Data Loss: How to Safeguard and Protect Your Business From Lost Information

In order for a business to run successfully, it’s dependent on various types of information. Everything from customer accounts and inventory to invoices and employee information, the information needed to keep your business afloat can all come crashing down if that information is lost.

You, of course, don’t even want to fathom the idea of something bad happening to your business but as a smart business owner, you must always plan for it. This theory holds true to your business’ data as well.

“Data” is the very thing that holds your business together and it’s become a quintessential component to business success. Without it, whether it’s due to a careless mistake or a breach in data, data loss can be very devastating to a company in more ways than one.

What is Data Loss?

All too often, people tend to get the terms data loss and data breach confused, using them interchangeably like they have similar meanings… Well, they are two very separate entities but where the similarities lie is in the damages it can do to businesses.

Data loss is the unavailability of information due to things like careless mistakes and power outages… data loss is hard to recover, if it even can be recovered. A data breach is when a company’s data is downright stolen.

How Does Data Loss Happen?

Data loss can happen in a multitude of different ways but the most common reasons are due to:

• Computer viruses
• Damage to the computer (water or fire)
• Hard drive failure
• Accidental deletions
• Power outages

It’s hard to believe just how much danger your computer faces on a daily basis, isn’t it? Being a computer is rough!

How to Protect Your Business From Data Loss

Always Backup Your Data

In this situation, prevention is key. When you backup your data, you’re simply keeping one copy of the original data, but the key is to not do it on the same disk; you can also store your data backup on a separate site. But one of the most important things to do is test your backups to make sure it’s being backed up properly.

Use Anti-Virus and Email Security

You’ve seen those weird emails that kind of look like they’re from an official site but then you realize it’s not. The email doesn’t use your name and is asking for sensitive information like your phone number, address, driver’s license number, and account information but the content has several grammatical errors and missing words… You quickly realize that the email contains ransomware or is a hacking or phishing threat to steal your information.

Always stay on the lookout for suspicious emails like that… some of them can contain the most highly destructive computer viruses and put your entire business at risk.

The thing about those emails is that they can be a little tricky because it looks like it’s from a trusted establishment that you do business with, asking you to “update your information.” It’s so easy to fall victim to those types of emails, so to protect your data, install an anti-virus and email security system to prevent this type of issue from happening. It’s also a good thing to educate your team on this type of situation with their email so they know how to respond.

Invest in an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)

Whether it’s from mother nature or just technical difficulties, power outages can destroy a computer system and completely wipe out the data it holds. By getting an uninterruptable power supply, you’ll have emergency power in nearly an instant whenever the main supply of power is out.

According to bit.com.au, every UPS comes with a voltage rating (VA) that tells you how much equipment you can connect to it and how long it will last after the power is out. It’s recommended that whatever your VA is, to multiply it by .6 to convert the VA rating into a Watts rating to give you a better understanding of the type of load it can handle.

Keep Your Computer Dry and Clean

Dust can cause your computer to overheat, while moisture and humidity can cause it to rust… there’s really no lesser evil of the two because both can severely damage your computer’s hardware. As an overall best practice to prevent this from happening, keep your computer in a dry area and give your computer a quick wipe down every now and then to prevent dust from building up.

Turn to the Pros

You can’t ever go wrong when entrusting solutions for data loss to the pros. Company data is too valuable to try and recover on your own if it gets lost. Turn to JD Edwards managed services to help you with your company’s data and security needs.

You don’t ever plan to lose data… In your mind, your business is a smooth running machine that faces no threats but you have to face the reality that things happen within a business… sometimes it’s your fault and sometimes it’s not, but regardless of who or what is at fault, the real takeaway is how you handle the situation… the last thing you want to do is cause further damage by trying to handle things on your own.

Turn to the professionals for help… they know what they’re doing and can get your business back on track.