We all use computers to run our businesses every day, and data has become a key factor in what most businesses do. Even smaller businesses have begun to use their data for strategic purposes, and in doing so have started a trend that has taken the world by storm. Let’s take a look at the data services that are designed to inform business owners and decision makers on how their business is actually working and how to improve operational effectiveness.

A surprising number of security issues come from inside your organization. User error on the part of the employee can present major problems for your workflow, data security, and the integrity of your business. User error could be something as simple as an employee clicking on the wrong links when they receive a suspicious email in their inbox, or if they are accessing data that they simply have no business accessing in the first place. Sometimes businesses will even completely forget to remove employee credentials when they leave a project or the company creating a breachable hole in your network. Regardless of the reason, user error can be a detrimental occurrence, and one which must be prepared for.

It’s the nature of every problem relating to business to include consequences that extend far beyond the timeframe of the issue’s initial impact. This is especially true for data breaches; an all-too-common problem that hurts organizations in many more ways than one.

Your data needs to be protected--that’s something that we all can agree on. However, even if your data were to be targeted in a data breach, would you be able to see the attack coming? Here are three telltale signs that your data is in imminent danger.

We talk about a lot of frightening technology scenarios for businesses; data loss, identity theft, and expensive hardware failures that can inflict substantial downtime and, therefore, cripple the ability of your business to sustain operations. One industry that has changed the way they manage risk, specifically the potential failure of important security systems, is the nuclear power industry. Any business can learn how to mitigate disaster by looking into the specifics of the two most horrendous nuclear meltdowns in history, the meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986, and the tsunami-induced disaster at Fukushima in 2011.

With so many businesses switching to the cloud for their data storage needs, it’s assumed that their data will be safe and sound. However, this is only somewhat true. While it’s true that the cloud is a secure and effective way to store your data, the virtual cloud is still vulnerable to freak accidents. Take, for example, the time when Google was struck by lightning last month… four times.

With more businesses moving toward Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) than ever before, the workforce grows more mobile by the day. These workers generally need a network connection in order to access important data and applications that are crucial to their day-to-day responsibilities. One way to do this is to use your service provider’s mobile data plan, but this can be both expensive and draining when used excessively.