When it comes to data management, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often have the same concerns as Fortune 2000 companies, but fewer resources with which to address them. Unlike larger companies, most SMBs do not have on-site security officers or data storage professionals. In these companies, data storage and management responsibilities are often left to a very busy IT staff member.

Whether your business is a two-person operation or you have just hired your 100^th employee, your data needs are continually growing. Customer databases, email, financial data, marketing and support materials increase at an amazing rate. The longer you wait to implement a data management plan, the greater the risk and cost to your business.

What You Can Do Now

Managing your data isn’t difficult, but it shouldn’t be left to chance. A well-designed and easy-to-maintain plan can go a long way in protecting your company.

• Backups—Catastrophic data losses can be avoided by having a good backup plan. Deciding how often you should back up your data depends on how valuable your data is. If you lost a week’s worth of data, how would that impact your business? A day’s worth? An hour’s? Once you’ve decided how often you need to back up your data you can choose between internal mirrored drives or external storage. As part of your plan, you should consider maintaining a regular backup outside your local region to protect your data in case of a catastrophic regional event.
• Reliability—Make sure the data storage solutions you select come with solid warranties, have high MTBF (mean time between failure) ratings and are backed by an experienced vendor.
• Security— Security means more than just erecting a firewall. Make sure that your employees use strong passwords that are changed on a regular basis and aren’t shared with other employees. In addition, mobile computers and devices should be encrypted in case of loss or theft. Full-disk-encryption (FDE) solutions encript data on the disk as it’s being written—the ideal way to prevent unauthorized access to data on a lost or stolen laptop. FDE solutions also simplify the process of wiping the drive clean of data when the equipment is retired or repurposed.