OK to start off with, NO business should be without a backup solution!  That’s right,EVERYONE should have a backup of their valuable data.  To be honest with you there’s no excuse for not backing up your data.

So let’s look at 2 questions:

1. Imagine what would happen if your office burned down and all your data was destroyed, how would you cope?
2. Let’s make it even simpler, what if you accidentally spilt a cup of coffee on your laptop?

Maybe you’ve already guessed the answers, but if you haven’t try the following:

1. If your data wasn’t backed up, then you’ll probably go out of business!
2. If all of your key data (including client information) is only held on your laptop, then you’ll definitely suffer a significant impact to your business and could ultimately go out of business!

Backup options are now plentiful and depending on what you use can also be inexpensive.  You could save your business for just a few a £’s ($’s).

I often see people backing up to an external device but then leaving this attached to the PC, this is obviously not a good idea!  Backups need to be regular and taken offsite, either through automated means or by physically taking the backup media offsite to a secure location.

So your options are:

• USB memory key
• CD/DVD
• Tape
• External Hard Drives
• Offsite services

The amount of time and effort saved from having a good backup could be the difference between a rebuild and the company going out of business.

If you would any more information or have any questions you can email me atdavid@bluegrasscs.com

Image: Flickr