The statistics are frightening. No less than 140,000 hard drives fail in the United States every week, according to Small Business Trends. This is usually caused by heat, power surges, corrupted files, and human error. Hard drive failure, along with ransomware and bad employees, is also responsible for data loss, which is up by 400% since 2012.
But even more startling is the fact that 68% of small and medium-sized businesses don’t have a disaster recovery plan, while 58% have no backup plan for data loss. This is unfortunate since critical data is the lifeblood of a company and data loss is one of the reasons companies go out of business.
A disaster recovery plan consists of policies, tools, and procedures that a company uses to protect and recover vital technology systems after a natural or man-made disaster. Natural disasters include hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes, while examples of human-induced disasters are material spills, IT problems, and malware.
Parts of a disaster recovery plan
A good plan has three parts: [1] preventive measures to stop bad events from happening; [2] corrective measures to fix the system in case of a disaster; and [3] detective measures to spot unwanted events.
Sadly, a lot of organizations aren’t prepared for disasters, and 33% of businesses can’t cope with bad events even though they have a plan. Because of this, they are forced to deal with unplanned downtime that can be quite expensive.
Statistics show that 45% of unplanned downtime is caused by hardware failure due to faulty servers or networks, while power outages account for 35%. These incidents can cripple a business and cost almost $20,000 per minute!
The good news is that you’re not limited to using in-house hard drives for data storage. Today there are good cloud storage providers that offer reliable recovery solutions. They use the cloud to back up and restore critical data, preventing their permanent loss due to cybercriminals, disasters, or accidents.
Recover quickly with the cloud
What makes cloud storage better for disaster recovery plans? Because it is flexible, cloud storage can help a company recover quickly regardless of the problem. Sensitive data is stored in a secure environment and is readily available via the internet anytime it is needed. This ensures speedy data recovery that’s essential for any organization to survive.
Another advantage is that the cloud is easy to set up and manage. Companies don’t have to bother with the more time-consuming and expensive method of transferring backup data to in-house servers.
With cloud services, hardware and software resources are automated and at your immediate disposal, making it a fast and error-free way to recover data. And the system is easily scalable, meaning it can handle all kinds of work, big or small.
Fits every budget
Small companies can choose a service that fits their budget. Maintenance cost is eliminated since that’s included in the fee. As your company grows, you can add more services to suit your needs.
Whether you like it or not, disasters are a part of life, and they can strike at any moment. When you consider how much your company could lose in a disaster, the importance of cloud storage becomes clear. Make it an integral part of your disaster recovery plan.
Cyber Shift Technologies, LLC has been providing small and medium-sized businesses in the Akron–Canton–Massillon area with all their technology needs. Our hardworking and dedicated staff works round-the-clock to deliver exceptional service in the fields of IT support, cloud services, backup, and recovery. We are the answer to all your IT problems. Consult us today to learn more.