Data storage is one of the most important functions that your business performs behind closed doors. After all, knowledge is power, and data is always the largest source of knowledge that your business compiles, so storing it in a smart and manageable way is the key to maximizing the knowledge you can extrapolate from your data. You would be shocked how few businesses and business owners understand the importance of smart data storage. Here are three ways that you can be storing data smarter at your business.

Keep it Organized

The first and arguably most important step in streamlining your data storage at your business is to organize it better. With so much data going around these days and so much to store and stay on top of, it can easily get tricky trying to organize it all with more and more coming in every day. But there are a few things you can focus on to organize smarter. First, try to simplify your categories. When you get too specific with folders and segments, you can create more clutter than you solve. You should also make sure that you are backing up your data and ensuring that you have strong email policies at your business to ensure that important emails are stored and kept.

Use Cloud Storage

If you are still storing all of your business data on a local server that is on site, then your business is behind the curve. Cloud storage is a network of servers that are accessible via the internet for your business and can help you store nearly unlimited volumes of data. And cloud data can still be incredibly secure if that is a worry for you and your business. A private cloud service can be more secure than a public cloud. If your cybersecurity is your number one priority, you should consider finding a private vendor to do your cloud storage.

Only Store Essential Data

The main problem that businesses run into with their data is not really that they have too much data, but rather that they don’t understand what data to get rid of. Not all data is important and not all data is important to be stored. You don’t need to store pieces of data that are not essential, so find ways to filter through your data and eliminate the inessential data from your data pool. You’ll be more organized, and have less storage space capacity to pay for!

Data storage is a headache for most businesses. But it doesn’t have to be such a struggle if you know how to store your data the smart way. Follow these three tips and your business will be storing data smarter than most.

Read this next: How to Use Your Communication Skills to Build Your Business