Verio Survey Reveals Small Business Data Left Vulnerable to Loss.

Small Businesses at Risk Say the Impact of Data Loss Would Be Costly and Want to Remedy the Problem

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Although data protection and backup services are a top priority for small businesses over the next 18 months, small businesses admit they currently leave themselves

vulnerable to data loss and the high costs associated with recovery. A new survey of small businesses and home office users who actively use computers, conducted by Verio, found that 45 percent of respondents have no data recovery plan in place for information stored on their PCs, and 33 percent who do have a plan, are storing data in ways that still leave it susceptible.

"Given the affordability and easy deployment of some of today's PC data backup and recovery solutions, it's surprising that such a large number of small businesses leave their data exposed and at risk," said Kiyoshi Maeda, president and CEO for Verio. "Many of these businesses continue to learn the difficult lesson that storing customer data, financials and other information on PCs often falls short, and that protecting themselves with an affordable, fully managed solution can be cost-effective, quick to deploy and easy to maintain."

Recovery Would Prove Costly For Many

According to the findings, 70 percent of small businesses reported that a single incidence of data loss would be considered significant and costly. Fifty-three percent of respondents have already experienced an actual loss of information that was stored on a PC, with 64 percent indicating data loss due to something as common as a hard drive crash. The survey indicated that the vast majority of small businesses don't know how to protect themselves, with only nine percent of small businesses saying they are familiar with business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.

Today's small business employee is more likely than ever to be connected to a network, and the constant threat of viruses, file corruption, accidental deletion and theft puts businesses at risk. Small and midsized businesses have already indicated that customer information is the most valuable type of information stored on their PC and with nearly 75 percent of small business employees using PCs on a regular basis, the need for small businesses to protect their critical customer data has become clear.

Midsize and Small Businesses Ready to Remedy the Problem