If you’re like most companies you’re probably using the Internet for more business activities.
We’re all using online storage and online software. It’s just the way we’re doing things now. There are lots of advantages, but there are a few risks.
We read the news of the risk when we see companies dealing with downtime and even hacking issues.
You’ll read that a major website goes down because there are server issues. You’ll read that passwords get hacked. It makes you wonder if your business data is really safe online.
Here is how I handle these things. There are some things you can do to protect your business.
Website Data Backup
Storing data online is great. You can backup the data that’s on your computer harddrive online. It gives you access to your files anywhere you have Internet access. If something horrible should happen like a fire in your office and your computer and on-site backup storage are ruined you’ll still have the data backed up off site where you can continue accessing it.
You can do the same with your website data.
My personal sites are all backed up. All the posts, pages, etc. are all backed up.
I do this for a couple reasons. First, there can always be an issue at your host where your site gets hacked. If things go really wrong you can always take your backup data and get the site rolling again with your backed up data.
Getting hacked does happen. There are programs that can work around passwords and site designs and all kinds of things. It’s not really a matter of “if”, but more a matter of “when”. I’ve had it happen a few times so now I make sure to back things up. It’s still a hassle and it’s scary when it happens, but you can get things back up and running.
Since I use WordPress for my sites I use VaultPress for the backup service.
Online Data Safety
The potential issue with backing things up online is that even that information can get hacked. That’s the main reason people might not want to put things online because they feel it might not be safe.
Here’s how I look at things…
I can store business data at the office or somewhere like that, but I still have to pay for it to be looked after. It’s much more cost effective for me to store information online.
You can feel that the people storing data online are pros. They know what they’re doing. It’s their job to stay ahead of the hackers and even though there are issues from time to time they are the best in the business.
So you have to trust them to do their job and trust that they have backup plans if things go bad with your data.
It’s a tough thing to trust the online world especially with your business data, but it’s really a safe option.
Backup your offline data online. You’ll be protected if something happens at your location.
Trust storing your online data online and back it up as well.
It’s as safe as things can get. You can always find danger in the world, but all in all the online world is pretty safe.