What is a new hard drive worth? - My business?!

A new 60 gig hard drive can cost $89.99 (plus tax of course) brand new. That is the cost when brand new. What is the cost to replace it? Is it $94.04 (the cost of the drive) or $194.04, which could include an installation charge or $294.04 which could also include the cost of installing Windows and the other software you need. What would you think if this failed hard drive could put you out of business? How is that possible? How it is possible to have a business fail due to a $89.99 hard drive. Even if a new computer was purchased as a replacement, it still shouldn't cause the business to collapse. What is the cause? Did you consider the information that was stored on that hard drive?

Every business has one process in common - information collection! Customer lists, inventory, financial data, etc.. What was the cost of this data collection? Can it be replaced exactly as it was before the hard drive failed? There is business insurance that will pay for the hiring of temporary help to re-enter all of this information. Of course, business is severely hampered during this process. Can receivables be processed? Is anyone going to call you to say, "I haven't received a bill from your company. Is everything alright?" Can you generate new sales by working that prospect list? What about sending out those birthday cards that you are so well known for? It also assumes that all of the source documents are available and you have this insurance.

What else can be done? A backup on a frequent basis is the preferred restoration method recommended by any reputable computer firm. A backup is to make a copy of data on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Backups should be automated and tested regularly and stored off site if possible. The cost of this is small. A tape drive and a box of tapes might cost several hundred dollars. Label the tapes and change them daily. Routine testing is just as important as doing a backup. Tapes wear and hardware can fail. "I change the tape every day. What do you mean my backup is no good?" This makes a terrible event devastating. Another routine statement is, "John has always done that, but we had to let him go six months ago." Or, "It was very time consuming and we didn't have time."

Now, there is another way to protect your data - iFolder. Encrypted off site storage as fast as you can collect information. John didn't forget to change the tape and no training was required. As soon as the file is closed, an encrypted copy is created and stored at another location. Restorations are as simple as checking your e-mail.