Have a small business that works with lots of data? How are you managing it? Whether you are just starting out or need to do some spring cleaning of old documents, there are several tools and resources you can use to organize and analyze your business data. While you probably don’t need heavy-duty data repositories or access to global data networks to run your business, most small companies do need basic IT skills and tools to keep their data secure and organized. Here are some small business data management tools to consider utilizing.
Data Archiving Strategy
There’s no use in storing seldom used data in the systems you use daily. This will only create storage issues and systems slow downs. It’s important to have enough space in your system to keep your computers running at optimal operating speeds, and a data archiving strategy will help you do just that.
By creating a detailed data archiving policy that outlines retention lengths and archiving methods, your business can maintain client confidentiality, uphold data privacy, and comply with industry regulations and retention length requirements (without sacrificing processing speeds and storage space). In order to maximize storage space and keep your business compliant with industry regulations, your archiving strategy should elaborate on which files are eligible for archiving, how and where they should be archived, and how long they will remain in your archive — along with the inclusions recommended in this blog post on how to build a data archiving strategy. Once you have a archiving policy in place, you can feel more secure in how your data is being handled.
If you need to create a location for your archived data, a reliable cloud backup provider like Nordic Backup can help. Simply add your archived data into your cloud backup, and rest easy knowing that the data you rely on is always there when you need it.
Network-Attached Storage
If you need to collaborate efficiently, having a network-attached storage device is essential to manage your data and your business. Introducing a NAS device into your workspace will eliminate the task of manually sharing files and folders via flash drive or email because all of the files you need to share are in one communal (yet secure) location. Additionally, having a NAS device will provide your business with a redundant copy of the data you reference daily, but it should never be used as a form of backup on its own. While NAS devices are wonderful tools for collaboration and file sharing, they are still physical storage devices and thus, are prone to data loss. Be sure to create a reliable cloud backup of your NAS device to protect the data you store on this frequently used tool. While you can’t access your files anywhere like you can with the cloud, if you only have a few devices, NAS is a great system for data management.
Reliable cloud backup
Businesses often run into situations where essential data is lost or destroyed. These scenarios can occur due to natural disaster, human error, hardware damage or failure, malware and more. No matter how they occur, they create devastation in their wake as businesses scramble to recoup costs, reputation, and the data itself.
This makes data recovery just as important as data management. Being able to recover and restore data no matter how it was erased can mean the difference between days of lost productivity, permanently deleted files, and lost consumer trust, versus a seamless recovery of the affected data. Plus, cloud backup doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming to manage.
An automatic, continuous cloud backup software eliminates the need for manual data backups, along with the room for error that goes along with it. With an automatic cloud backup solution in place, you’ll never have to worry about remembering to schedule another backup again.
Choosing the appropriate cloud backup solution with the features your business needs to securely store and recovery data when and how you need it is important. Some things to look for include a minimum of 90 days of previous file versioning, multi-computer backup, unlimited storage, and more.
To learn more about which key features your small business cloud backup solution should have, read this blog on the 5 Things to Look for in Backup Solutions for Business.
Automatic, continuous cloud backup is the best data defense tool a business can have, and it’s essential for ensuring your data is always easily recoverable. Not only does it protect your data, it does all the work of securing your files for you. Choosing Nordic Backup means your business data is protected and backed up through rigorously-tested, premium cloud backup measures. Take a look at our cloud backup plans and receive a 90 day free trial today!
No matter what industry your business is in, you will need superior data management tools to be successful. Resources like these will assist you in better managing your business data so that you’ll never lose another file, will always have enough storage space, and can eliminate many of your manual data management tasks.
