The absence of paper records in most businesses dictates that a secure, off-site data backup be maintained. After all, what is more important than your business data?

PCs, telephones, furniture and even entire office buildings can be replaced. Data is not only intangible and irreplaceable without a backup copy, but it is probably also the single most valuable asset of your business.

You probably even have warranties and insurance on many items in and around your office, but chances are your data is not protected - or protected properly.

Computers crash. Tape backups frequently fail. Thieves steal. Buildings burn. Leaving the security of your data to chance is a huge gamble. And you may even have legal liabilities (click here to learn more about the law).

Manual backup to floppy, CD, USB or tape is a dangerous road

Are you currently using a tape, floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive to backup your data? The sad truth is those devices frequently fail, and business owners all over the country have learned the hard way that if the process isn't automated, it doesn't get done.

Plus, there are security issues involved in storing tapes, floppy disks, CD's, DVD's, or USB drives. Your company information can be easily accessed and compromised. You not only need these stored at an offsite location, but the transfer and storage must be secure and controlled. All these variables make this solution a poor option.

The numbers say you're likely unprotected

Increasingly, business transactions are being done electronically and business data is stored digitally. Experts now consider business data to be a company's most valuable asset.

But statistics show that small businesses are not adequately protected against data loss. And backup procedures that require businesses to manually execute them are performed intermittently, or not at all.

Research shows that:

• 30 percent of small businesses admit they have no formal data backup and storage procedures, or do not implement their procedures consistently. IMATION SMALL BUSINESS BACKUP SURVEY

• More than 40 percent of small businesses rank automated data backup and recovery as their primary IT need. ACCESS MARKETS INTERNATIONAL

• A single incident of data loss costs businesses an average of $10,000. GARTNER RESEARCH
  

• 43% of companies which suffer large-scale data loss due to disasters never re-open and 29% close within two years. CONTINGENCY PLANNING RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC RESEARCH CORPORATION
  

• 93% of all companies that experience “significant data loss” are out of business within five years. US BUREAU OF LABOR
  

• Data restoration from tape backup systems fail 70% of the time. STRATEGIC RESEARCH CORPORATION
  

Will your current backup system fail you?

Maybe you have a backup solution in place. But how smooth will the recovery process be when you have a data emergency?

How long will it take to get your data back? Is the process automated? How long will you have to wait on hold for support? Business owners often don't learn the answers to these questions until the disaster is at hand.

Some questions to ask yourself

As you consider data backup, be sure to carefully consider questions like:

• What types of data does my company store?
• Are my backups dependent on someone to perform them?
• Is my data consistently backed up?
• Do I have my data files stored offsite for emergency recovery?
• How long will it take me to recover my data in the event of data loss?
• What would lost data cost my company?
• Is my customer information easily retrieved if lost?
• Is my business paralyzed if I lose my financial records?
• Where would I be if I lost all my email?