Running a business is a pretty complex task. You have all sorts to focus on. Product development, market researching, advertising, web design, branding… the list goes on and on. So it’s easy to get distracted and let pretty important matters slip to the side.

One such matter is data, data storage and data protection. But it’s absolutely essential that you keep data at the forefront of your mind at all times. Nowadays, there are all sorts of data protections laws, rules and regulations in place that you absolutely need to follow.

If you fail to do this, not only do you face causing problems for your employees, customers, or anyone else whose data you may have and store, but you can also find yourself receiving large fines or even court cases. Here’s a quick run through of some data basics to help you avoid this!

What Actually Is Data?

The first step to practicing good data protection is to understand what data actually is. Most people use the term a lot without actually understanding it. So, to help you know the definition, data is simply another way of saying “information”.

Data can be a fact, word, number, figure, As you can imagine, your business takes a whole lot of data on a day to day basis. Think of all the names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and payment information you take from customers in order to take and deliver their orders, and staff in order to hire and pay them.

These details have been given to you to use with the intention of only you using them. They’re private and by allowing this data to get into the wrong person’s hands, you could find that you’ve massively compromised the individuals’ safety, leaving them open to identity theft, fraud in their name, or financial theft.

As you can imagine, it’s essential that you protect their data effectively.

Digital Due Diligence Checks

A good place to start is to have a Digital Due Diligence audit carried out. Professionals will be able to survey the way your business works and identify any problem areas, showing you how you should properly be storing data. Any weak areas can then be improved upon, preventing data leaks or breaches.

Storing Data

Now, to help you get started in the right direction immediately, let’s take a moment to consider how you should be storing data. It’s a good idea to read through your local data protection laws so you know what you should and shouldn’t be doing.

Put the information to good use and follow its recommendations. Some basic tips include storing data on devices that are not connected to the internet, only collecting absolutely necessary data and ensuring that any third parties you work with are properly trained in data protection too.

There’s also plenty of software out there that can help to keep you on the right path!

Sure, data protection might not be the most fun subject you’ve ever had to focus on. But you really do have to focus on it. So, get started now!