On your way to work this morning, you stopped for gas. When you were inside paying, someone broke into your car and stole your computer bag. You did not notice until you arrived at your business and began looking for your bag.

As you begin to realize all of the data you just lost-customer lists, profit and loss analysis, tax returns, email, sales information, payroll files, and so on-you begin to wonder when you last backed up your hard drive. Now that you have been stung by a painful data loss experience, you realize the importance of having a backup strategy.

Create a detailed backup strategy and disaster recovery plan for your business. Be sure to include details such as the types of backup you will perform, frequency of backups, and location of backups.