When fire breaks out, flooding occurs or another natural disaster strikes, SMBs enter crisis mode. They immediately deploy their business continuity plan to keep business operations running smoothly. A great plan not only helps you get through the current disaster but also ensures your continued success in the future. In fact, 40 percent of small businesses that experience a disaster do not reopen their doors.

Having a plan in place, however, is just the start. Consistent review of that plan and asking the question “How can this plan be better?” are key. Asking this question is leading many SMBs to use cloud-based backup services, but what are the benefits?

Here are five ways that cloud-based backup saves you time and money:

Data is stored out of harm’s way. Data is the lifeblood of a business, so it’s important to safeguard this asset during an unexpected event. Cloud solutions house data off-site at a secure location. So even if an event strikes, data is safe and secure.

Anytime, anywhere access. Depending on the type of disaster, whether it’s a fire, flood or natural disaster, it may be days or even months before the office can reopen. When data is safely stored in the cloud, employees can access business-critical applications and data immediately to communicate with customers and start conducting regular business.

Automatic backup. The best backup solution is one that operates automatically without requiring any action by employees. Cloud solutions make this possible, with regular backups occurring quietly in the background without disruption or additional resources required from employees.

Speedy recovery. In the past, SMBs may have used recovery tapes. During an unexpected event, a person would need to recall the tape, load it and locate the relevant data. File recovery from the cloud is much faster and doesn’t require physically transporting the data from an off-site location. As a result, files can be restored quickly.

Reasonable cost. If you’re like most small to medium-size businesses, you have a budget, and it may not include a large chunk of resources for capital expenditures on IT resources. Cloud storage allows you to tap into data backup for a reasonable fixed, monthly cost.

Do you have questions about the benefits of cloud backup solutions? If so, we can help. For more information, contact InfoManage online or call 212-931-0705.