Why small businesses need to have data protection plans in place

The digital age is in full force, and it is important for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to have necessary precautions in place to keep their data, and customers' information, safe. However, even with large corporations experiencing security breaches, smaller firms are not taking notice.

A recent report from software developer Spiceworks found that of 1,000 SMB IT officials surveyed, nearly half had experienced a data loss at their company. Even though many organizations are aware of the importance of protecting online information, there are still difficulties in properly integrating protection plans. 

According to the survey, 45 percent of respondents said their organization had experienced a data loss, costing an average of nearly $9,000 in recovery fees. Of those, 54 percent reported that the data loss was due to a hardware failure. An average of $5,700 was spent each year to manage data backup and recovery environments and one-third of those surveyed said that their approaches were insufficient.

"While small and mid-sized businesses recognize the importance of having a data protection and recovery plan, many are using on-premise hardware that leaves them vulnerable to data loss from device failure, performing manual backups infrequently or on-premise problems that affect both the original copy and backups, such as power surges, natural disasters or theft," Piyum Samaraweera, director of product management at Carbonite, said in a statement.

This is why it is so important for businesses to work with commercial insurance specialists to find the right high tech insurance policy. With more companies - and customers for that matter - becoming reliant on computer systems, more data is being stored in digital and mobile devices. It can be beneficial for an organization's recovery process if comprehensive coverage is in place.

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