Professional Storage and Backup Services Can Protect Your Important Information

Professional Storage and Backup Services Can Protect Your Important Information
By Andrew Stratton

Every business has the need for storage and backup services for their computer data. In the event of a computer crash or damage to a building where the data is housed, lots of important information could be lost. While your company may have its own internal group responsible for safeguarding important computer information, make sure you've considered the following factors in determining if your policies and procedures are adequate. You may want to consider professional storage and backup services to adequately meet your business needs.

Data Backup

There are two main reasons for backing up your computer data: 1) to recover data when it has been lost, either accidentally by a user or by corrupt data; and 2) to recover data from an earlier time, according to a company's data retention policy.

Your business may ask employees to periodically save the files on your computer to an external or network drive in case of a computer crash. If moving to a network drive, the business would then be responsible for backing up that information to a secure place. In the event of an external device such as a flash drive, the employee may be responsible for maintaining data on and keeping track of the device.

Even more important than the data on your specific device, however, are the critical business records for your company, including the following information.

- Customers - contact information, purchase history, customer service records
- Purchase transactions - products and services bought through your business
- Payment types - when products and services are purchased through a website
- Payroll for employees - including taxes and withholding amounts and transactions
- Legal records - leases, employee agreements, customer agreements, public records, etc.
- Accounts payable - records of purchases such as office supplies, equipment, etc.
- Emails between employees and customers, stockholders, potential clients, etc.

Where does the backed up data go? That brings us to the next topic.

Data Storage

Once you have a process for generating the backed up data, you need to have a place for it to go. Some businesses choose to use external media such as a tape, external drive, or other device that is then physically transported to a separate facility away from the main business. Some companies may choose to use a service that stores the backed up data on another system that is separate from the business. This method has the advantage of not relying on a hardware device that could be lost or damaged in transit.

How long should you store your data? That really depends on the type of business you have, and the products and/or services you provide. It may also vary by the type of information stored. If you are a publicly held company, you may be required to maintain certain types of data for a defined period of time according to federal guidelines. If you are a private company, you will still want to maintain good records for auditing and tax purposes for a number of years, depending on the tax laws. Check your local, state, and federal laws regarding your particular business to make sure you are keeping the appropriate records for the right amount of time.

Whatever you determine are the right storage and backup services for your business, make sure you communicate to employees what their responsibility will be and what you will do with data they generate.

Looking for storage and backup services? Learn more by visiting http://www.teklinks.com/cloud/tekvault/.

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