File Backups in Clearwater: Why They’re Important and How Often You Should Do Them

We all know we should back up our files, but most of us don’t do it often enough. Even if you have a system in place to back up your company’s computers or phones, you may not be doing it regularly enough to impact your security—especially if you’re relying on the automatic backup features built into your computer, phone, or cloud storage.

The Importance of Backing Up Files

Why is backing up your files so important? Because losing them can be catastrophic, and there’s no way to predict when that might happen. Whether it’s from hardware failure, theft, water damage, or some other catastrophe, losing all of the files on one of your devices is a real possibility. 

In addition to standard business data, companies collect other types of information that could cause fallout if it falls into the wrong hands. Healthcare providers store protected health information (PHI), which must be carefully secured, while law firms manage attorney-client privileged communications that need to remain strictly confidential. 

The loss of this type of medical and legal data could also lead to lawsuits and costly fines for your business.

The good news is that backing up your files doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. You just need to think about what files are important to you and make sure they get backed up in multiple places—ideally, at least one physical location (like an external hard drive) and at least one online location (like an online backup service).

How Often Should Clearwater Businesses Back Up Their Files?

The frequency with which you perform your backups depends on how much data your business creates on a regular basis and how much downtime you can afford without affecting your business operations. 

For example, if you only backed up once a week and disaster struck on Friday afternoon, you’d lose an entire week’s worth of work. On the other hand, it’s not necessary or cost-effective to back up every ten minutes. It’s up to you to decide what works best for your business.

Generally, we recommend backing up your data at least once every 24 hours if you can’t afford any downtime. If you’re concerned about losing critical information that’s created every hour, you should back up your system every hour.

Manage Your Company’s Data with Help from ShredQuick

At ShredQuick, we understand the importance of protecting your data, including the value of frequent backups. 

We invite your company to learn more about our services by talking with one of our team members. We’ll tell you more about how we can keep your business data secure.