Although you may not list it in on your IRS form, information is your business' primary asset. From your customer database to your financial records to your proprietary product information, information is the key element to maintaining both the day-to-day operations of your business and its long-term viability.

Unfortunately, as the sophistication of technology increases, so do the risks to your business. Viruses, hackers, and natural catastrophes can all attack your business information. At best, this renders your business inoperable for several hours or days. At worst, the loss of business information can cause you to go out of business.

Lest you think that information loss could never happen to your business, statistics reveal that the problem is pervasive and, oftentimes, devastating. During any given year, over five percent of PCs will have some type of data loss, and almost a third of PC users have experienced the loss of all of their data at some point in their lives. Almost two-thirds of companies that experience catastrophic data loss go out of business within six months. Of those companies that test their back up tapes, more than three-quarters have found problems with the tapes.

In order to minimize your company's exposure to the risk of data loss, you should create an organizational culture of security and implement a security program that helps the company prevent and recover from data loss due to viruses, hackers, and natural catastrophes.

Just as you would store your most precious documents in a bank safety deposit box, you should store your company's most important data with online backup services and use secure offsite backup.

According to SERVARE, the premiere company for online offsite backup services that are secure, affordable, and automated, you should consider backing up the following types of data:

* Databases and information that allow you to serve customers and maintain your market competitiveness. In other words, if you lost this data, you wouldn't be able to fill customer or supply chain orders or provide client services.

* Information that manages your revenue generation, such as accounts receivable, and vehicles for customer ordering and payment acceptance.

* Data that controls your cash flow, such as your accounts payable and supplier payments.

* Data that, if lost, could result in additional expenses, such as employee downtime and late delivery penalties.

* Proprietary information that could be stolen or compromised.

* Data that is affected by governmental regulation, such as the Freedom of Information Act.

SERVARE's online backup services protect your business' information from data loss by utilizing advanced file encryption before transmission; quick, safe, and secure transmission to their online backup servers via a secure high-speed Internet connection; automated backups; flexible recovery capability; and scalable storage that grows as your need for storage grows.

With an offsite backup, you'll rest easier knowing that your information is secure.