Cyber-crime and security breaches cost Britain’s mid-market businesses around £30 billion in the last year, according to a report by a leading audit and accountancy firm.

The study also highlighted the fall in revenue for companies following a data breach. Those hit hardest reported losses of up to 25%. Many companies polled had no formal data management in place.

Data breaches don’t just accrue sharp penalties, they can also severely impact the overall running of the business.

Ensuring you conduct regular backups will help limit the impact of data loss, however it occurs.

This is something that using Managed Document Services can do as part of a digital workflow, so you can have peace of mind that, should the worst happen, its impact on your business will be limited.

Here are just 3 of the most common ways you could find yourself a victim of data loss.

1. Ransomware:

In the first three months of 2019 there was a 235% increase in ransomware threats that businesses detected.

A ransomware attack is where company files are encrypted and held in return for large sums of cash. The biggest problem is that, even if you pay the ransom, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get your data back. These days, we’re so reliant on our data that the damage doesn’t end with the loss of data. These attacks can literally halt a business in its tracks.

Having a system in place to ensure all your files are backed up means you won’t lose data, your company won’t grind to a halt, and won’t miss out on valuable revenue.

2. Accidental data loss:

Forgetting to save a document or saving over a previous version is a mistake everyone makes from time to time.

Hard drive damage and power outages also have their part to play in the loss of important data. To prevent this, it’s a good idea to include data backup processes in your daily digital workflow.

Also, keep drinks away from computers, always do automatic system backups, and be aware that hard drives have a limited lifespan and will wear out over time.

3. Data loss from within the company:

It’s not just paper and pens that employees sometimes steal from their employers and co-workers.

Over recent years, there’s been an increase in the number of data leaks from within companies. To insure against data loss, set up systems to back up your work regularly and make sure access to data is never stored locally by a user, whether it’s on a personal device or a workstation.

Managing data and ensuring it’s backed up in case of an emergency may not be the first thing you think of when you’re setting up a business or if your company is growing fast.

ASL can manage the data backup for you as part of creating and implementing a digital workflow, which leaves you to focus on the important stuff, like running and growing your business.

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