Small Business Solutions: Guide to Choosing the Right Data Storage
Small businesses are starting to generate more data than in years past. That’s why data storage backups are essential to a business being efficient. Having an established data storage solution ensures customers that their private information is secured.
Breach Level Index reported that over 4 million data records are lost or stolen every day. For those companies that did not have a data backup in place, those files were never recovered. According to the National Archives and Records Administrative study, more than 90% of companies that experience at least 7 days of data center outage go out of business within a year. This statistic proves why having a data backup plan in place is crucial to your business remaining open after a technical emergency.
One of our philosophies here at DirectPointe is “the more the merrier” and that applies in the case of data backup options. It’s always best to have more than one method that will handle your backup needs, so feel free to mix and match different methods. There’s an abundance of storage options to choose from that’ll do the trick for your small business; however, we understand it can be a bit overwhelming to find the perfect option for you. Here are a few tips from DirectPointe and DirectPointe’s CEO, James Martinos, to help you narrow down the best data storage options for your business.
External Hard Drives or Disks: Disks are a great way to store data and have been a go-to back-up option for the longest time. However, disks are also known for failing to secure all of your data. Hard drives are a better option for small business owners if you are wanting an external storage device. With an external hard drive, users can schedule automatic backups to occur that will ensure the newest files are always saved in case of an emergency. The question is, how long do these hard drives last for? Is it actually worth investing in a hard drive that may only last for a few years? A study by Backblaze showed that a little under 80% of all hard drives last 4 years. The following year showed that only 50% of hard drives survived. With this being said, if you’re looking for a long term solution this may not be the best option for you and your company.
(Backblaze hard drive failure rate, over the first four years.)
Web-Based Data Storage: Some companies have turned to online storage as their main source for data backup storage. Many storage services serve as a source for businesses to store or backup data into the cloud. There are many services out there that specialize in business data backups and offer it for decent prices. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that not all online data storage services are the same and vary depending on price. For absolute full coverage and all of the bells and whistles that businesses need, it will be a bit more costly.
Private Clouds: Private cloud storage is becoming more common for small businesses. This method stores a business’ data at in-house storage servers by implementing cloud computing and storage technology that are only accessible for that business. It offers the same benefits of a public cloud storage, while meeting the security and performance issues of many businesses. However, with increased security measures comes the difficulty to access the data from remote locations making this a disadvantage of the private cloud.
IT Support Services: Nothing is better or more reliable than having an IT support company on your side to help relieve the stress of this whole process. Off site backups are automated, which means it’s done over the internet and no new equipment is required. This actually saves you time and money. DirectPointe offers a comprehensive system backup, restore and re-installation to ensure your critical data is protected. We have experience with assisting companies with serious technical issues such as data breaches and developing backup and recovery processes. Learn more about our business Backup and Recovery service here.
Conclusion: There’s comfort for small businesses in knowing that their data records and files are safe and can be recovered if a cyber-attack were to occur. How is your business currently backing up its data? If you were to lose all of your files would you be able to restore and recover your files in a timely manner? We understand finding and choosing the perfect back-up option for your business can be stressful. Let DirectPointe help your business stay afloat. Give us a call for a free consultation to learn more about the different options we have to keep your business secured. Also, connect with us on Facebook or Twitter to learn more business tips.
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