Many factors can cause data losses, but most companies aren’t prepared to deal with those catastrophic events when they happen. In the highly competitive business community in northern New Jersey, data breaches, human errors and other unexpected causes lose or destroy data regularly, which interferes with business processes and sometimes shuts down companies altogether. That’s why you should consider seeking managed data recovery (DR) services in New Jersey sooner rather than later; you don’t want to lose your corporate shirt if or when your company loses its data.
Why do you Need Data Recovery (DR) Services in New Jersey?
Well, data loss happens but not due to the reason that most organizations anticipate. Most of the time, data losses caused by criminal activities and hackers get the bulk of the media’s attention, so corporate leadership is lulled into the mistaken belief that it happens only when criminals target big victims.
However, those cases don’t reflect the major reason why companies suffer damages caused by data loss or destruction: human error. Recent research indicates that negligent or reckless humans cause more than half of all reported information losses. In a 2015 CompTIA report, employees caused 52 percent of all data losses that occurred in surveyed companies. In half those cases, failure to follow proper data protection procedures and simple negligence – losing or destroying unencrypted data storage devices – were the leading causes of data loss.
What was more startling to researchers, however, was the fact that more than two-thirds of the surveyed organizations did not believe that human error was a significant or legitimate concern and therefore, protections against data loss caused by it weren’t worthy of either time or financial investment. Clearly, those entities aren’t prepared for the damage that will ensue when a worker inadvertently leaves their company laptop on the seat of their homebound train.
Damages Caused When Data is Lost
Unless they’ve experienced it, most companies can’t comprehend the scope, depth or breadth of the damage caused when their proprietary data is lost, through error or an intentional act. The accumulated cost of damages accrued across the multiple sectors that may be impacted by the loss can be devastating; the average cost for a 2018 data breach (from any cause) is $3.86 million (up 6.4 percent from 2017).
Consumer Damage
If the corporation’s consumers are affected, the company is required to pay them back for any losses they suffer due to the breach.
Fines
Government and industry fines (sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) are also often levied against corporations that have failed in their duty to protect their data.
Reputational Damage
The adage, ‘once bitten, twice shy’ certainly applies to consumers who refuse to do further business with companies that failed to protect their privacy. Further, a tarnished or ruined reputation can destroy a company completely in this age of global competitiveness.
Lost Productivity
Beyond costs incurred making others whole, companies also lose the time and resources needed to stay in business while they recover from the loss itself. Without a dedicated DR plan in place to manage the recovery process, many organizations are unable to maintain their revenues or customer base after suffering a data loss event.
Data Type Matters, Too
Maintaining high standards for data recovery services in New Jersey is especially critical. The Garden State is a central hub for both industrial and government activities, where there are many ways for lost information to move quickly into the wrong hands. The damages listed above can be exacerbated if sensitive information is inadvertently exposed in this highly competitive region.
Comprehensive Data Recovery Process
For businesses that haven’t yet embraced the full slate of available data recovery services in New Jersey, there are several factors to keep in mind while you search for a vendor.
Think ahead
Recovering from a data loss disaster is a process, and the best way to manage that process is to think it through strategically before it becomes necessary. All elements of your enterprise must be included, from on-premise servers to mobile devices carried by remote staff. Only after you’ve accounted for all corporate assets will your strategy be prepared to protect the entire enterprise.
Implement Preventative Procedures
Your strategizing should have revealed your company’s vulnerabilities. Reducing or eliminating those is the first step in your DR plan because it reduces the numbers of opportunities for losses to occur.
Enable Regular Backups
Too many companies lose valuable time searching for backup copies of mission-critical data. A managed DR services provider will automate your backup processes and store them where you can access them at any time.
Ensure Redundancy
A redundant system is a duplicate of your existing system that becomes operational when yours goes down (for any reason, not just because of a breach). Different from a backup, the redundant system ensures that your workers and customers can continue doing business even after your primary systems go off-line.
Appoint and Train Your Team
If your enterprise operates at more than one site, you will need a named person at each location to manage the DR processes. Once the team is populated, ongoing training on the DR system and the evolutions within the primary business will keep them prepared to manage whatever incident comes at them, whether it’s a lost laptop or a cybercrime in progress.
Data lost through error or intent is still lost data. Preserve your corporate status by investing in comprehensive data recovery services in New Jersey.
