World Backup Day, a day designed to recognize the importance of reliably backing up your data, is on March 31st. It’s an opportunity to re-examine your approach to data protection. More importantly, it’s a good reminder to actually back up your work and personal data. Have you ever lost personal data from your laptop or smartphone? Have you ever lost business data as the result of a computer crash or network outage? Ever had that terrible feeling of regret knowing you should have saved and backed up your data earlier?
Widespread awareness campaigns like World Backup Day are a great idea, and we see them work in other areas of our lives. When do you change the batteries on your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors? Most of us probably act on the reminders we get when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends. We hear it on the radio twice a year: “Turn you clocks back and be sure to replace the batteries on your smoke detectors.” Our regional fire services and mainstream media have done a good job reinforcing the importance of working safety devices by doing awareness campaigns twice a year.
The same awareness needs to happen around data backups. Here are some startling facts:
- Only 50% of Organizations have a tested Disaster Recovery Plan
- About 30% of all tape backups are corrupted and irrecoverable
- Over 80% of organizations had at least one outage in the last year
- Only 1 in 4 people regularly back up their personal data from phones or laptops
These stats and figures are meant to scare people, and not because backup providers want to sell you solutions based on a sense of fear. It is because having a robust backup and data protection strategy is simply the right thing to do. And it’s urgent. But here’s the thing – you shouldn’t be afraid – you should be proactive and confident in a smart solution that protects your most critical asset – information. The principles of good data stewardship apply just as strongly to your home life as they do for your company.
In both our personal and professional lives – we continue to rely on data more and more to function properly. And a data loss scenario–usually caused by an accident–can cost you money, heartache, and your customer’s trust.
For your personal data, online backup solutions like Apple’s iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive are easy and reliable options. However, this is not the case with respect to your business. Many organizations and industries have strict regulatory rules and polices around data residency, encryption, information privacy, and storage practices. Your company needs a flexible, secure, and regularly tested data protection and backup strategy.
It’s not just servers and company network components that need to be protected from data loss. Your company’s IT team should be backing up and encrypting the data on local devices like smartphones and laptops. And with so many of today’s employees working remotely from customer offices, job sites, or working from home – the need for a good device protection strategy continues to grow rapidly.
With World Backup Day around the corner, it’s time to ensure that your company’s data protection strategy can accommodate today’s mobile-first, cloud-first realities. The good news is that there are plenty of tools to keep your business and personal data safe. We can help.
