Big Gaps in Small Businesses’ Backup Plans

A recent study from Carbonite, Inc., Small Business Data Backup Usage Study, July 2011, revealed surprising responses from small business owners on how they prepare for a disaster.

The findings address a number of topics, from small businesses’ approach to backing up data to their confidence in their strategy for protecting against information loss.

Complicated practices lead to incomplete backup
According to the study, small businesses are using a variety of technologies to backup data including some antiquated methods that leave the backup process incomplete and susceptible to information loss. These technologies include external hard drives, USB/flash drives and CDs/DVDs. The data further revealed many businesses are using a combination of these antiquated technologies, which can make backing up even more complex and compound their risk for data loss. Such methods must be monitored manually and very frequently to ensure that the backups are current and protected. When multiple methods of backup are used, each must be managed, and careful records of where backed up data is stored needs to be maintained and checked to ensure the backup is complete.

Despite known risks, small businesses continue to choose
a range of risky and unreliable technologies:

• Hard Drives are Proven to Fail: 50% use external hard drives, yet 20% backing up their business data indicated they started to do so because of a hard drive failure.
• USB/Flash Drives are Already Unreliable: 42% use USB/flash drives primarily because it is perceived as easy, yet only 6% believe USB/flash drives to actually be reliable.
• CDs/DVDs are Inconvenient and Risky: More than one-third use CDs/DVD drives to backup data, even though 62% feel they are inconvenient or risky.

"Although many small businesses are backing up their data, they’re using antiquated methods, such as USB/flash drives or CDs, which leave huge gaps and vulnerabilities. These simple solutions may be relatively easy to set up, but they require ongoing supervision to ensure they are performing, and can distract from other work," said Peter Lamson, SVP of small business for Carbonite.

"Small businesses are creating new, priceless data every minute of every day and they can’t afford to be unprotected. Low cost, automated and easy to use methods are now mainstream, so there’s no reason for small businesses to be spending time manually managing backups, when they could spend that valuable time focused on their business instead," Lamson continued.

Short term savings leave data vulnerable,
throw time and money out the window
Small businesses stay competitive by keeping costs down, but when it comes to backup, cutting costs may mean using products with limited coverage and leaving SMB data at risk.

Carbonite research found:

• Twenty-one percent of small businesses using online backup were using a free product. Since free online backup services are typically capped at 2GB, small businesses using these methods could be vulnerable to data loss.
• Some small businesses already recognize the limitations of USB/flash drives, which are often considered low-cost. Twenty-four percent of small businesses using this method noted USB/flash drives do not work well for backup specifically because they have limited storage space.

"Our study also found that one in five small businesses don’t know how much data they have, so it’s unlikely they have the right solutions in place. Backup solutions like USBs or free solutions may not back up all of a business’ data, and so a business must ration their backup or choose what they want to safeguard," said Lamson. "Small businesses need to ensure they use a backup solution that has the capacity and capability to keep all of its data protected."

When it comes to the time invested in and the tech support used for backing up, 22% of small businesses surveyed even pay for outside tech assistance. Notably, 40% of those who manage the process in-house spend more than an hour per week backing up their company data – with six% spending more than five hours per week. Both approaches indicate that small businesses are losing time and money to support backup strategies that do not match their needs, especially since there are a number of online, automated backup services available that cut these expenses and eliminate time spent on this task.

Infrequent backups = incomplete data
Backup methods that are not automated require small businesses to manually back up their data, which means many SMBs don’t backup on a daily basis. Carbonite research shows only 24% have backed up their data in the past day, and 24% haven’t backed up their data within the past week – leaving the companies vulnerable for information loss.

                   Last time backup was performed

Technology solutions such as Carbonite Business online backup are reliable, affordable options that allow small businesses to focus their attention on what matters most – running the business. Backups an unlimited number of computers for a flat fee with 250GB of storage included. Carbonite Business Premier backs up an unlimited number of computers and servers with 500GB of storage included. Businesses can add supplemental storage packs should their storage needs surpass the GBs provided with their selected service.