In general, Data backup is one of the most important areas of IT and yet is also one of the most ignored. Data is essential to the smooth running of any business and is the essential start to any business continuity plan. ‘Backing up’ means making a copy of your most important files; this can then be used if the original copy is lost. Preferably the second copy should be held at a different location to the original and be kept in a secure environment. 

Data loss can happen in many ways, the most common causes are physical failure of your PC, accidental error, theft or disasters like fire, flood and dropped coffee mugs! It is also common for data to be saved to just one place, like ‘My Documents’ on your PC’s hard drive. Which means that if this data were to be accidentally changed or deleted it would take considerable time and expense to restore it.

Growing numbers of computer viruses are also a risk to business information, as once they have infected your machine they often delete or corrupt your data. This is another reason why backing up your data is such an important thing to do.