a full review of all its data holdings. The aim is to gain a full insight into your data, including the "what, where and when" of how it is managed. This will inform a plan of what steps are needed to best protect the data and reduce the risk to your business. If you need any help with this, please let me know.
