Cloud Storage and Business Continuity

Threats to businesses come from many angles, ranging from fire, flood and theft to accidental damage/loss, phone lines going down or being cut through, power cuts or simply not having correct information to hand or available. Most companies appreciate what threats pose the most risk to their business however very few have a tried and tested Disaster Recovery system in place.

SME's are busy and time pressured, and rather than spend unavailable time planning for a disaster, it is more preferable to have tools in place that will help them cope when the emergency arises.

Tools and services that really help the SME Business Sector continue trading as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis include the following:

Online data backup and cloud storage:
The ability to have company files automatically encrypted, backed up and saved to secure off-site data centres saves companies time, effort and money. More importantly, being able to easily and quickly restore files will reduce downtime and using online automated backup software should be the first part of every company�s business continuity policy.

Emergency Alert Service
When crisis hits and you cannot get into your office or shop, or it has been vandalised or access has been cut off due to snow or floods. A lifesaver will be the ability to alert customers, staff or suppliers explaining to them the situation or advising where they can go instead to continue trading with you. An Emergency Alert service will allow you log in from any internet connected device, from anywhere in the world to keep your customer's updated on any given situation.

Business SAFE
A business safe will allow companies to locate all critical administrative information used for the smooth running of a business. Such information might include company and VAT details, banking information, Insurance policy details and certificates � everything that is normally scattered in many different areas can now be saved centrally in a secure cloud system with instant access available 24/7.

Business should seek out and spend just a few minutes setting up these services which could save them hours or days of time when disaster strikes. Online data backup, cloud storage and business continuity solutions should be crossed off every company�s 'to do' list.