It is called back up, backup or backup copy, to the process of copying the original data of an organization in a secure location. In this way, if the loss of said original data occurs, it will be possible to recover them easily. This task is critical and should be done regularly, but what consequences do we face if we do not make periodic backups? We’ll tell you then.
No matter the size of our company, it does not even matter if we are a company or a sole autonomous professional. Having a backup for our data is essential because they can disappear in a second, or less. One day we turn on our machine and observe a critical failure that causes, irreversibly, that we have lost everything we had stored.
The first consequence is that these lost data will never come back. It is possible that we can save some of our hard drives thanks to damaged data recovery tools, but they are not the ideal solution, nor is it possible to recover everything. Let’s see what other, much more serious consequences we are going to have to face.
Direct impact on the benefits and the future of the business
A serious consequence is that, if we lose the data, we will devote time and resources to recover them in one way or another, and this will affect our production, benefits or even the future viability of the company. In some cases, the loss of data can mean that we literally lose all of our customers.
If we lose all personal data, contact, history of purchases or contracts of our customers, the chaos and economic losses will be inevitable. This means that we will lose all the value that we have accumulated with so much effort and we will have to start from scratch. And that translates into incalculable losses that can lead the organization to ruin.
In other cases, we may lose a part of this data or documents. We will have to recover them in some way, for example, by contacting our clients to obtain copies of documents. And this brings us to the next point.
Impact on the reputation of the brand
If we do not make backup copies and something happens that involves the irreversible loss of data, we will be losing our reputation. It is a direct consequence and very easy to understand, since if we ask a client for a document, a piece of information, a development -for example, a contract, his personal or company data, or any content we have done-, our credibility will be in question.
Those customers who previously trusted in our good work will now have their reservations and will start looking for alternative suppliers, with greater guarantees of reliability. All the work done over the years will be compromised in a short time.
Legal problems with data protection regulations
Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation are increasingly restrictive. We not only talk about all the obligations that companies that collect and use personal data must comply with but also about the technical obligations that must be fulfilled.
In case of not making regular backups and in accordance with the precepts that are included in the RGPD – and that were already present in the LOPD – we can get into trouble not only for economic sanctions but we can offer justifications more than likely to be subject to more in-depth inspections.
High direct costs
If before we talked about the damage in terms of benefits that we could face, now we will focus on the direct costs associated with the loss of data. In the most benevolent case, that in which we can recover the data completely, or partially, the process for it will be expensive.
This will have a direct impact on the business that will have to be added to the loss of productive capacity and the probable fines and sanctions already mentioned. Of course, nothing guarantees that we will be able to return to the point before the disaster. The consequences for the business are unpredictable, but at least there will be a time of transition in which to work hard to regain control of the situation and keep moving forward.
Lack of availability and accessibility to data
If periodic backups are not made, we can face situations of unavailability or lack of accessibility to our own data. Having backup in the Cloud, for example, allows us to be anywhere and access the data in a matter of seconds, provided we have an Internet connection.
The opposite means that we will be at the mercy of the availability of another collaborator to provide us with the data through an email, for example, with the consequent inefficiency and harm for all.
Conclusions: why not doing backup is deadly for a company
Losing the data that has cost us so much work over the years of work is one of the worst things that can happen to an organization. This loss will be a huge step backwards in all aspects: from the economic one – due to the loss of profits, development time, fines and sanctions to which we expose ourselves and the associated direct costs – to the reputation.
Not having data backup is equivalent to putting the future of the company on the line. Any incident, a cyber attack, a fire in our facilities … will involve the irretrievable loss of data and, almost certainly, the business. That is why it is vital to have the necessary mechanisms to comply with the regulations and make periodic backups, either physically or by trusting a cloud service provider with the ability to make life easier for us in these tasks.