5 Simple Tips to Protect Your Business Against Data Loss

Data loss can be a nightmare for businesses. Yet a recent study by Symantec found that 57% of small businesses have no data recovery plan in place. Inaction can have serious financial consequences for business owners. Mashable recently compiled some tips on to protect your business against data loss.

Protect Your Business Against Data Loss Tip #1 – Prep now. Make a disaster plan. Create an emergency action plan for all data associated with your business. Create an inventory of your business storage-based hardware. You should have a clear understanding of what your company’s data means to your business. Identify the risk factors in your area. By identifying potential risk factors you can better protect your data.

Protect Your Business Against Data Loss Tip #2 – Back up all files. This might seem obvious, but a system should be in place to make sure you back up all of your data. Create a structured procedure to make copies of all critical data files. Don’t just do it once and forget about it. Back up your data regularly to ensure it’s current. Test the backups periodically to verify the data is being backed up properly.

Protect Your Business Against Data Loss Tip #3 – Educate. Once you have your disaster plan and have inventoried your business data, the next step is to communicate the policy to your employees. The more they know, the better able they will be able to help protect data loss.

Protect Your Business Against Data Loss Tip #4 – Missing Data? Examine all options. Don’t panic if something is missing. Check all possible fields on your computer- sometimes the simplest answer ends up being the solution.

Protect Your Business Against Data Loss Tip #5 – Get professional help. If you do experience a data loss, get professional help. Trying to recover the data using diagnostic or repair tools if you don’t have the expertise could only make it worse. Invest the money in a reputable data recovery vendors.

Sinclair Risk & Financial Management is not your typical independent insurance agency. We tailor commercial insurance products to protect your business against unforeseen losses – and we’re excellent at doing so. But we go way beyond just the policy.

Our goal is to help mitigate losses in the first place to protect the value you’ve created in your business – whether you’re a large construction company, multinational food processor, or a local enterprise. As your advisor, we’ll make a tangible difference to your business by providing you with a better understanding of the exposures and liabilities that exist in your daily operations and implementing programs to safeguard against them, minimize losses, reduce claims, and ultimately provide significant opportunities for savings.