Two simple steps to protect your business data

Data is the lifeblood of most modern businesses. From important proposals and presentations to a simple one-line email that is proof of something happening that you might need months later. However, many small businesses are not taking the necessary steps and protecting their business data.

Your business is accumulating data all the time without you even realising it

Blisstech Solutions recently worked with a company with just two employees that had accumulated over 17Gb of data in just 12 months. This data resided in shared drives, inboxes, and personal drives. Much of this information was business-critical, despite them being unaware that they had generated this amount of data.

Group of business people are meeting to analyse business data

There are numerous ways for business data to be lost, leaving a business without access to the vital information that they need. However, many small businesses do not take adequate steps to protect their business data. This leaves it at the mercy of ransomware, accidental deletion, or even malicious deletion by a disgruntled employee.

In “the old days,” data used to exist across several inhouse physical systems. You would need an email server, a file server and users would save data to their computers which is a nightmare when trying to ensure all data is protected. All of this would then need to be backed up to tape or hard disk.

In the world of cloud computing, however, small businesses can provide the same functionality and continuity of data without any physical equipment.

So, what are the two amazingly simple things that you can do to make sure that your business data is backed up and always available?

Ensure you are on a Microsoft 365 plan

Microsoft 365 business and enterprise suites provide almost everything a business needs, as a service, in the cloud. Once you have Microsoft 365, make sure you are taking advantage of all its features. Store company-wide data in Teams & SharePoint, use the excellent Exchange email service and redirect employee desktop folders to OneDrive. This ensures that your data is stored on a highly resilient service and will not be subject to any problems related to hardware failure. It also means that these files are available to your users across multiple computers.

Protect your Microsoft 365 data using a cloud-based backup solution

Protecting your Microsoft 365 data is very important but staggeringly simple. Third-party, cloud-based backup solutions will take regular backups of all your data in Microsoft 365 and store it in a separate, secure cloud location. It keeps several versions of your data so you can go back to almost any point in time. This protects your Microsoft 365 from ransomware attacks and malicious or accidental file deletions.

A laptop and tablet taking a backup

These simple steps can be taken by any business for a very reasonable cost. It will add a higher level of resilience to the business data.

Even if your business has in-house servers, you should nevertheless take advantage of cloud-based solutions that back up this business data. These remove the need for changing backup media and can quickly boot virtual images of the servers in the cloud in the event of hardware failure.

Protecting business data is simple, so why aren’t you doing it?

All small businesses need to ensure their data is protected, but many do not. Perhaps this is because they think that it is too hard to do but, as you can see, it is remarkably simple!

If you would like to discuss any of the topics in this article, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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How to create secure passwords

Weak passwords are one of the biggest security risks to your business.
Why?
Because cyber criminals are getting smarter than ever before. If they manage to crack just one password, they could gain access to your sensitive business data, financial information, or even gain control of your entire system.
Cyber criminals use automated tools to guess passwords, allowing them to try out millions of combinations in seconds. So, if you’re using something like “Password123” or “CompanyName2025”, you’re practically handing them the keys to your business.
A compromised password can lead to big issues, such as:
• Data breaches
• Financial losses
• Identity theft
• Reputation damage
But how do you create strong passwords without driving yourself (and your team) mad?
Think of your password like a secret recipe, where only you should know the ingredients. It should:
• Be at least 14 characters long (the longer, the better)
• Include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters
• Contain a few numbers and symbols (like @, $, %, or &)
• Not contain any common words or easily guessable information (like birthdays, names, or the word “password”)
Instead of using a single word, you could try a passphrase – a short, random sentence that only you would understand. For example, instead of “Sailing2025”, try something like “Coffee&CloudsAreGreat9!”. This is much harder to crack, yet still easy to remember.
You should also steer clear of these common mistakes:
• Using personal info (your name, birthday, business name, etc.)
• Reusing the same passwords across multiple accounts
• Using simple sequences (“123456” or “abcdef”)
• Storing passwords in an easily accessible place (like a sticky note on your desk)
If remembering unique passwords for every account sounds impossible, there is another option: Password managers. These generate strong passwords, store them securely and autofill them for you.
With a password manager, you only need to remember one strong master password for the manager app itself. The rest are encrypted and stored safely, reducing the risk of data breaches.
Even the strongest password isn’t foolproof, which is why multi-factor authentication (MFA) is also important. MFA requires a second form of verification, like a one-time code sent to your phone or generated from an authentication app.
If you have employees accessing your business systems, it’s a good idea to have a password policy in place to explain your rules and why they’re important. This should include:
• Unique passwords for each system and account
• Regular security training on password best practices
• Business-wide use of MFA for critical systems
• Scanning for compromised passwords regularly
By making password security a priority, you can reduce the chances of a cyber attack creating a nightmare for your business.
And if you need help making your business more secure, get in touch.

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