Cloud storage can save you money? In this blog post, we will explore how cloud storage can support your firm. For SMBs, data loss or system failures can be catastrophic, leading to significant financial losses, brand damage, and even business closure. Having reliable backups and disaster recovery solutions is essential to protect critical data and ensure uninterrupted operations. Traditional backup methods, such as local storage or tape backups, can be time-consuming, costly, and prone to human error. And a backup hard drive or server stored in the same location as the original data? Not very foolproof. This is where cloud storage comes in. Cloud storage provides SMBs with a solution that overcomes many of the limitations of traditional methods. By using the cloud for storage (and thus, backups) businesses can benefit from: Automated and scheduled backups: Cloud storage platforms offer automated and scheduled backup options, eliminating the need for manual backups and reducing the ris

IT isn’t just about filling seats No matter the size of your business, no matter what the product or service, your company is at least partially reliant on technology to survive and function in today’s marketplace. It is just unavoidable. A significant portion of everyone's business is online in some fashion or other. And internal operations and administration are dependent on databases, servers on-line access, etc. A large and diversified company has the depth of staffing to fully support all of its IT infrastructure needs. Unfortunately, this is not the case with small- to medium-sized businesses, and it is absolutely not the case for recent startups struggling to get a foothold in the market. SMBs are generally forced to focus all of their resources on the operations that drive revenues. For example, how many small firms have a trained human resource practitioner on board, even though the lack of one can leave them vulnerable to a number of legal and staffing issues? Very few.

Risk assessment: A Value model Risk assessment means looking at all the conditions, situations and threats that exist that could damage or bring down your business. Risk assessment is all about identifying the external and internal threats that exist and measuring the likely consequences if that threat becomes reality. A data security risk assessment would identify what data you have, how you use it, how confidential it may be, how it is affected by regulations and the ways it could be compromised. A major focus of a data security assessment is cybercrime. In terms of developing an IT staff, the alternative approach to building out a team is to determine your IT staffing needs in terms of risk assessment. That means evaluating risk and directing staffing resources to those areas where the risk is greatest and the consequences most severe. Basically, it is an evaluation on the ROI of your IT staffing in light of identified risk. In particular, what is the return on your risk management

Staffing should address risk first and foremost For any business, but especially a smaller one without deep pockets, the consequences of some disaster may mean the end of the business. As a result, risk evaluation becomes critical. There are an endless variety of events, from mishaps to major disasters that challenge your viability. Risk management inventories all of the possible risks that could befall the organization and places them in a hierarchy of significance. At the top are single points of failure disasters or extreme events that would shut down the business, at least temporarily. Risk management then works to channel limited resources toward mitigating the most serious risks. Here are some examples of risk in the IT area that could be especially damaging if left unprotected Data Security and Cybercrime - Loss of data - Failed backups or human error can lead to lost data. Every business needs to have the IT expertise to ensure that quality backups are maintained, preferably in

Forego the standard IT staffing model? From the outset, even the smallest start-up is reliant on an IT infrastructure. Digital technology cannot be avoided. For small-to medium-sized businesses, developing and bringing on staff to support that IT infrastructure is often a low priority compared to ramping up operations and meeting the revenues goals necessary to stay operational. Resources to address IT needs may not be available (for at least, perceived to be unavailable) Management is focussed on revenue growth and meeting operational and business requirements. Management may also be incentivized to direct available funds in these directions, rather than building out a robust and sufficiently risk averse IT infrastructure. Also, management may not have the background that provides sufficient experience to identify areas where IT staffing is necessary to maintain a stable and sustainable business. In a small- to medium-sized business beginning to explore the development of an IT suppor