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What is Offsite Storage?

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Offsite storage of information, documents, and data involves making copies of every piece of critical information used in your business and storing it at another location for retrieval if it is ever needed. Eventually every business incurs data loss to some degree for any number of reasons. Power surges are probably the most common cause of data loss. Just listen to the groans around the office when the power goes out during a storm. Those are the people who didn�t �save� their data periodically. They know there is a chance that hours or even days of work has been lost and will have to be reconstructed.

An offsite storage plan should be implemented by every business, even if it�s a backup of data once a week that is kept in a bank safety deposit box or in a small consumer safe at home in the boss�s closet. If your business has information that would make it difficult to conduct business without, then your business needs an offsite storage plan. Backups of computer data, copies of contracts, orders, and ledger sheets should all be kept offsite and replaced with current versions on a regular basis. Your offsite storage plan should also include remote backups of digital data (computer files) either on a CD, Zip drive, or other digital storage medium.

But protection of day to day business documents isn�t the only reason for offsite storage. Office space is expensive and it does not have to be used for storage as well. Storing infrequently used documents and files at a location other than at the main office frees up much-needed office space for people and the business they conduct. Offsite storage also protects these documents from damage when they are stored in a climate-controlled environment. Think in terms of libraries and archives who store irreplaceable books and papers in a vault, away from light, air, and pollution to preserve them for generations to come.

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