Having a clear data management strategy ensures business data is organised well and protected. Read on to find out how to protect data as much as possible.
Businesses are keen to find out what the latest technology is that can help them advance their data storage system or improve their cyber security, but they are often neglecting basic things they could be doing already.
Read on to find out what companies can do right away to protect their data as much as possible.
Organise data
In order to make sure confidential and valuable information is kept safe and secure, it is really helpful to organise it.
Finding a file that is not in the right folder can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, even with search functions. What’s more, if you cannot locate a file you need, how will you know when it is lost?
That is why it is essential to keep distinct folders and files for everything, and put documents in the right place, so they are easier to find.
Having a clear data management strategy ensures everything is not only organised well, but protected, stored and shared appropriately.
Data storage
It is also important to store it in a safe place, such as the cloud. Doing this not only means staff can access the documents they need when they are working remotely, but the files will not become lost if anyone tampers with, or steals, the office computers.
Cloud storage also allows businesses to store as much data as they want, no matter how big the file sizes are. While hard drives have a limited storage capacity, companies can always extend their cloud storage to hold the data they need as they continue to expand.
The cloud is not the only option, and some businesses still keep their data on the premises or adopt a hybrid approach and store them on both.
However, it is important that anything updated on the cloud translates to the hard drive too, otherwise different versions of the same document may exist, which can be confusing and problematic.
Data digitisation
Enterprises that have been around for many years might not have all their data on the company laptops.
Computers only became common in the workplace during the 1980s, so businesses older than this should consider digitising their data. Paper records, for instance, were far more typical until recently, while appointments, finances and customer information used to all be paper copies.
Therefore, unless these historical materials have been inputted on to the computer, many businesses may still have lots of records that have not been digitised.
This means these documents could be at risk, such as if there was to be a fire, flood or theft. These could cause the business to lose valuable data, as there is likely to only be one copy of them.
Data digitisation is, therefore, essential for businesses, as it protects any non-digital records, helping to provide a whole picture of the company’s legacy.
This also helps to free up space in the office, as there will be no need for large filing cabinets once all the documents can be stored on the cloud. This could mean creating space for more desks, and, subsequently, more members of staff who can help grow the business.
