5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Use Backup Software

Every business organization relies on critical data to operate. The loss of crucial business data such as credit card information, customer contact details, sensitive trade secrets, even login credentials and passwords, can instantly cripple any enterprise or send them to a catastrophic downward spiral.

Data loss can strike at any time. You can lose all your business data due to a system crash, device corruption or malfunction, a data breach, a power outage, a malware attack, a malicious email, etc. But with backup software, you significantly minimize the damage of data loss and shield your business from its adverse, lingering impact.

Data backup is the process of storing crucial business information and other data in a separate storage. Essentially, you are creating an exact copy of your data that you can quickly retrieve and use should your primary data and its storage is compromised.

Having a network backup software is vital to your small business. But if you find yourself unconvinced or undecided, here are some reasons that can change your mind.

1. Automate Data Backup

Copying and pasting data from one storage bin to another is not a taxing task. That is if you are not faced with other responsibilities and business priorities. Manually backing up your data can take much of your time, which you can spend on more productive and pressing matters.

With data backup software, you can automate the whole process without having to write batch files, scripts, and programs. Many backup vendors offer numerous backup software solutions with automation capabilities, which means you have a wide selection of the best backup systems to choose from.

You can create and implement custom configurations and predefined parameters for automated backup. For instance, you can schedule your backups during specific intervals and set which data should be exported to particular storage. It’s like putting your data backup processes on autopilot, essentially freeing you from such a time-consuming burden so you can shift your focus on your business. This also gives you peace of mind to simultaneously work and travel at the same. 

2. Reduce Service Downtime

Data loss is bound to happen, whether due to a system failure or a device malfunction. It is not a matter of if, but when. The question is how prepared are you once you’re faced with this eventuality.

Hardware failure is the primary cause for both data loss and unplanned downtime. According to a survey by Dynamic Technologies, 45% of data loss is attributed to hardware failure.   Loss of power (35%) comes in at second place, followed by software failure (34%) round up the top three. Data corruption (24%), security breaches (23%), and accidental user deletion/error (20%) complete the list.

Unplanned downtime is costly. A minute of downtime can result in up to  $17,244 in losses. A reliable data backup and recovery system enables you to reduce service downtime and accelerate data recovery, preventing further losses and minimize the damage. 

When data loss strikes, your business grinds to a halt. That’s a reality all business owners must accept. What matters is how soon can they recover and become fully operational after such an event. Thus, having a data backup and recovery plan is vital.

3. Help Your Business Survive Expensive Recovery Costs

Backing up your data not only prevents significant financial losses due to downtime and missed sales opportunities, but it also helps your business survive heavy recovery expenses. Small enterprises with no data backup and recovery plan are not likely to survive within a year after a data breach or malware attack.

The 2019 Cost of a Data Breach Report by IBM found that the average loss suffered by companies due to data breach is around $1.42 million. However, small businesses with 500 employees or fewer lose over $2.5 million. Simply put, small businesses will find it difficult to recover after a breach in their data systems and storage.

In fact, the National Cyber Security Alliance reported that 60% of small and medium-sized businesses that experienced data breach closed within six months after the attack. If you don’t want your small business to be a part of this demographic, it’s time to seriously consider implementing a solid and robust cyber security and data backup/recovery strategy. Security is also a role of cloud user access management to ensure that only the right individuals have access to certain data and systems. 

4. Transition Your Business To The Cloud

As more modern businesses are now taking their operations, information, and data processes in the cloud, cloud-based data backup is also increasing in popularity.

A 2017-2025 cloud backup market forecast by Statista predicts a huge upward growth. Spending on cloud-hosted data backup systems is expected to rise from 1.2 billion in 2017 to as much as $6.82 billion in 2025.

Moving your data backup processes to the cloud simplifies your business’ overall transition. On top of that, cloud-based data backup presents numerous advantages for your business.

For one, you don’t have to invest in hardware such as hard drives, USBs, and other portable data storage devices. This means less device management, fewer maintenance costs, and more savings. Also, since you don’t have to acquire hardware, you also stop worrying about data loss due to device theft.

Two, reliability is unparalleled. Cloud systems are automatically updated on a regular basis. Security measures are tighter. Whenever you need to, you can quickly recover and restore lost data remotely, using any device, anytime, at any location.

With cloud-hosted data backup systems, you can transfer files with confidence. Whenever you transfer data files, the software automatically encrypts them before they are transmitted from your server to an offsite data center. This prevents hackers from penetrating your data files, keeping your information safe and secure from the wrong hands.

5. Recover Quickly from Disasters

Both natural and man-made disasters can clamp down your business operations for certain periods of time. Events such as fire, flood, tornado, and earthquake all pose a serious threat to your IT infrastructure. And when they strike, they can damage data storage devices and disrupt network connectivity, resulting in massive data loss.

Business services and other functions are understandably delayed for a prolonged stretch of time after a disaster. That said, 9 out of 10 businesses that fail to open within five days after a natural disaster will close within a year, according to the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

But when you have a data backup and recovery software, you are able to retrieve and recover your backup data so you can quickly resume business operations after a disaster. Not only that, fast resumption of business operations means lower recovery costs.

Data Backup Software is Not Enough

US-based mall retail giant Macy’s suffered a data breach in 2018. According to the New York Post, the unauthorized party managed to access and retrieve credit card information of the mall chain’s online customers, including credit card numbers, phone numbers, home addresses, and expiration dates.

While Macy’s management said that the breach only affected half of 1% of their online shoppers, it can’t be understated how devastating the impact of the breach was to their brand’s value and reputation.

Aside from Macy’s, corporate brands like Under Armour, Adidas, and Kmart fell victim to data breaches in recent months. It’s not like these companies can’t afford advanced data security systems including enterprise backup software and the works. But hackers are getting more sophisticated as cyber security and other related technologies improve.
It is imperative that businesses, backup software companies, data security experts, and other stakeholders continue to work and collaborate to further strengthen current data security measures and develop new means to protect valuable business data in the face of an ongoing technological shift.