Risk Management for Rural Businesses

Rural businesses are at the forefront of New Zealand's economy. Nexus's new relationship with CRT as an accredited supplier makes secure online backup a realistic option for the rural business community.

Farming technology has certainly taken a turn in the past few years. Today, we rely on computers for anything from GPS-based pasture management and stock systems, through to financial control of the business. Computers haven’t replaced gumboots just yet, but there wouldn’t be many rural businesses that treat their information systems as something they could do without.

However, "doing without", is a consequence that you should consider. What if you suddenly lost the lot? Financials, records, emails etc, all gone up in smoke. The potential causes are plenty – fire, computer virus, hardware failure or… having the laptop hit the floor of the milking shed. Sure, the laptop may be insured, but time is money and so is information. Most businesses count the value of their computer information in the tens of thousands of dollars, and rural business are no exception. What’s more, insurance won’t cover "intangibles", like lost productivity.

Fortunately, the solution is simple. Back-up all of your information, securely in an offsite location and update it daily. Sounds easy… and it is. With the support of CRT, Nexus Data Security now offers a completely secure way of backing up all of your computers and laptops. The information is stored in secure Data Centres and can be sent to you at a moment’s notice. The only requirement at your end is that you have a broadband internet connection (check out CRT’s great deals on these). Nexus does the rest.

Feedback from farmers and contractors has indicated that there is a high need in the industry for some solid systems for protecting vital computer-based information. Nexus is a relatively new name in the rural sector, but is no stranger to Canterbury. In fact, you’ve probably benefited from their services without even knowing it. Nexus handles the computer backup for Canterbury GP’s via Pegasus Health, plus many of the pharmacies, and a wide range of government departments and private businesses. The private information that they hold about you gets the best protection possible.