If a data disaster strikes and you aren’t prepared, you risk losing sensitive business data. Think what would happen if the server crashed tomorrow, or your hard drive failed five minutes from now. If you’re not sure whether your files are secure, you’re running a big risk. Take steps before disaster strikes to safeguard your data. In the event disaster does strike, learn your data recovery options.

Preparing for Data Loss

Preparation makes data recovery significantly easier. Options to consider include:

• Installing an email recovery client that can swiftly rebuild your inbox in the event your mail client crashes
• Purchasing an external hard drive or flash drive so that you can store copies of important files
• Talking to your company about backup standards and strategies, then pushing for more aggressive data management to safeguard company assets
• Downloading free or paid data recovery software before the crisis, so that you can take swift action if something goes wrong
• Paying for or obtaining free cloud storage space
• Maintaining hard copies of important documents on site
• Bcc’ing or cc’ing a personal email account on important emails, so you have another access point

Incorporating some of all of these preventative measures means that, if something happens to your main computer, you have access to backups. Cloud-based backups and flash drive backups add portability, so that you can access important documents on the go. If disaster strikes, run that email recovery client or data recovery software to restore those missing files. If your computer crashes, use that external hard drive or cloud storage to transfer your business assets to a new machine.

In the Event of Disaster

If disaster strikes before you get your preventative measures in place, know that you do have options. If files go missing, you should be able to download a recovery client to fetch and rebuild them. If important emails or documents get deleted, you may have coworkers who were cc’ed on the emails and received the same reports. Ask them to resend so you can rebuild your files. Be aware that data recovery software can have a difficult time rebuilding large files, such as database files.

If a hardware disaster strikes, avoid the temptation to tinker. You may think that you can fix that hard drive yourself, but the likelihood is high that you will actually do more harm than good. If something goes wrong, look up a data recovery specialist near you and take the hard drive in for a consult. If you’re not sure where to go, contact your computer’s manufacturer and ask for a recommendation in your area. The data recovery specialist can try to repair the drive or, if it’s too far gone, recover the files. Be aware this can get expensive, so preparing beforehand can save you both time and money.

Data disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Bad storms may cause flooding that can wreck an office; fires will destroy any office technology. Other disasters are manmade, such as accidentally erasing files or dropping your machine one too many times. Finally, technology has a life span and older machines may fail before you have a replacement lined up. Following these tips can get you on the road to data recovery, while avoiding the pitfalls that come with lost data.