For many small business owners, keeping computer data safe is a duty that’s often on the back burner, if it’s on the burner at all, said several local technology companies.
Data is intangible and understanding systems that manage it often requires expertise. If that knowledge isn’t available in-house, hiring outside experts can seem like a non-urgent expense, they said.
That is, until something goes wrong.
Shawn Crull, owner of Vancouver-based 4byte4, has seen computer data damaged by fires, floods, theft and malicious tampering. One of his clients dropped a laptop in the ocean. Another had a dog that chewed through computer cables.
Data can be damaged in less dramatic ways, such as a room overheating in summer or dust building up inside a computer.
Some businesses back up data with CDs, DVDs or a USB thumb drive on a keychain, said Mark Tishenko, owner of Vancouver-based Edge IT. But they have limited storage and can be easily corrupted or misplaced.
“It works for a couple years, but for solid back up, it’s not a good idea,” Tishenko said.
In Crull’s experience, businesses often set up a back-up system such as a server, but assume it is working continually without checking.
“A year and a half later, something happens to their system,” he said. “They go to their back up, and the data is gone.”
Hidden risks
As technology is integrated into more everyday activities, computer literacy and security are increasing. But so are the risks of losing data businesses rely on.
Jerry Adcock co-owns Subterranean Data Service, based in Vancouver and Lewiston, Idaho. From his research and 20 years of IT experience, Adcock said about 95 percent of businesses that experience serious data loss will close within five years. Data loss can cause financial troubles and productivity loss while employees recreate data from paper records or wait for an IT company to recover data.
“Sometimes they don’t have any back up – paper or otherwise – so that information is just gone,” he said.
Data loss is a greater risk these days because technology advances so quickly, said Ken Kirkham, director of business development for Vancouver-based Outsource Technologies Inc.
“(There is a) lack of understanding of IT and the business relationship to it,” Kirkham said. “People underestimate the impact of a failure.”
Recovering from data disasters
Lost data can often be recovered, but the process can be expensive and slow-going and is often recommended as a last resort.
Data is stored on a computer like chapters in a book, Crull explained.
“Data is found by looking at a ‘table of contents,’” he said. “When you delete it, you’re not deleting the (chapter) but the table of contents entry.”
Data restoration looks beyond that proverbial table of contents and reads raw magnetic signatures on hardware, Crull said.
It is possible for a computer-savvy layperson to perform data recovery, but Crull is wary of low-cost recovery programs advertised online.
“A lot of companies couldn’t care less about getting your data back; they care about convincing you to buy their product for $30,” he said. “There are so many programs out there that don’t do anything at all.”
Planning ahead
Vancouver companies such as Outsource Technologies Inc. are taking a proactive approach with business clients, helping them plan for data protection and continuity in case of data loss.
Budgeting for IT equipment and services is an important part of that planning, Kirkham said.
“Most companies simply don’t understand IT budgeting, so we help them organize it,” he said. “It means the cost of IT becomes a benefit to the business, not just a place to send money.”
OTI helps companies identify data threats and designs custom systems to protect it. The company holds monthly IT seminars that help business owners understand the impacts technology can have on their operations.
In the Vancouver area, OTI’s clients include Kramer Gehlen and Assoc. Inc., the port and city of Ridgefield and other firms and government agencies.
“The ideal scenario is to eliminate the threat up front and provide solutions that make it unnecessary to provide disaster recovery,” Kirkham said.
Edge IT is a smaller operation with a similar approach. Tishenko helps small- to medium-size companies integrate wide-area networks.
“Business continuity planning is a requirement for a client to do business with me,” he said. “That’s one of the first steps we take.”
Tishenko said planning has paid off for his clients, citing one who recently survived a client database failure.
“We had a back up server that automatically kicked in,” he said. “They didn’t notice the problem until two weeks later when I came in to do an inspection.”
The cost of that company’s back up server, plus related equipment and services, was about $20,000. Without the investment, Tishenko said the company could have lost 10 times that.
Edge IT also connects clients with secure online data storage spaces that back up data multiple times daily. He recommends this for small businesses because it’s more cost effective than purchasing and maintaining back-up equipment.
Tishenko walks the talk, too. If anything happened to Edge IT’s data, it would be accessible from centers in Portland, Seattle and Atlanta.
“Unless half of the United States goes down, we’re good,” he said.
WHERE THE DATA GOES
For the most part, data is intangible. But the ones and zeroes that make up computer files live on machines that usually need a secure, climate controlled storage area to run smoothly.
Infinity Internet runs a data storage facility (colocation center) that clients can visit with a security pass or access online.
The Vancouver-based company provides data storage, plus services such as Internet access and web development, to 25,000 clients in Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles.
Infinity’s 10,000-square-foot center in Portland runs on a redundant power system with bandwidth from five providers and four fiber carriers. It provides data security even for companies that have back up servers in-house.
“If you’ve got your equipment sitting in a closet somewhere on-site, that’s somewhat secure, but the asset and the intellectual property on the equipment are not particularly secure,” explained Matt Yaskovic, Infinity’s manager of engineering.
Subterranean Data Service operates in Vancouver and Lewiston, Idaho, providing online access to data storage through colocation centers in Beaverton and Australia.
Jerry and John Adcock founded Subterranean in Lewiston in 1998, when small businesses were resistant to online backup as a new technology. Since then, it has become more accessible and affordable, said Jerry Adcock.
Computer Warranty Services, a large Texas-based company, recently asked him to provide 1 GB of online storage to each of its customers.
“That is a huge indication that this is becoming very mainstream,” he said. “It gives legitimacy to the whole industry when something like that happens.”
Small servers also are becoming available for use in homes and small businesses, and include online accessibility. Companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Linkstation and Drobo recently put small servers on the market ranging from less than $200 to $700.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
