Is it stress, anxiety, or fear that causes that nauseated feeling over losing your data? If you have ever been working away and the computer hangs, crashes, and loses your work, then you know the feeling. Everyone agrees that it is awful. It is just a matter of how much did you lose that controls the onslaught and the setback – was it an hour’s worth? A day? A month? How long will it take to get back to where you were? The situation multiplies by how many employees the data loss effected.

Everyone knows that they need to backup and backup frequently, but how do you enforce it? The key is to have a realistic backup plan and put that plan into action.

When creating your backup plan, consider the following:

• External vs Internal Threats – Cyberattacks, particularly ransomware, are not as destructive when you have an accessible backup. After all, what are they going to hold as ransom when you have a duplicate, unaffected copy on hand? When you have implemented a multi-layer security approach, the next threat becomes your employees. Some don’t realize the importance, and some, especially these days, are busy and distracted and neglectful of doing their backups, particularly when working remotely.
• More Than Data – A thorough backup plan encompasses all your digital information. It includes data, emails, messages, video meetings, and computer infrastructure. In other words, backup everything. When creating your plan, start with the most sensitive data you have, the data that would be most detrimental to lose, and then back down from there
• Using the Cloud – There are tremendous benefits to using the cloud for your offsite backup plan. Specifically, backups can become automatic rather than the need for a manual process; data is encrypted before it is uploaded to the cloud; you are not limited by storage size, and it is both affordable and scalable to your business size. However, you do need to create a third backup as well, for instance, with Microsoft Office or Google, they are responsible for maintaining the cloud, but you are still responsible for what you save and store in the cloud.
• Recovery Time Objectives – How quickly can you restore what you have lost and be back up and running? More importantly, what and how much can you stand to lose? These are instrumental questions to be answered as a part of a backup plan. It is the answers to these questions that will limit downtime and sustain your business continuity after a data loss occurs.
• Third-Party IT Provider – You will definitely want to partner with a third-party, managed IT service provider. They will assist in defining the plan, the implementation of the plan, the frequency of backups, the testing, and the auditing of the backups and recovery time. Best of all they will support both remote and office employees to make sure their computers and devices are actively following the plan.

A dependable backup plan is the safety net for all businesses, especially small businesses, need. With it, you can rest assured that no matter what happens, you will be able to survive and continue. At Concensus, we are the dependable and trustworthy partner you need. Our knowledgeable and experienced team is the solid foundation you can rely on for making your IT run smoothly. Contact us, today.