Regardless of the nature of your business or its size, there is no way to grow or scale your company without proper data management. If you don’t have the right processes in place to manage and protect your data, you run the risk of using unreliable data or putting your customers’ information in danger. Moreover, having a shortage or excess of data can result in a number of problems. Therefore, it’s crucial to begin by identifying what type of data is valuable to your organisation and how you plan to store and analyse it. You should also learn how to protect your business against cybercrime. Within this guide, you will find our top tips to improve your data management strategy and ensure safety.
Organise Your Data
Prior to looking for technological solutions, it’s important to think about the kind of data that your business has and where it is stored. It might be useful to create a spreadsheet and list all types of data. Then, you can focus on securing the most critical data first. In comparison, less important data will require less security, so you won’t need to worry about it at this stage. You can also think about restricting user access and implementing security policies. Additionally, keeping your data organised can help you find ways to utilise it so that you can anticipate customer needs.
Prepare For The Worst
Businesses of all sizes should be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If this is a complete loss of data for your business, you will want to ensure that you introduce a robust backup plan. For example, enabling SaaS Protection means that your company’s operations won’t be compromised in the event of a data breach. SaaS protection is a cloud-based backup solution powered by Datto, which will help you secure your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data. This is done by using government standard encryption methods, as well as adhering to major compliance requirements.
Evaluate Your Threats
The best way to choose the right type of protection for your business is to familiarise yourself with the exact risks that your business is facing. Therefore, you should assess your threats carefully and be realistic about what you need to do. For example, there is no point in protecting data that is already public, such as your organisation’s size. Evaluating your threats and implementing appropriate data management procedures will enable you to write a strategy that is as detailed as possible. As a result, you will always be one step ahead of your competitors.
Consider Your Information-Sharing Policies
Even if you decide not to implement any advanced business security systems, there are some basic strategies that can help you protect your business data, such as reviewing your information-sharing policies. For example, you should avoid sharing your personal data via email or text, as well as on social media. Instead, ensure you share any important information during company meetings or hand-outs. It’s also essential to create strong passwords and change them as often as you can. You shouldn’t write them down in post-it notes or store them in files on your desktop.
Only Ask For Important Data
You should only store the data that you need, which should be mentioned in your customer data privacy policy. If you don’t plan on using certain types of information, you shouldn’t ask for it in the first place. For example, you may need to store data like names and addresses, but you might not need to store customers’ credit card details. It’s crucial to think about the types of data that you ask for through your website, including payment pages, account creation, and newsletter subscriptions. Additionally, you should remember to dispose of data you no longer need by implementing appropriate measures.
Implement Security Training
In addition to introducing general security policies, you should also ensure that your employees are equipped with the right knowledge and tools to respond to cyber security threats. This means that they will benefit from different types of training, such as cyber security awareness training. As a result, employees will begin to understand that security affects them even if they are not part of the IT department. It might also be beneficial to introduce phishing simulation training, which could involve sending an email with an alluring link to your employees, which will take them to a safe page. However, it can be a great way to test their knowledge.
Audit Your Data
Auditing your data is crucial, especially if there are many users who have access to your business data. This means that you can ensure that sensitive data has been used correctly. Also, you will know exactly what is being collected and stored in your database. As a result, you will gain a better insight into how effective your business processes are. This means that you might be able to detect any data inefficiencies or security threats that you might not have noticed otherwise.