Computers and data are becoming like the telephone, we just take them for granted, they are there and we use them. The events in Christchurch highlighted how easily information can be lost and how difficult it could be to get going again without historical data. This is particularly important for engineering companies where everything from engineering drawings and the results of complex computational models, to accounting details and customer relationship management systems, are an indelible part of doing business day to day.

Sadly, it isnt just earthquakes which can wipe your company electronically off the map, a host of other threats can do the same from viruses to fires, theft, etc. Companies without a viable data protection or data loss contingency plan experience major disruption or even going out of business. Studies suggest that over 90 percent of organisations that experience a significant data loss are no longer in business two years later (University of London-Research Centre). Christchurch is a glaring example of data recovery that did not work. Many organisations had back-ups in place but the vast majority could not recover the information, making it useless and a source of added frustration.

Additional research shows the average cost to a company for a downtime incident worldwide is US$287,600 (Symantec, 2009). An event that hits a company can be more mundane than an earthquake, but just as disastrous, and the cost of recovery is often huge and certainly not allowed for. There is also the negative impact on customer relationships, business and the companys reputation in the (international) market.

If you are interested in beefing up your data protection, contact a data protection and recovery service today for options.