Top Ten Tips For…

… Small Business Data Protection

Wake up NOW to how important I.T. and communications technologies have become to your business – and plan for the inevitability that, at some stage, something will fail.

1.      Install good anti-virus software on EVERY computer that you use and keep it up-to-date by turning on its “automatically update” feature. Out-of-date anti-virus protection is “no protection”.

2.      Backup your work at least daily – it is estimated that up to 75% of businesses that suffer critical data loss NEVER trade again.

3.      To protect against fire, flood etc, regularly (at least once a week) take a copy of your backup off-site, e.g. home. If your home IS your business, then Kingsbridge Consultancy will happily store your backups for you for a nominal charge .

4.      Structure your data in a meaningful fashion, so that it is both easy to find what you are looking for AND easy to back up. You might currently be backing up your spreadsheets, but are you backing up your e-mails and your address book?

5.      If you have a laptop, do not forget to regularly back that up too.

6.      Remember to periodically test that your backups are actually working ! Try to “restore” some data and make sure that you can read it. If you do this, take care not to over-write your original data!

7.      Turn on the AutoSave and “Always create backup copy” features in your Office software. (Instructions for different versions vary, but typically this can be found under  Tools, Options, on the Save tab).

8.      However strong, resist the temptation to use your business I.T. facilities for “personal” use, even at lunchtimes. For most of us, loss of our I.T. is loss of our livelihood, so separate business from pleasure.

9.      Develop a filing system to keep all of your disks, license codes, warranty agreements etc for each machine in a readily-accessible place, so that when the worst happens, you do not waste time tracking things down. Clearly labelled “Box” files are often ideal for this purpose.

10.  However grandiose it sounds, have a realistic Disaster Recovery Plan. For example, your computer may have a three-year warranty against hardware failure, but if it will not be repaired for a month, how will you cope in the interim ?

Kingsbridge Consultancy can offer assistance in all areas of data protection, contingency planning and disaster recovery.  Whatever your needs, we have the skills and experience to help ensure that when the inevitable happens, your business will suffer the minimum of disruption.