Statistics compiled by the National Archives & Records Administration in Washington revealed that 93% of companies that lost their data for 10 days or more due to a disaster, filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster.
"The problem is that many businesses believe it won't happen to them. As a result, data back-up remains a grudge purchase for many businesses when it need not be. Thanks to Cloud Computing technology and the availability of affordable, uncapped broadband connectivity, automated off-site backup has become a viable option for businesses of all sizes," he says.
'The real question for businesses is: can you afford to risk not backing up data automatically?'
Joubert points to a study conducted by David M Smith, Associate Professor of Economics at the Graziadio School of Business, Pepperdine University in the US which found that six% of all computers will suffer an episode of data loss in any given year.
A similar survey of small businesses by Verio revealed that more than half of the respondents admitted to having experienced some data loss.
There are various reasons why businesses don't back-up their data regularly. Some of the most common are:
"Every one of these excuses is fallacious," Joubert comments.
Automated online backup services can copy, compress and encrypt files that have changed since the previous backup and send them via a secure Internet connection to be safely stored in a high-security data centre. No human intervention is required nor do you need special hardware or consumables that are themselves at risk of failure.
"Your data will stay intact and available even if your local disk/laptop is stolen or crashes; or your premises suffer some disaster," he says and points out that automated online backup is not only reliable and easy to use, it is available for a low fixed monthly fee.
"The cost of not having it could be incalculable," he concludes.
