One Reason Why IT Maintenance Contracts are More Needed This Year

                                                                                         

There is a greater need for companies to keep IT maintenance contracts this year. Firms certainly do not want to further increase the incidences of data losses and breaches, which rose uncontrollably in 2008. Data released by non-profit IT research firm Identity Theft Resource Center showed that reported data breaches in US businesses rose 47% in 2008 to 656 incidences from 446 cases in 2007. It was estimated that the breaches affected some 35.7 million important and confidential records.

Analysis of the incidences found that the data breaches mostly resulted from stolen or lost laptops, insufficient security, data losses and accidental and unintentional exposure of online data. The known and controversial cases of such problems included the data loss from laptops stolen from Starbucks and Merrill Lynch, student Social Security accounts of Ohio State University exposed online, stolen bank card information from fake card readers at Georgia gas stations and penetration of the World Bank Group’s significant computer network.

Furthermore, data breaches resulted from insider theft, data on the move, hacking, subcontractor factors and accidental exposure. Studies show that the companies were not the only party exposed to security and confidentiality threats. Consumers and clients of such companies were equally put to risk. Thus, there has always been a heavy campaign for stricter and more effective IT maintenance contracts. Experts assert that good and reliable IT consulting services could help alleviate and minimize problems, if not totally eliminate, data breaches and loss problems.

Companies need to watch against insider theft of information and loss of laptops. However, to ensure protection against password hacking, data stealing software and data losses, good and productive IT consulting services should be implemented. Getting into functional IT maintenance contracts is a logical way to ensure protection against data breaches and losses. That is why businesses should allocate significant amount of budget into such initiatives, especially in the long run.

More than 80% of data breaches and losses are electronic in nature, no doubt. The remaining 20% could be in the form of paper documents, which logically still have electronic copies. Naturally, data lost electronically is not easily retrieved. Thus, the use of proper and effective data recovery techniques and tools is very essential. IT maintenance contracts usually cover such services. In this way, companies do not need to hire other experts when data breaches and losses occur. The problems are usually covered by IT consulting services.

This year, companies naturally aim to lower or totally scrap out incidences of data breaches and losses basically because the problems cost them more. Not only will the firms benefit from doing so. Consumers and clients could surely rest assured that their sensitive account information will never be exposed to unscrupulous people, who may intend to defraud or steal.

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