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If somebody walked into your small business and asked you where your data lives, what would you answer? What if they asked you to explain how you protect it and what you’d do to reconstruct your data? In today’s threat environment, these are the types of questions a small business owner should be able to answer. Unfortunately, not many of them can yet, which leaves them vulnerable to the risks that multiply seemingly every day – from cyber-attacks, to hardware crashes. Here are 3 simple steps to create a data protection plan.
One small business owner who knows this better than most is entrepreneur Thomas Cucco. He is the founder of Table 87 the hugely popular pizza parlor. Table 87’s delicious coal-oven baked pizza pies, calzones and creative sandwiches are like a magnet for hungry locals and tourists from all over the world. One wouldn’t necessarily associate a thriving restaurant business as one that’s data-driven, but as Cucco has experienced, it’s actually the very lifeblood of a company.
One day Thomas Cucco came to work and realized that his computer had crashed. All his bills, customer files, supplier contact information—all the data that the business runs on—was gone. At that moment, he vowed to put a data protection strategy in place so that he never again would have to let his customers down.
Watch the quick video below to find out why Table 87 never has to worry about losing data again:
If you’re like many businesses, you’re wondering – where to start? Here are a few simple steps to take to create a data protection plan:
Make sure the plan is written down
Be sure the plan includes emergency contact information for your employees, vendors, banking accountant numbers, etc. You’ll also need to have a copy of your plan in a safe location outside of your office or retail location for safe keeping, such as a fireproof safe at your home or a safety deposit box at your local bank.
Prepare a checklist of what to do in case of a disaster
- Establish a chain of command
What if you are unreachable during the time of disaster? It is vital to select and train additional employees to perform key tasks in an emergency. You must make sure there is an operations plan in case you are unable to get to the business to run things.
- Back up your data to the cloud
Make sure you find a service that works automatically and continually in the background. Doing so can do more than save you money; it can literally save your business. Look for a service that transmits your protected files offsite to secure severs to ensure your files safe from computer crashes, theft, fire, spills, power spikes, power outages, physical accidents and just about anything else that might happen to your small business.
In particular, you should look for a service that abides by the “3-2-1” rule of cloud backup. This ensures you keep at least three copies of your data, which includes the original copy and at least two backups. You should keep the backed-up data on two different storage types, such as internal and external storage. Of course, even if you have two copies on two separate storage types but both stored onsite, a local disaster could wipe out both of them, so it’s critical to keep a copy stored in the cloud.
- Test your backups regularly
This one of the most important – yet, overlooked – components of a data protection plan. Testing your backups regularly will ensure that you can restore your data as needed. This will give you peace of mind that your information is secure in the case of a disaster.
Note: This post was written and sponsored by Carbonite Watch more of Carbonite’s “Small Business Storytellers.”
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