3 ways to protect your small business's applications

Cybercriminals will target businesses of any size, and they'll use a variety of vicious schemes such as phishing scams to wiggle a worm into the network. With CryptoLocker malware, they can even encrypt entire company networks, essentially barring a small business from its data and debilitating critical applications.

What's more, cyberattackers aren't the only threat to small-business applications. If an on-premises server experiences a technical issue, a business can miss out on an entire day of productivity while IT scrambles to solve the problem.

Technical glitches and hiccups may be inevitable, but they don't have to have wreak havoc on business applications and data with the help of these three assets:

1. File restore tools

Whether it's a cyberattack or something else, it's important for small businesses to have a way to recover lost or stolen data. This can be as granular or as panoramic as needed. For instance, single-file restore tools exist that can help raise a specific item from the dead. As noted in a recent blog post, 80 percent of recovery cases NovaStor witnesses need only one file to be restored from a backup.

At the end of the day, a business application is only as valuable as the data that allows it to perform mission-critical functions. In some cases, this might take the form of a single spreadsheet. It's not the size or the quantity, but rather the significance of the information that matters most.

CryptoLocker and other nasty strains of ransomware can render essential data useless.

2. Backup and disaster recovery

According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, about a quarter of small businesses never recover from a disaster. Bear in mind, a disaster can take many forms. But whether by an act of God, a serious internal blunder or the will of a hacker, small businesses must have a way to ensure that they don't lose access to vital applications and the data that nourishes them.

The bad news here is that there's simply no way to preempt every possible situation that could compromise a small business's network. The worse news is that 71 percent of IT professionals are not confident in their data recovery capabilities, according to EMC research. Crossing your fingers won't prevent your business from becoming a statistic, and wishing never solved a problem.

The good news is that even if an entire network goes down for good, whether it's the result of ransomware or an office fire, a strong disaster recovery plan can ensure that all is not lost. Storing vital application data in a secondary, offsite drive ensures that even a worst-case scenario won't herald the end of times for a small business.

3. Consult an experienced third party

A variety of factors can precipitate the demise of business applications and vital company data. Regardless of the cause, it's important for small businesses to have a good idea of exactly what type of restoration strategy will work best for them. While not all small businesses are savvy to data recovery best practices, they don't necessarily have to be. What matters is that they have a solid plan in place.

This is where the expertise of an experienced third party such as NovaStor or a NovaStor Certified Reseller can lend a hand. At the very least, it may be time to get a well-informed point of view. Your business applications and the data they're tied to could be at stake.