Exclusively focusing on digital data security misses the larger point that security is protecting all of the business and not simply data. After all, if someone walks out with your ERP server, data management excellence has pretty much left the building along with it.

Where to begin? Start with a formal risk assessment:

1. Assets to be protected
2. Potential threats to those assets
3. Points where you may have vulnerabilities
4. Probabilities of threats striking a vulnerability
5. Cost estimates of loss if threat becomes reality

It sounds daunting, but a formal risk assessment forces an organization to consider the range of potential threats and vulnerabilities. When reviewing security threats, include often overlooked physical threats to your on-premise data, which are not employee theft or even ransomware. It’s fire and water damage.

As with any business effort, long term effectiveness is not in simply doing a task once but in recursive incremental improvement. Correct Data Management extends to establishing and maintaining physical security as well.

When working on security plans for clients we use a 50+ point checklist. Get started now with these tips:

Walk your facility and ask questions. Sounds simple and it is. It is also extremely valuable.

Encourage Shared Responsibility. Make security awareness everyone’s responsibility by expanding the responsibility for security awareness beyond just a few people.

Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan. A lot can go wrong and become damaged in an emergency if employees don’t know what to do when a particular threat emerges.

Training. Training gives employees a deeper understanding of potential threats. You can teach ways to respond so they aren’t left guessing in a moment of crisis.

RadiusBridge® develops and supports custom Data Management systems for executives to know, protect, and grow their business.