Over the years, cybersecurity has been a concern for many businesses, institutions, and governments alike. No year comes to an end without thousands of cybercrime cases being reported. According to research, this type of crime that evolves every minute will cause damages worth over $6 trillion annually by the end of 2021. Also, it is believed that by this time, the world’s internet users will be over 75% of the world’s population, which means that the target surface of cybercriminals will increase tremendously.
2017 saw some of the biggest cybercriminal activities than any other year in history. For example, Equifax, a credit reporting agency was penetrated into by malicious individuals who stole data for over 143 million people. We cannot also forget that it was the year which saw the rise of NotPetya, a malware that used a compromised tax application to target Ukrainian business owners.
When we analyse the state of cybersecurity in 2017, it indicates that this damaging vice is advancing fast, and businesses that do not have a data backup plan are obviously in trouble. Therefore, the time to have a reliable and secure data backup and restore for your business is now.
Today, small businesses and large enterprises alike have eliminated the use of brick and mortar for their data backup needs, and they are instead relying on bits and bytes. This has considerably boosted data value; hence it calls for sophisticated levels of data security.
Below are some of the reasons why you need to back up your data in the wake of cyber threats:
Your reputation and trust is threatened
Reputation and trust are built through years of hard work, devotion, and excellent customer service. The bad news is, they can be destroyed in seconds!
When your business suffers from data loss, and you are unable to restore it, consumers will doubtlessly pull away from your brand. Experts assert that those businesses that can regain their data swiftly after a disaster gain a competitive edge over their rivals.
When data is lost in your business, it means that no work will commence since every staff member will be involved in efforts of trying to recover it. This means that no services will be offered to your clients, meaning that not only your ROI be adversely, but you will also suffer from reputational damage.
If you want to enjoy an unwavering reputation and trust from your clients, have a reliable data recovery plan that will make it nearly impossible for your clients to notice that you suffered from a disaster. Luckily, there are many cloud-based services which will not only help you keep your data safe from crime but also assist you to maintain an unbeatable reputation.
Endpoints are becoming fashionable in business
Today, the culture of workers coming to the office in the morning and leaving later in the day is diminishing. We are in an era where enterprise data is stored in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and a host of other mobile devices, which allows people to work remotely. These endpoints that data is stored in might sound convenient, but they are easily accessible by third parties; making your data prone to external interference.
Since adopting endpoints in this time and age seems inevitable, it is prudent to have a backup protection policy which ensures that even if the devices are lost or damaged, your crucial business files remain intact. In this case, cloud backup is considered the ultimate solution. This is thanks to the fact that it allows for remote wipe and geolocation, which enhances data security and prevents data loss.
Big data is becoming more critical to business
According to Forbes, the adoption of big data by companies increased from 17% in 2015 to 53% in 2017. It is anticipated that it will grow even further in 2018 and beyond.
To remain in business, you will notice that your business will have to store a large amount of data provided by analytics tools for as long as it is needed. However, big data might grow to unmanageable levels at times, making it prone to breach.
Therefore, as big data grows in complexity and volume, it is essential for your business to invest in big data backup and recovery plan. This will protect it from unexpected events such as equipment failures and cybercrimes.
Backed up data will bring incremental value to businesses in 2018
Yes, backed up data will no longer act as a ‘plan B’ especially when disasters happen. On the contrary, you might find yourself using it for more meaningful and valuable tasks such as data mining, data analysis, and testing backward compatibility of new software and application.
Therefore, if you don’t develop a data backup plan that will act as a protective layer for your big data, then people with malicious intent might use it for their gain.
Economic losses will be huge
If you lose your business data in 2018, you will be in deep financial trouble. First and foremost, be assured that normal activities will be disrupted as you will put all your effort into recovering your lost data. Secondly, you will lose lots of customers to your competitor who will be quick to restore lost data, which translates into a loss of revenue. Simply put, unanticipated data loss or system failure can be highly costly to your business.
Suffering from losses is the last thing you would wish for your business. Therefore, make sure that you develop a useful data backup and recovery plan that will place you one step ahead of your competition in case a disaster.
Data backup in the 21st century where cybercriminals have polished their tactics is not a choice. The fact that some of them have succeeded in targeting large enterprises and governments across the world means that your small business is an easy target.
One of the best cloud backup solution worth mentioning here is Ottomatik.io. It is one of the most affordable cloud storage service that allows you to backup data for SQL Server, SharePoint server, virtualized workloads, virtual machines, and a lot more.
