When Disaster Strikes: How Long Would Your Business Survive if Files On Your Computer Disappeared?

A Tornado? In Birmingham? In The United Kingdom? Unthinkable!

Yes, in July 2005 (while I was putting finishing touches to my cave-house in Spain) my house, along with many of my neighbours' houses was struck by a powerful tornado that literally tore up the streets. Leaving people homeless as their homes were bulldozered (with all their possessions inside).

Thankfully, my house was still, pretty much intact and won't be being demolished but I work from a home office. I have lots of critical data and information on my computer - marketing information, accounts information, key contacts, books in progress to name a few. If my house was bulldozered (and I didn't have an adequate off-site backup system) I would have lost the lot. As it was, I was still able to access my key files even from Spain.

But how would you fare? What if your computer went kaput this very minute? What if a freak accident, theft, or natural disaster literally destroyed your computer and you lost all your files? Would you be able to get back up and running with minimal fuss or would your business be crippled for a long time to come?

No one wants to think about it, but in light of recent world events it makes sense for every company to have in place a business continuity plan. This might include installing a backup generator for power, having a second office available for re-location, and ensuring your insurance policy is current, relevant and up to date.

Some of the above may be more applicable for larger companies, however one element that's 100% critical for ALL businesses regardless of size, is to keep an up to date copy of your computer files.

Files can be lost instantly by a power surge, fire, flood, theft, virus and of course the most common risk ­ human error (i.e. accidental deletion)!

This information is the lifeblood of your business, and needs to be backed up regularly. Unlike your office or the computer itself, your computer files cannot be replaced, yet without them you have no business.

For most companies, files to be kept safe will include:

* Databases

* Client records

* Presentations

* Invoices

* Emails

* Historical work archives

* Research

* Digital photos

A simple risk assessment question to ask yourself:

"How long would my business survive if the files on my computer disappeared right now?"

Unless you have a current 'back-up' or copy of your information it is quite likely that your business will cease to operate for some time, if not indefinitely soon after. In our business our database (of people like you) is extremely important. It's taken years to build up and is irreplaceable. Which is why we have taken active steps to protect it.

There are a number of ways for you to make back up copies of your information, and these methods can be divided into 2 main categories.

1. Manual processes, which use recordable media such as tapes or disks.

2. Online backup services, which use your Internet connection to transfer data.

Manual processes rely on you carrying out the backup, rotating the media and then removing it off-site every day. Consequently they can be labour intensive, costly and in addition the media can be unreliable (i.e disks can be scratched). You don't need me to tell you that doing it this way is certainly not lean. It's a boring, time consuming, yet critical task, that's not automated (but should be) that simply gets in the way of you doing your real work while putting you at unnecessary risk. See the 'Pain or Gain' chart in your free Lean Marketing Detox eBook for a recap.

For this reason, many companies are now signing up to online solutions, which via a small piece of software backup your information securely and automatically each day for you.

Furthermore your information is stored safely off-site so if and when disaster strikes your files are completely safe and can be instantly restored to any machine.

It's human nature to think, "it'll never happen to me", however it is more accurate to think, "when will this happen to me?"

Don't gamble with your business, back it up today and keep it safe.

For our online data backup we use and recommend www.DepositIt.com, why not check them out and make sure to set up a backup plan as soon as you can. You never know when disaster will strike!

'Dangerous' Debbie Jenkins
debs@debbiejenkins.com

(c) Copyright 2005 www.BookShaker.com

SUMMER CAN BE SLOW FOR BUSINESS
But don't let that get in the way of your success.
This is the ideal time to work on your business
rather than in it. Get 2 F'REE eBooks and prepare
for more success with less effort here...
http://www.leanmarketing.co.uk

I'm wondering if... You Know Other People who should be reading this too? So do us all a favour (they get 2 free books - we get a new subscriber - you get to look good) when you Pass On This link... http://www.leanmarketing.co.uk

---

Data Recovery Processes

Six months ago my computer crashed. When I turned my... Read More

Data Backup Solution: Why You Need a Backup Plan in Place ? Part 2

In the first part of this article series, I talked... Read More

How To Use Spyware Elimination Software

Spyware elimination software is designed to detect and eliminate spyware.... Read More

3 Ways Computers Can Hurt Your Ministry - Part 1 - Ineffective Data Backups

Our computers have become almost indispensable ministry tools. What would... Read More

The Seven Golden Rules Of Data Backups

Backups of company data are carried out for two main... Read More

Bill Gates Made Data Recovery Easy

Bill gates provided a ready made option in Microsoft windows,... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Business Impact Analysis

Business impact analysis is a critical part of the business... Read More

Backup 101 - How To Pick The Right Backup Software

Vision Backup 10 Enterprise is an advanced and easy-to-use backup... Read More

Data Backup for Beginners

It's 10pm. Do you know where your data is?Data. Small... Read More

Offsite Data Backup Not Just for Fortune 500 Companies Anymore

In today's high paced digital world there is a very... Read More

Want To Beat The Odds? Disaster Recovery Planning is Essential

Statistics show two out of five businesses go out of... Read More

When Disaster Strikes: How Long Would Your Business Survive if Files On Your Computer Disappeared?

A Tornado? In Birmingham? In The United Kingdom? Unthinkable!Yes, in... Read More

Backup Your Data Or Lose Your Life!

Oh the perils of collecting those precious photos on your... Read More

Protect Yourself Before Your Hard Drive Crashes

Almost everyone who has used a computer has experienced a... Read More

The Importance of Data Backups

All computers and their components are subject to failure. In... Read More

Disaster Recovery Made Easy With Online Backups

Whenever disaster strikes the most critical asset that every company... Read More

The Best Data Recovery Choice For You

The best defense against a loss of data is a... Read More

Do I Really Need To Backup?

Okay, computers a machine, right? Okay, maybe not yours. You... Read More

Big Time Disaster Recovery Solutions Available for the Little Guy

There was a time - not too long ago -... Read More

Data Backup Solution: Why You Need a Backup Plan in Place ? Part 1

Is a data backup solution part of your computer plans?... Read More

Read This Now: Its Not If You Will Lose Your Data, Its When Will You Lose Your Data

With Adware, SpyWare, E-Mail Viruses, Java Script Viruses and Hardware... Read More

Avoiding Hard Disk Data Recovery Services

As a home computer owner, one of the greatest threats... Read More

I Lost It! Simple Guide To Recovering Corrupted Images And Files

WinUndelete WinUndelete? is an easy to use undelete software utility... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Risk Analysis and Control

In the risk evaluation phase, there are a number of... Read More

Are The Words Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Rolling Off Your Lips?

It might be more fun to talk about those free... Read More

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Reducing Your Risk Profile

Like all plans, there is an ultimate goal to achieve.... Read More

Backing Up Personal Computers

Backup on business computers is typically not the user's concern... Read More

Computer Data Backup - Data Backup Solution Will Give You A Peace Of Mind

Imagine that you have been working on a file for... Read More

Backup Schmackup: Im Afraid, Very Afraid!

"Why should you be afraid?", I can hear you ask.I... Read More

Data Recovery

Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face... Read More

5 Simple Tips to Prevent MS Access Database Corruption

It's important to understand that any time an Access client... Read More

The Importance Of Email Backup

Viruses, software failures, power failures, human errors, hard drive failures... Read More

Data Recovery - You Can Get It Back!

Data recovery is a process whereby you can save data... Read More