Secure storage for your personal or business data is crucial in the age of eCommerce, remote workforces, and virtual appointments. To keep your information accessible when you need it but secure from malicious actors, you will need to apply multiple strategies and some top cyber security tips.
Invest in Security
Investing in cyber security services from companies like AnyTech365 is as vital for the private individual as it is for companies of all sizes. Not only can these companies offer you help to secure your systems, but they can also help you properly back up your data or even recover it if needed. Be sure that your software is updated regularly and that your cyber security toolbox includes the best tools available.
Have a Data Retention Policy
Storing every piece of data ever collected or generated by your company can quickly build into a difficult-to-manage mountain of information. To avoid unmanageable data storage, creating a data retention policy that includes what documents need to be stored indefinitely for ten years and a year or less is crucial. Your policy should also have where each data category is stored to streamline your retrieval and use systems. For instance, data that is needed frequently and quickly should be stored separately from that which needs to be stored for years in case you are audited. You can use more expensive and faster methods to keep the first category while regulating the second to slower and more long-term processes.
Understand Your Data Needs
Not all data is created, stored or used equally, meaning that your company’s data and storage needs are different than those of your home and your competition. Understanding those needs is key to finding and maintaining the best storage and retrieval methods. For instance, wanting a digital backup for your long-term physical document storage can mean scanning it to a hard drive kept secure on-site or even stored at the location of your cyber security partners. This type of data is not likely needed to be immediately available and serves as a safety net if the physical copies are destroyed. On the other hand, several people require ongoing project data continuously and are best stored with a cloud-based project management platform.
Learn About Storage Methods
Knowing a little about the many data storage methods available will go a long way toward designing the right policies and plans for your needs. These methods include physical filing cabinets, on-site server rooms, and cloud storage options. Each option has a different type of security setup, represents a unique retrieval method, and will be backed up in various ways. It is a good idea to compare the same storage method across various providers regarding cyber security ratings, ease of use, and cost.
The best way to retrieve lost data is to have a backup system in place from the beginning. Your system can include data and security partners, data recovery plans, and multiple methods of storing data on-site or off. The more you learn about ways to store, maintain and retrieve data, the easier it will be to compare strategies and plans between potential business partners for the best fit for your data needs.
