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

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Data Recovery Information:

Related Articles

Data Recovery: Beginners Tips
Right now you probably in a lot of mental pain, and all you're concerned about is recovering your data as quickly as possible - so we'll refrain from comments on the wisdom of regular back ups. The time for preventative measures has gone - the issue at hand is data recovery.
Computer Data Backup - Data Backup Solution Will Give You A Peace Of Mind
Imagine that you have been working on a file for the entire day and there was a power surge that caused your computer to 'black out'. It would have been a frustrating experience for us as we had put in a lot of time and effort into it.
Protect Yourself Before Your Hard Drive Crashes
Almost everyone who has used a computer has experienced a hard drive problem at some point. Are you prepared to lose your data? If your hard drive crashes right now, do you have an action plan to follow?Most people get complacent about protecting the data on their computers.
Data Recovery - What Not to Do!
Data recovery is a tricky thing, and if you've somehowdeleted or had your important files corrupted or lost due tohuman error, business espionage, faulty hardware or softwareor any other reason; the good news is that your lost datais probably recoverable. This article will show you a fewthings NOT to do when an event such as this occurs.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Risk Analysis and Control
In the risk evaluation phase, there are a number of key areas that must be covered. One of the most important is to understand probable threats.
Big Time Disaster Recovery Solutions Available for the Little Guy
There was a time - not too long ago - that Data Disaster Recovery solutions were available only in the domain of multinational corporations and big business in general. However, with the proliferation of high speed internet access and the ability to store large amounts of data in a much more cost effective manner due to plummeting storage costs, the ability to perform a secure backup of data to a remote location engineered specifically for the purpose of securely storing massive amounts of information is now in the reach of the general public.
How to Survive an Operating System Crash
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows could not be accessed or located."It happens to the best of us.
Avoiding Hard Disk Data Recovery Services
As a home computer owner, one of the greatest threats to yourinformation and to your wallet, is hard disk failure. When yourdrive crashes, you will quicky realize how valuable theinformation you can no longer access is.
Do You Have The One Key Ingredient Necessary For Disaster Recovery?
It is not rocket science, we all know that we should have a disaster recovery plan in place for our business regardless of its size. When disaster strikes, it seldom discriminates on the size of the company.
Data Recovery The Easy Way
If you aren't prepared in advance, you will most likely have to use a data recovery service or data recovery software solution to help get back as much as you can of what was lost. This can be a very good idea if there is no other way to recover your files, but it doesn't have to come to that in most cases.
Comparing Data Recovery Software
Software programmers recognize the importance of data files, and thankfully, they have been able to create products that demonstrate their understanding of how often people accidentally delete or lose important data. Thanks to software programmers and development companies, people have a variety of data recovery software programs available to purchase in the event they've lost vital data.
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 failures It isn't a matter of If you will loose your Data it is a matter of When you will loose your Data! By spending a few extra minutes now using a Simple Back Up Strategy, you can save yourself big headaches later.You Should Always have a Full Backup of your Online Business Directory and all it's subdirectories for the Last 4 Weeks as well daily incremental backups for a month or More.
Bill Gates Made Data Recovery Easy
Bill gates provided a ready made option in Microsoft windows, which is very useful for data recovery.Several time we make mistakes unknowingly and we lost our data, then we need to recover the data.
Disaster Recovery Made Easy With Online Backups
Whenever disaster strikes the most critical asset that every company should have protected from sudden loss due to fire, flooding, or theft is their data. No matter what happens to your hardware you can be sure to be able to be up and running no matter how sudden or how severe your damage or loss is - if you use an online backup system.
Backup Your Data Or Lose Your Life!
Oh the perils of collecting those precious photos on your PC for years, only to have your hard drive crash one day, and not have made a SINGLE BACKUP COPY of any of your priceless pictures. Well, now is the time to backup your hard drive.
How to Effectively Back Up Your Data
What to backup, and what to loseThe oldest "computer expression" is that there are two kinds of computer users, those that backup their data and those that will. Often, it takes a "data disaster" to compel otherwise responsible people to make a regular habit of backing up their data.
Data Recovery
Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face the challenge of data recovery. Computer hardware and software can be temperamental from time to time.
Backup Schmackup: Im Afraid, Very Afraid!
"Why should you be afraid?", I can hear you ask.I just got an email from my friend Miche who said,"My laptop is sick at the hospital.
The Importance of Data Backups
All computers and their components are subject to failure. In fact sooner or later every business will be confronted with some type of computer failure.
Are The Words Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Rolling Off Your Lips?
It might be more fun to talk about those free online business cards that are saving the company money, or those nifty designer business checks that are helping to solidif your branding efforts at the next staff meeting, but what really should be rolling off your lips are the words "business continuity and disaster recovery planning". Nothing is more important to a company than having a comprehensive recoveery plan in place prior to when disaster strikes.