Every day, companies generate countless bytes of data. From production statistics and quality control metrics to supply chain information and customer orders — this influx of data is essential for manufacturing companies to stay competitive in their markets.
That data’s also the fuel that drives operations and innovation to meet customer demand. However, with great data comes great responsibility.
In this article, we explore the importance of data backup and disaster recovery for the manufacturing industry.
[Related: Are You At Risk? Here Are the Industries With the Highest Cyber Security Risks]
Why Are Data Backup and Recovery So Crucial?
Data loss can freeze manufacturing operations.
Imagine a manufacturing facility suddenly losing access to its production data. This can be catastrophic for workflows, privacy and a host of other matters.
Without accurate and up-to-date information — whether it’s a product’s name, its amount, size or something else — severe disruptions occur in production schedules. And if this happens, you can confidently expect order fulfillment delays and potential financial loss.
Scenarios like this underscore why robust backup and recovery solutions are vital in the manufacturing industry.
[Related: How Would Multi-Layer Defense Help Your Company?]
Protecting Your Business From Unforeseen Events
Manufacturing facilities are susceptible to various unforeseen events:
- Natural disasters
- Power outages
- Equipment failures
- Cyberattacks
- Data breach
Unfortunately, all these events can result in data loss. The cause can be clear or murky:
- The event completely destroys your systems.
- Systems go down for unknown periods.
- You simply lose access to your systems.
Without definitive data backup and disaster recovery measures in place, the event likely damages your company’s reputation alongside its data systems.
[Related: How To Protect Computers and Technology from Natural Disasters]
Safeguard Supply Chains
Manufacturers rely on complex supply chains. It’s not unusual for one company to interact with dozens to hundreds of suppliers, distributors and logistics partners daily — depending on the size of your company, of course.
Think of it this way: You lose data from a cyberattack. Then, you can’t send or receive invoices from vendors and partners, which affects the supply chain. And as a result, production and delivery schedules suffer because you can’t access customer names, product orders, addresses and more.
[Related: 6 Signs Your Business Has Been Hacked]
Maintaining Customer Trust
As we noted earlier, data loss often disrupts schedules. And you end up losing customer trust as well as your data — no one wins.
However, a customer will weigh trust between two variables: their perceived value of your product and their waiting time. If the benefit is higher than the cost (aka the wait), they’ll continue buying from you. But it’s better to prevent this debate in the first place.
You can meet customer expectations by committing to disaster recovery plans and trying to prevent loss in the first place via data backups.
Committing to a functional plan helps you meet order fulfillments on time and keep both your vendors and your customers happy.
Having Cost-Effective Recovery
Post-disaster data recovery can be expensive and time-consuming.
But reliable data backup solutions are far more cost-effective in the long run. Think about how it’s easier (and often cheaper) to prevent a forest fire than it is to put one out.
With that said, investing in preventive measures is more economical than dealing with the aftermath and trauma of data loss.
[Related: Why Digital Resilience is So Important]
Adapting to Technological Advances
The manufacturing industry is always evolving.
With constant advancements in automation, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, these technologies generate complex and vast amounts of data. And cybersecurity compliance changes, too.
To keep pace, solid data backup and disaster recovery solutions allow manufacturers to adapt to new technologies more easily. And they can also rest assured that their data is secure.
Contact CMIT Solutions of Bothell for Data Backup and Data Recovery Solutions
Data protection and data loss prevention aren’t optional for the manufacturing industry — they’re imperative. You’re protecting not only your business continuity but also your reputation, time and money.
Do you need reliable and effective IT solutions to manage your manufacturing data? Contact CMIT Solutions of Bothell, and we’ll support your manufacturing company’s growth and longevity with secure data solutions.
Featured image via Pixabay
