Is your small business effectively configured for information devastation? If not, this is the quick manual to help you with the most significant items to consider for your safety.

The most common business disaster is data loss, which commonly stems from a variety of causes, including human error, computer hardware failure, natural disasters, and theft. Fortunately, lost data is easy to recover from if you have a backup response in place. To ensure you receive the right alternative for your small business needs, follow these guidelines:

1. Understand your computer data. Knowing what one has, where it is located and what exactly is the most important thing. In case you walked into your workplace the day after tomorrow and your data disappeared, what exactly would you miss the most?
2. Continually evaluate your computer data to make sure you’re backing up everything you need. For example, if you add a new server to the company, your backups should reflect this inclusion. This must be accomplished every alternate quarter, if not once per quarter.
3. If you have chosen to use outside agencies for your copying requirements, be sure to choose a company that offers protection, supervision, and service.
4. Make a decision about who will be responsible for running backups in-house or using the services of your particular provider to perform your backup solution.
5. Perform a recovery procedure run. Backup is nothing without recovery, so make sure you understand the recovery method and make sure it works without any problems. Your issuer should be happy to walk you through a trial recovery system.
6. Consider backup techniques. Your copy must be offsite, protected, and available for retrieval 24/7. A very common course of action that matches the above standards, with all the added benefits of convenience and automation, is online backup. Other options include tape or Internet backup to external media.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to get some data storage quotes from different providers to find the best solution for your needs.