Monitoring data trends lets businesses forecast future events and plan accordingly.
Having backup software in place to ensure data never goes missing can help businesses keep track of their financial information.
Malcolm Trotter, chief executive at the International Association of Book-keepers, explained that such software can help companies forecast the future and gives them the best possible chance of neutralising problems before they come up.
"Clearly, if you have got past data, you are able to use that and see the patterns of expenditure, particularly if you have got a cyclical sort of business through the year. It is very accessible for you to be able to look at the monthly trends and enables you to use them for forecasting the trends of the future," he commented.
"Typically, it is a 12-month period that you would do the forecasting for and then you can monitor your last year’s figures for the same period against the forecast and against the actual [figures]. By doing that monthly, you are able to be aware of what is happening."
Mr Trotter pointed out that at an early stage firms can monitor their data and see if they need to adjust their plans and budgets accordingly.
However, there is still a number of small businesses that do not implement safe online backup plans and so could be at risk of a hacking attack or other danger.
A survey from Mozy this month found that a third of small and medium-sized businesses allow their staff to backup their own data at work with whichever method they choose, which leaves the company unaccountable for its own data storage.
The reason behind this policy is that many firms do not provide formal backup policies, while 60 per cent do not budget for any form of data backup, leaving them at risk of sensitive company data loss.