Backing up business data should be a given. But a surprising number of Canadian businesses aren’t properly protected. They never check their backups, or assume employees are backing up their devices as they should, then are faced with a grim reality should a data loss incident occur.
While taking a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to data backup might seem like a cost-effective way to handle things, it could leave you in trouble should you get hit with ransomware or a hard drive failure.
Data backups tend to be one of those things that’s out of sight and out of mind for companies, until of course, something goes wrong, and then it shoots up to priority #1. Because most businesses can’t operate without access to accounting, customer, personnel, and other data.
60% of data backups are incomplete and 50% of restorations are unsuccessful on average. This is largely due to companies believing that they can handle their cloud backups themselves. It might look easy, but many things can go wrong.
What is Managed Backup?
Managed backup is a better way to ensure your data and company are protected from a major data loss incident. This is a service offered by an IT provider, like PartnerIT, that includes a monitored and fully managed backup of all your data.
This includes data on PCs, mobile devices, servers, and in cloud platforms, such as Microsoft 365.
Managed backup not only includes making sure all your data is backed up without any issues daily, it also includes assistance with rapid data recovery should you suffer data loss.
You can think of this service as an insurance policy for your company’s operations. One that will keep you from suffering long and costly downtime that could irreparably hurt your business.
Reasons Your Business Should Be Using Managed Backup & Recovery Services
Backups Can Stall For Many Reasons
There are many reasons that backups can stall and stop copying data from your devices. Most of the time, a busy business owner won’t realize that all data is not backing up as expected until it’s too late and they’ve suffered a data loss incident.
Some of the reasons that data doesn’t get backed up as it should include:
- Software glitch
- A user accidentally turns off the backup application
- Backup runs out of space
- Hardware issue
Users May Forget to Back Up Everything
If you are trusting your employees to back up their devices, they can easily forget to include vital folders that need to be captured in the backup. They may also back up their PC, but neglect to back up their mobile devices that are used for work and hold business data.
Human error is responsible for 29% of data loss cases.
Cloud Storage is NOT the Same as a Backup
If you’re not using managed services because you use Dropbox, OneDrive, or another cloud storage service, you’re suffering from a misconception. Cloud storage and sharing apps are not the same as data backup.
In cloud storage, files are “live,” meaning they can be overwritten and deleted. They can also suffer deletion if there is a syncing issue with an employee’s device.
Backups capture a snapshot of all files at a point in time and store it separately from active files.
Ransomware Continues to Get More Dangerous
During the first 6 months of 2021, ransomware attacks increased 151%. This is one of the most dangerous forms of malware and it continues to grow each year.
Ransomware can take your company down for days by encrypting all your data. Your best defense is a managed backup and recovery strategy that allows you to quickly restore your data once the ransomware has been removed.
A Data Loss Incident Can Mean Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Losses Each Day
Between 40% to 60% of small businesses never reopen after a major data loss incident. This can be a ransomware attack or a major server crash that destroys data. Without the ability to quickly restore all lost files, companies face significant costs, which is why recovery can be so difficult.
It costs an average of US$8,000 (CA$10,222) for each hour of small business downtime.
Managed backup is an investment in your business continuity and continued health and wellbeing. It helps to ensure you don’t suffer devastating losses that you may never bounce back from.
With professionals monitoring your backups 24/7, you can rest easy knowing that all your vital business data is being captured and securely stored. Then, should you need to restore it in the event of a data loss incident, you have a team of experts that can help you do it quickly and completely.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late! Ask About Our Managed Backups Plans
PartnerIT can protect your Ontario business with a managed backup plan that ensures your data is protected no matter what.
Contact us today to learn more at 519-672-0900 or through our website.
