<font size="3">Backup? What backup!</font>


Thousands of UK small firms are teetering on the brink of disaster because they are ignoring simple backup procedures needed to safeguard their critical business data, a survey released yesterday has claimed.

According to the online poll, which was conducted by Microsoft, over a quarter of small companies cannot be bothered to back up data at all, while 40 per cent admitted that they only get around to doing back ups less than once a month.

The software giant went on to warn that the danger from shoddy backup procedures will be compounded by what it predicts will be sharp increases in the number of laptops being damaged or stolen. The company cited statistics suggesting that 100,000 laptops will be damaged and nearly 67,000 stolen next year, adding that with figures like these, insurers are advising businesses to incorporate the cost of hardware theft into annual budget planning.

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