The all-seeing eye of a camera won't prevent determined thieves from breaking into your office, but may help you catch them red-handed. Video surveillance with motion detection will show the scene of a crime in real-time and record footage to help you pursue the bad guys later.

We've dealt with thieves, but what about interventions of overwhelmiong magnitude? The general preparedness tips outlined above--especially the use of offsite backups--will help mitigate damage due to natural disasters, but a few devices can do even more, if you're concerned that a fire or flood might whisk away your life's work.

For digital storage, ioSafe makes a range of designed to resist both fire (at up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit) and water (a water column of up to 10 feet for 3 days). Keep analog essentials such as paper documents (and printouts of essential data) either offsite in a safe deposit box or in a sturdy fire safe on the premises. These inexpensive safeguards are well worth the investment.