When your company’s data is down, what are you really losing? Are you just losing some information and some files? For every minute that you are working on restoring files and data that could have been backed up, you are losing valuable time that you could have been spending doing something else- for instance focusing on the growth of your company. You are not just losing time and energy recreating files, you are losing revenue. Seek out a managed service provider to manage the most important aspect of your business – your data.  It isn’t just the most important aspect of your business; it is your business. 

How Important is Data Backup and Storage?

According to the Contingency Planning Research and Strategy Research Corporation:

• 43% of all United States companies that experience a disaster never reopen.
• 29% of those companies that were affected by disasters that do reopen will end up close in two years.
• 43% of all lost and stolen data is valued at around five million dollars.
• Most companies value 100MB of data at one million dollars.

 Get the Right Managed Service Provider

Redundant data storage backs up each file that it stores two times in two separate locations. This means that there are four copies of each file that is stored. By also being military grade storage, to properly ensure the security of your data, each of the storage facilities should be located at least 2500 miles apart from each other. If there is a natural disaster that strikes one location the distance ensures that the other is relatively protected.  The information is backed up by military grade 448-bit Blowfish encryption and is compatible with Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac and more.

What Levels of Service are Managed by Your Provider?

Besides offering secure data storage services that are located offsite, it is important that your managed service provider also offer emergency service and support twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. Data loss is never convenient and will need to be restored using the easiest method and in the quickest time possible.  This is often where many managed service providers drop the ball.  Sure your data is secure but when you really need them to restore this data the process becomes a complete mess.  This amounts to thousands of dollars a day for a business who is idle during the restoration phase.  Ask the right questions when shopping for a managed service provider for data storage.  Inquire about the restoration process and how long it normally takes in the event of an emergency.  Are they available 24 hours a day 7 days a week?  In addition ask them about the initial data transfer process.  Do they offer support and make sure all your data was transferred correctly.  Many managed service providers do not offer front end support for the initial backup however this is one of the most important phases of the process.  Imagine if your initial back up was not thorough and missing portions of your files. This is a hard lesson to learn after experiencing a data loss. Here are some standards you should look for when choosing a managed service provider:

• 99.99% network uptime service level agreement guarantee
• 99.99% file restore service level agreement
• 2 hour emergency response time service level agreement.

 Managed Service Providers For Offsite Data Storage

Pick up a paper or read the news on the internet and the need for back up is fairly obvious.  There are tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods and other natural disasters as well as break-ins and other crimes that can wipe out the information that you need to run your business. You insure your property, including the computers and other data storing methods but not the data that is found on them. While the value of this data is high, it is not covered. It is simpler to replace a computer than it would be to replace the files that are on that computer. Having a computer backup and the right managed service provider to assist with the most valuable asset of your business will ensure business continuity and the existence of the same.