So what?

There's nothing essentially wrong with a hard drive failure ? it is just a mechanical object, after all ? but the problem is that it's usually holding your essential business data: client records, invoices, accounts, creative solutions, sales and marketing plans, unique breakthroughs that you developed, and so on.

If your hard drive fails without sufficient backup and recovery protocols in place will your business make it through the next business quarter?

Local business IT support provider Activ Micro Systems are familiar with such scenarios and regularly setup powerful backup solutions for their clients. ?The key is not to rely on either human beings or the invincibility of hardware. Build in redundancy and automation at every possible point,? says Yvan Bamping, senior IT manager.

According to a BioMagazine article in December 2007, studies show that 80% of companies without a well-conceived data protection and recovery strategy go out of business within 2 years of a major disaster.

The most common causes of data loss (a major disaster) are, typically: hardware malfunction (44%); human error (32%); software corruption (14%); computer viruses (7%); and natural disasters (3%).

But isn't an effective solution too expensive?

Fortunately, just like the costs of standardised IT hardware ? such as hard drives, RAM, desktops, laptops, etc ? the costs of an effective backup and recovery solution have come down in virtual freefall. If you're confident in your own IT skills, then you could probably do some research and get the solution up and running within a few hours. Of course, testing it and being confident to rely on it in a crisis might be another matter.

When considering whether or not to call out an IT company to recommend, implement, test and maintain a backup solution for you, you might just weigh up the costs of NOT having an effective solution in place when things go wrong.

What is it worth to you to have your business still operating (let alone profitably) a few quarters after a major data loss incident?

Here are a couple of additional important questions to ask when considering data backup service:

?Are there any single points of failure or is everything redundant?
?Is my data safe from theft both in transit (to remote backup locations) and in storage?
?Is there going to be someone available to assist me if something does go wrong or do I have to manage it all myself?
?If I suddenly increase the amount of data needing backup, will my account overflow and upgrade or will it just stop backing up the excess?

Whilst additional support and redundancy might cost you that little bit extra, it could make all the difference between a healthy business surviving a major data loss incident or dying a slow and expensive death.

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Activ Link provides IT support services to small businesses in Kingston upon Thames and Greater London. We specialise in PC / Desktop Support, Data Backup and Data Recovery, and IT Network troubleshooting and maintenance. Visit www.ActivLink.com/data-backups or call 0871 560 5665 to find out how we can support your business IT infrastructure.