When you lose your wallet, the last thing you think of is how much it is going to cost you to replace your wallet. The same is true when equipment (and especially a computer) is stolen.

Our mothers always told us, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." They were right.

Think about what it really costs to replace equipment:

• The price of the replacement hardware.

• The price of replacing software.

• The cost of recreating data (if it is possible at all. who ever keeps perfect backups?).

• The cost of lost production time or instruction time.

• The loss of customer good will (lost faxes, delayed correspondence or billings, problems answering questions and accessing data).

• The cost of reporting and investigating theft, filing police reports and insurance claims.

• The cost of increased insurance.

• The cost of processing and order for replacements, cutting a check, etc.

• If a thief is ever caught (!), the cost of time involved in prosecution.

Many organizations effectively self-insure for common equipment losses, so a theft may mean not being able to replace equipment at all, at least without effecting department or program budgets.

Doesn't it make sense to use an ounce of prevention?