Small businesses in IT need to prioritise the effectiveness of their data governance, it has been asserted.

Dean Wiltshire, the senior product analyst at Pitney Bowes Business Insight, explained that there is a lot of data which is "exploding" out of companies around the world, meaning that the maintenance of such information - including data recovery systems - is paramount to their ongoing health.

He explained: "Keeping track of that at the speed of business dumbfounds many organisations and they forget about data quality - they're just trying to satisfy their customers.

"But, without data quality it is that much harder to satisfy your customer because you don't have a complete view of your customer."

Mr Wiltshire highlighted the need for businesses to get executives on board to ensure that such an initiative is agreed with on all levels, making data governance a top priority within a firm.

It follows a survey carried out this month by Pitney Bowes Business Insight, which found that around one-third of respondents rate their data quality as poor at best, while just four per cent see it as excellent.

A recent survey for Connect found that one in ten companies has lost important data as a result of a backup failure. The company has now developed a unique online backup service for SMEs to ensure they can survive any disaster.