45% of SMBs Experienced Data Loss

Data protection and DR planning is a priority but remains a challenge for SMBs, according to the results of a survey by Spiceworks, Inc., the vertical network for IT.

The study Backing up SMBs is sponsored by Carbonite, Inc., provider of cloud backup solutions for consumers and small businesses.

More than 1,000 SMB IT professionals responded to the survey, which investigates backup and recovery budgets, technologies, planning, and key considerations for companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.

45% of respondents said their organization had experienced a data loss, costing an average of nearly $9,000 in recovery fees. Of those, 54% say the data loss was due to a hardware failure.

"Data is the lifeblood of any business – big or small," said Deni Connor, founding analyst of Storage Strategies NOW. "The opportunity to provide SMBs with better and more cost-effective ways to protect and recover data is huge. While these companies may have smaller IT staffs, they collectively account for a significant portion of the total backup and recovery market."

Additional highlights from the survey include:

• SMBs spend an average of $5,700 each year to manage backup and recovery environments. While the majority of respondents (70%) are satisfied with current backup methods, nearly one-third (30%) believe their approaches and technologies are insufficient.
• When it comes to DR, an even greater number of SMBs (42%) believe their company’s plans fall short. Furthermore, only 30% think all information would be recoverable in the event of a disaster.
• The top technology used by SMBs to backup information is DAS, with approximately 60% using a form of this approach. However, hosted or cloud-based backup and recovery offerings have gained a footing. Currently, 30% use hosted solutions and 14% plan to invest in a hosted offering within the next year.
• Reliability and security are the top two priorities for SMBs considering hosted backup solutions. Of those currently using or planning to implement a private, hybrid or public cloud backup platform, 77% prefer a private or hybrid approach while 23% favor a public cloud offering.

"While SMBs recognize the importance of having a data protection and recovery plan, many are using on-premise hardware that leaves them vulnerable to data loss from device failure, performing manual backups infrequently or on-premise problems that affect both the original copy and backups, such as power surges, natural disasters or theft," said Piyum Samaraweera, director of product management at Carbonite. "Cloud backup solutions are an affordable alternative that are simple to manage, secure and reliable, and easily scalable as a business grows."

Backing Up SMBs includes responses from 1,012 global IT decision makers. Those surveyed work in organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees and are among the more than 2.4 million SMB IT professionals in the Spiceworks Community. 54% of respondents are from North America with an additional 28% and 13% from EMEA and APAC respectively.

Complete list of survey findings (registration needed)