[url]www.excellentbridge.com/Why-Companies-Must-Backup-Their-Data-To-Stay-In-Business [/url]

Suppose for a moment that a virus infects your entire computer network. The virus spreads through every employee’s workstation, into every document and database file, or a case of theft or even fire. All your work, all your data—it’s all destroyed.

How would your business recover?

Or do you plan to go out of business for a while until all business data are recreated?

Without an adequate backup and recovery plan, your business is at risk. Because your company relies on its data and other business application that works with database files, the cost of downtime is exorbitant, potentially exceeding millions of naira per hour for such expenses as recovering data and system files, replacing equipment, losing productivity, and losing customers.

A recent study reveals the “precarious position” of small business backups: 30% lack formal data backup and storage procedures, 39% review their storage procedures only after a problem occurs, 34% admit to only fair or poor performance in storing backup data offsite, 17% don’t consistently perform incremental data backups, and 55% rate their disaster recovery plan as fair or poor.

According to a disaster recovery study, nearly half of the companies that are unable to fully restore their data after a disaster will go out of business entirely. Developing a solid backup plan requires an investment of time and money, but the cost is far less than the burdensome task of recreating data for which no backup exists.

Data Backup Basics
What does it Mean to Back Up, Restore, and Archive Data?

Data backup is the process of transferring data from your company’s primary computer systems to a separate storage device, such as a local secured external hard drive or a secured cloud storage server (Remote Server). If the original data is lost or damaged, you can restore the information from the device and resume normal business operations. An archive is a long-term, permanent data backup, which is kept off-site.

What Types of Files Should Be Backed Up?
The most important files to back up are data files—the files that change on a frequent basis e.g., Database and accounting files, even contract agreement files can be scanned and backed up.

Periodically, you should also back up the entire system in case of a catastrophic disaster. This periodic backup should include system files that contain specific user information for customized settings and passwords. You may also want to back up software files if you no longer have the original...

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