Data is the bedrock of most modern businesses. From lead generation and digital marketing to management of finances and taxes, no aspect of your business can function efficiently without data. While data-based processes can make your life easier, they also come with the risk of cyberthreats like ransomware attacks and breaches.

As an expert offering, IT Support Detroit, we come across many small and mid-sized businesses that have little or no cybersecurity. Cybercriminals are more likely to target such companies. If your business falls prey to a cyberattack, the consequences can be disastrous.

A. Your Data Is Highly Vulnerable

Installing an antivirus is not enough to protect your business from malicious threats. Your data is more vulnerable than you think. For most small and medium companies, an average data breach packs the power of an atomic bomb. It can wipe your business out of existence.

According to the Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020, the global average total cost of a data breach was $3.86 million. Given how high the cost is, most small and mid-sized companies find it impossible to reopen after a data breach.

• Human Errors Are More Common Than You Think

When it comes to data security, human error is a critical factor that people often forget about. Your employees can accidentally delete an important document or download a malicious file (virus or malware) that can lead to a data breach. You are most likely to lose your data if that happens.

However, when you have multiple data backups, you can quickly recover accidentally deleted documents or applications. As a result, your business can continue to function smoothly, helping you save considerable time and money. So, whether you are looking for IT Support Detroit or in Chicago, make sure to include disaster recovery and data backup services in your package.

• Hardware Failure Is Equally Common

Despite having proactive IT Support Detroit, your hardware is going to fail eventually, when you least expect it. When that happens, you could lose important data. For example, if you have stored all your critical business information on one hard drive and that fails, you will lose all your data.

Instead, if you have the same data stored on the cloud, you can call your IT support Detroit to recover it quickly. You can also directly download it from your cloud service provider and continue your day-to-day operations without a hiccup.

However, you can’t do this without a proper data backup and disaster recovery plan, which should be a part of your IT support. Make sure your managed service provider has experience in handling data backup and recovery tasks.

• The Ever-Growing Risk of Cyber Threats

Although having professional IT support Detroit will help, your business will still face the risk of a data breach. Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated ways to invade computer networks, making it challenging to detect data breaches in the early stages. In most cases, all it takes is one phishing email, and your entire computer network can be compromised within hours or days.

According to the Data Breach Investigations Report 2020, 45% of breaches featured hacking, 22% included social attacks, errors were causal events in 22% of data breaches, and 17% involved malware. In other words, the risk of a data breach or ransomware attack is extremely high. That’s why an IT support company like us always recommends having a well-defined data backup and disaster recovery plan.

• Natural Disasters

In addition to ever-increasing cyber threats, there is also the risk of natural disasters destroying your physical storage devices. In the event of a fire or flood, you can end up losing all your business-critical data. For example, if all your data is stored on one hard drive or on-site server, it could get destroyed if there is a fire or flooding in your neighborhood.

That’s why you need outsourced IT support with a robust business continuity plan.

• Data Backup Improves Consumer Trust

People are fast becoming aware of the risks associated with a data breach. Cybercriminals often attack an organization to steal sensitive business as well as consumer information. Your consumers share their personal information, like credit card details and addresses, believing that you will keep it safe. So, when a data breach hits your business, you may lose their trust.

It takes years to build a brand that consumers trust, making it necessary to avoid complete system failure for hours or days. When your outsourced IT support ensures quick and hassle-free data backup and recovery, your business can be up and running within hours. That, in turn, helps build customer trust.

It also offers you a competitive advantage. Having an excellent data backup and recovery process on top of proactive IT support Detroit provides increased security, which can help attract more customers.

B. You Need At Least Three Copies of Data

When we offer IT support Detroit, we recommend our clients create at least three copies of their business-critical data. This simple strategy makes sure that no single event, be it a cyberattack or a natural disaster, will destroy all copies.

You need to have one of the data backups stored off-site or on a remote server or device. It can help protect your data in the event of a natural disaster or physical theft. You can use hard drives and other storage devices to save copies of data locally. However, this shouldn’t be your only backup.

The third copy should be in the cloud. Cloud backups are easy to manage, and they are a part of our IT support Detroit. Since you can access these copies via the internet, it is much easier to recover your data and get your business up and running again quickly.

Conclusion

As you can see, a well-planned data backup and disaster recovery process is critical to ensure business continuity. Whether you are a small or mid-sized business, you need to plan for regular data backups and a disaster recovery process as soon as possible. It will not only protect your business, but also increase consumer trust in your brand. Hopefully, this post will help you make an informed decision.

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Dave

I’m Dave Goodenough. I started InsideOut Networking in 2004 with the idea that if we could cut through all the jargon and tech speak and just have real conversations about computers and technology, we could help a lot of people out and develop long-term relationships with our clients.

Today, we have over 2,500 clients who trust us to make sure their computers are always up to date and protected from security threats, allowing them to do exactly what they need. If you’d like to find out if we can help your business, please contact us today.