Heavy on the Pocket or Light on the Mind?
It is quipped that ‘A doctor kills your ills by pills and you, by bills’. The same could be said for a professional data recovery service, or is it so?
When the crucial data spills, you can bet on your every penny, that any right thinking Company is going to try to recover almost all of it or most of it at least and they are not going to entrust any Tom, Dick or Harry with the job. Their survival itself is at stake. Individuals who are particular about getting their lost data back will entrust the data recovery to the professionals because they cannot be bothered with the task of trying to do something that they are not sure about and their data is extremely important. To every rule, there are exceptions.
Tech-savvy companies having the technical expertise or the many individuals who fancy their chances and are keen on avoiding the heavy charges for professional recovery of the lost data, generally attempt data recovery on their own, with specialised Do-It-Yourself software available in the market. Most of the time, in such cases, the data may not be mission critical.
Keep in mind the fact that, if you meddle with a problematic storage device, you are likely to harm the data further and dash the chances of a proper recovery even if you subsequently entrust it to a data recovery professional, after trying your hand at data recovery!
To decide on whether to get professional help or not, for recovering the data, ascertain how important the data is to you or to the organisation. What is the financial cost due to such data loss, and does its recovery justify the time and the money that are required by the data recovery professionals? If the recovery of your data determines your survival or competitiveness, do not hesitate to seek professional help in recovering the data, though it may not be always successful to the desired extent. On the other hand, your habit of taking regular backups could mean a distinct cost advantage, as you can single-handedly recover the data in no time.
Once decided, about going to the professionals, you should decide on the data recovery organisation, with whom you are going to entrust your precious baby. Data loss + Incompetent Company = Total data write off. A class 100 clean room facility can be ascertained by making a visit to the facility itself. Read up on data recovery and place a few unambiguous questions to the experts, about the process. Carefully read their terms and conditions, with additional emphasis on the areas involving data confidentiality. These small steps will provide the confidence about choosing the right data recovery company.
Data loss statistics indicate that data loss is happening all around us. The proliferation of data recovery companies and Do-It-Yourself data recovery software underscore this fact. Naturally, the reputed data recovery professionals are going to be having their hands full, when you land up with your hard drive at their doorstep. They are not going to drop everything and attend to your problem immediately, because they are dealing with the loss of precious data in respect of all their customers. Give them time and they will do a good job. The professionals generally do not resort to shortcuts and so your data device will have to fall in line and follow the established routine.
Employing a highly skilled workforce, constantly keeping the in-house technology updated with the industry trends, maintaining the standards of the clean room facilities / infrastructure etc. require large periodic investments of money. Maintaining high standards of service (including follow-up and preventive maintenance) requires effort, time and manpower if the reputed companies have to withstand the ever-increasing competition from their peers. Thus the generation of goodwill also requires funding commitments.
Getting your priceless data back, to your satisfaction, is also a decisive factor that makes professional data recovery an expensive process. The professional understands that you have gone to them as a last resort or that he does not want to take chances with the data recovery. Either way, it is clearly understood that the data is very precious and is badly required. So what’s a data recovery bill, when compared to the invaluable data?
Confidentiality or no confidentiality clause, most organisations that are on the brink of losing data, prefer to seek professional help as they stand a fighting chance to get their data back. In a world that is dependent on information and data, you cannot take any chances when you are on the brink of an information abyss.
Reclaim your data and you can reclaim your survival.