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How Serious are the Consequences of Data Loss?

By: James Walsh

Our day to day language has also started including computer lingo in an ever increasing manner. Our increased dependency on the computer systems is reflected in our reactions to possible problems with the system also. So a loss of data from the computer systems can be an exasperating experience, to state the least.

Data Loss

The loss of data may be an exasperating experience for some but for others it can be a much more catastrophic situation. A loss of data can affect the working of an individual or a company in many ways. As stated above, what might be an irritant for some, can be a much more serious situation for others.

For example an individual who loses the file of his favourite songs may be terribly irritated but at the same time the person who loses the files containing data of his clients may be left speechless at the loss. It all depends upon the relative importance of the lost data to the individual.

Consequences of Data Loss

Whenever a business enterprise starts expanding its business its consequent support data also increases in complexity. The importance and complexity of the data files increases with the increase in business. It is important for the flourishing of any business that its data is as up to date as possible and is secure in all aspects.

In order to secure their data a large number of companies employ offsite data backup systems. These back up systems generally protect the given data files to a great extent. Unfortunately data still gets lost on account of various reasons such as errors of the programme or software viruses or even natural disasters. So great is the impact of data loss on the businesses that half of them shut down within a year and of the remaining half more than ninety per cent shut their doors within two years of the data loss event. The overall loss to the business community is estimated to be around twelve billion pounds per annum!

To complicate the matters further once data is lost, it is next to impossible to recover it completely. Even the disaster recovery planning is unable to restore the files as they originally were before the disaster struck. This is on account of the different regulations and compliances which a data recovery company has to adhere to.

Individuals: An individual can be negatively impacted if he or she loses important data. The data can be a college thesis or the contact list or any other. In such circumstances the person is bound to be left at a loss of words.

Finance Companies: Any company operating in the domain of finance can be left crippled if it were to lose files relevant to the various investments of its clients. It may even lead to a loss of several transaction records. This in turn may cause business losses to its customers. It can lead to court cases filed by both customers and creditors. All this can force the company to down its shutters and may tarnish the image of its promoters.

Defence Establishments: If a defence establishment were to lose any important data then a strategic military programme may be jeopardised. An even worse possibility may be endangering of the country’s defence systems. It may become prone to attacks from within and outside of the nation state.

Engineering Companies: In the line of engineering a lot depends upon the various pre launch cost factors. The first company to come out with a particular product may steal the horse race in the cut throat market. If the prototype of a particular product is stolen then the company may lose numerous man hours of very hard labour. The cost of the lost man hours cannot be computed in monetary terms. On top of this the loss in the market can also not be compensated for.

Design Consultants: The design consultants earn their bread and butter by way of coming out with new and more viable designs. The designs may be of a new motor car or belong to the fashion industry. A loss of the design will not only destroy all the hard work and labour behind envisaging and implementing it but also a loss in the given market segment.

Same is the story of all fields whether they are in science and technology or research and development project of any category. A data loss event strikes the same numbing chord across all individuals and market or corporate segments.

Data Recovery Articles: http://www.internetionalmedia.com/Category/Data Recovery/

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

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