The iPhone and iPad have become the standard in business and protecting your business data is crucial if you want to ensure everything is backed up and is protected from others who aren’t supposed to see it. While Apple provides tools to backup and recover a lot of your data, there are other tools that can help ensure that your data is never lost and never falls into the wrong hands. Here are five iOS apps to protect your data.

iTunes

Connecting your iOS device to your computer allows you to sync your data with iTunes and have a back up right in the program. You can easily do this by syncing with iTunes and clicking Back Up in the devices menu. Then simply click Back Up Now and iTunes will create a backup recovery in your device preferences. You can create as many backups as you like.

If you lose any data, you can simply click Restore from Back Up in the Devices menu.

iCloud

Apple created iCloud for the sole purpose of protecting your data and files. If you have iOS 5 or higher, iCloud can automatically back up your important data if you are connected over Wi-Fi, plugged into a power source, and has the screen locked. You can also back up you iOS data manually by going into the iCloud menu in settings and tapping Back Up Now.

You can restore your backup by erasing your phone contents and selecting restore from iCloud backup when prompted to set up your phone. This also works if you purchase a new device and want to transfer your iCloud data from your old device.

Passcode

If you want to avoid prying eyes seeing your business data, a passcode is essential. You can easily set up a passcode in the setting menu to ensure that only you or people you trust can access your device information. You can also set the passcode preferences to wipe your data after 10 incorrect passcode entries to ensure that your data is gone from the phone and only accessible in your iCloud or iTunes backup.

Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is a great app allows you to track down your phone if it is ever lost or stolen but it also allows you to remotely wipe your data so that your information is still protected from prying eyes even if you can’t recover your missing device.

Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud office suite that allows you to create and store documents and access them from any device. If you have files or data that you want to access if your phone is ever damaged or missing, you can upload them to Google Drive and access them from any computer or device. You can also use an application like DropBox or SugarSync to backup your files to the cloud and access them from any other device.

Apple provides the tools you need to keep your iOS data secure but it helps to be vigilant. Make sure that you sync and back up your data as often as possible to avoid losing anything important.

Raymond Ray is an electrical engineer at SalvageData which provides data recovery services around the world. Raymond enjoys writing and sharing about tech tips and how to guides. Join him at Google+.