Tees Business Tees Business issue 11 | Page 46

Is it time for an offsite back-up? Welcome to the quarterly Cornerstone advice corner with managing director Chris Petty. It seems to me that one IT issue leaps out as the area I should focus on in this issue of Tees Business. In the world of IT, all we seem to hear about recently is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which may or may not take effect in the UK on May 25 - depending on Brexit and what happens there. Another subject that we still need to be wary of is the issue of viruses and spam, despite the fact it’s a problem that’s fallen out of the media headlines since a string of large businesses and banks were hit some months back. Those two issues fall nicely into a call I got the other day from a customer who told me that their insurance company had requested that they have an offsite back-up in place for their data and a disaster recovery plan. I talked in a previous column about the benefits of having an offsite back-up and disaster recovery plan - and this now comes to the forefront once again. It will obviously help towards being compliant with the GDPR and clearly, if you’re struck by a virus and need to perform a back-up, it covers this area as well. When I talked about it last time backing up your data offsite to a secure location was still relatively expensive but, as with everything new, increasing numbers of people are using this service, with the knock-on effect of the cost being reduced to far more affordable levels. Cornerstone managing director Chris Petty. Offsite Back-Up Get in touch Here are some brief facts: If you’re concerned about any of the above, why not take advantage of a free Cornerstone IT health check? We can look at the issues highlighted above and much more, giving you a report on your network and suggesting improvements for security and efficiency. Data is the lifeblood of your business. If it’s lost, interrupted, compromised or destroyed, you go down with it. You should now be seriously considering the idea of putting your data offsite into a secure data centre. Don’t just carry out a quick Google search and put your vital data in the hands of the first company you see with a fancy website. I’d strongly advise you to make sure any companies responsible for your corporate data are reputable, you know them – and you know others that use them. If you would like to discuss this or any other IT matters, just get in touch on [email protected] or call 0845 223 2400 CH607- L This is what leading industry analysts tell us about the data dangers that your business faces: • 93% of companies that lose their data for 10 days or more file for bankruptcy • 81% of businesses that experience interruption to their operations will suffer a closure • 80% of businesses suffering a major disaster go out of business in three years and 40% of businesses that experience a critical IT failure go out of business within one year. Best IT Services Company Northeast England 180mm