We know that Businesses run on data, however how many businesses have acted to actually protect their core operations if and when disaster strikes? To put it in perspective, let’s look at some mind-blowing statistics on Big Data:

• Data volumes are exploding. More data has been created in the past 2 years than in the entire previous history of the human race.
• Data is growing faster than ever before. By 2020, about 1.7 megabytes of new information will be created every second for every human being on the planet.
• By 2020, our accumulated digital universe of data will grow from 4.4 zettabytes today to around 44 zettabytes.
• Within 5 years there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices in the world, all developed to collect, analyze and share data.
• For a typical Fortune 1000 company, just a 10% increase in data accessibility will result in more than $ 65 million additional income.

Source: forbes.com

Now that we see the big picture, I would argue that data is of vital importance in the long-term sustainability of a business. Additionally, most businesses will need to start thinking about analyzing and visualizing their data in order to make intelligent decisions about their business.

Firstly, there seems to be a misunderstanding between Data Back-Up and Disaster Recovery or better known as Business Continuity.

There is a strong necessity for business continuity to be put in place, not only for SME’s but all large organizations. Around 35% of businesses have data backup in place, and at the SMB end of the market, around 75% of SMBs have no disaster recovery plan at all. A lot of companies don’t factor the cost implications it would encounter if a server crashes and an e-commerce website goes offline for a few hours. These organizations would suffer greatly if transactional records were lost, or doctors could not administer proper care on patients due to data loss at a hospital or a healthcare facility if their records were inaccessible.

Organizations looking at deploying business continuity solutions must first realize that they have to differentiate between data backup and business continuity. For non-essential documents and other information this might not be a problem for the organization, but when it comes to information held on a mail server, or a customer database, it’s a very different story. A true business continuity solution will allow organizations to be fully function during an actual disaster, instead of just simply recovering from it.

As a business owner, if you have not contemplated deploying some sort of a business continuity solution, then consider the following statistics obtained from Boston Computing Network:

Customers are now smarter and more educated than ever and have a lot of options to choose from. It is not uncommon for customers to demand accessibility and availability of your business 24/7. If your business isn’t prepared to support true business continuity following any unplanned interruption, more than likely, there’s a competitor who is. Organizations today can’t afford to leave their data to chance. Effective continuity planning is a must, and for those businesses unable to manage the process themselves, Media Solutions provides robust data storage, replication and recovery services. View Our Backup Service