Did you know that almost half of businesses affected by a natural disaster never reopen? Or, that almost five million records get lost or stolen every day as a result of a data breach. In any case, technology can make or break the future of your business and its capability to survive disasters.
The first step to protecting your business is to identify where potential vulnerabilities lie before familiarizing yourself with the threats facing it. Here are some technology disasters that no business is immune from:
#1. Insider Threat
Studies show that around three-quarters of all IT security disasters stem from within. Most successful attacks directly result from poor security habits among employees, such as not using strong passwords, reusing old ones, or failing to secure portable devices. Others may be carried out deliberately by people with malicious intentions, as is sometimes the case with disgruntled former employees.
Since human error is behind most cybersecurity attacks, you need to take every step to educate your employees and change them from the weakest link in your security strategy to the first and last line of defense. After all, no amount of technological and administrative security measures can overcome ignorance itself. That’s why every business needs to provide ongoing security awareness training.
#2. Natural Disasters
South Carolina sees its fair share of natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and even the occasional earthquake. Aside from these are more common disasters, such as fires and floods, which are just as capable of rendering your workplace unusable for an extended period. Furthermore, any such disaster will also take with it your entire in-house technology infrastructure.
Natural disasters can strike at any time, which is why businesses must always be prepared for worst-case scenarios. But that likely won’t happen if you’re fully reliant on in-house technology for all your systems. At the very least, you’ll want a cloud-enabled disaster recovery plan to keep your apps and data safe should your regular premises become untenable.
#3. Hardware Failures
Whether due to human error, outside threat, or aging technology, hardware failures can also happen without warning. For example, solid state drives, in spite of their excellent performance, have a limited number of read / write cycles before they simply stop working. When that happens, there’s a good chance that important data on them will become permanently inaccessible. Other hardware failures can also lead to data loss or, if not, the need for expensive repairs.
Reducing dependence on in-house systems can help a lot when it comes to mitigating the consequences of hardware failures. By partnering with a managed IT services provider, you’ll be able to outsource most of your computing workloads and data storage, thereby reducing your in-house hardware needs to barebones computers or even employee-owned devices.
#4. Technology Misalignment
According to an interview published by Forbes, 84% of companies fail to successfully align technology with their corporate goals. Instead, their inability to digitally adapt to the times often comes down to choosing the wrong forms of technology or failing to implement a long-term roadmap for success. It’s this technological misalignment that ends up costing businesses lots of money and countless hours of lost productivity.
Though a digital transformation failure might not sound like a disaster on par with a severe data breach or a natural catastrophe, the long-term effects can stifle business growth and even increase the likelihood of a successful cyberattack. To prevent such a situation, you’ll need to have the expertise of an organization that understands your industry and the unique challenges it faces.
Spectrumwise provides personalized IT support and tailor-made services to help you bring your business to the next level of innovation and efficiency. Give us a call today if you’re looking for business technology services you can depend on.
