SMBs can and do lose business as a direct result of being unprepared for disasters and need to take some simple steps to protect their data Symantec has cautioned, after finding many businesses are not taking the right precautions.

One of the biggest mistakes organisations are making is not performing nightly and weekly backups, the company said. 

Backup software will help ensure that data is safely copied and stored in case of some unforeseen emergency, while recovery software will enable quick restore of complete systems. 

Backups are only as good as the ability to recover the information, systems and applications, the vendor said, adding that policies and processes should be implemented and automated as much as possible to ensure they are completed. 

“It is critical to back up data regularly and store extra copies of this data offsite. Regular auditing of these processes should also occur.”

The guidance comes after a survey carried out for the security and data management supplier found that just 12% of SMBs back up daily, and that an average SMB backs up only 70% of its company and customer data. 

This is putting businesses at undue risk because the average SMB has experienced two outages within the past 12 months, with the leading causes being virus or hacker attacks, power outages or natural disasters.

Among those businesses surveyed, the estimated cost of these outages was put at £9,000 per day on average.

Despite this evidence, some 81% of respondents say they are somewhat/very satisfied with their disaster plans, and a similar number say they feel somewhat/very protected in case a disaster strikes. 

Confidence in the level of preparedness against such events appears unwarranted, Symantec has suggested. 

The company recommends that IT staff or an IT consultant should have access to a web-based console so that they can manage servers and other assets from a remote location in the event of an emergency. 

It has also urged that archives and backups be stored at an offsite location to ensure that data can be recovered in case of a physical disaster. 

Symantec’s SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey is the result of research conducted in August and September 2009 across more than 1,650 respondents from 28 countries in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America.