You don't know what you've got until it's gone.

No, we're not referring to the one that got away. We're talking about your data.

The truth is, at any moment, your computer could crash, a cyber criminal could target your business, or a natural disaster could strike.

That's why it's important to have a backup of your data, in case anything ever happens to the original files. After all, there's nothing like the original.

Today is the best possible day to back up your data.

The next best day is tomorrow.

And if you haven't successfully backed up your company's data by March 31, hopefully, you'll join the rest of us in celebrating World Backup Day.

That's right, every year on March 31 is World Backup Day. An annual event that reminds everyone to back up their data and make a copy of all your most important data, docs, files, and memories.

Think about that for a second. Backing up your data is so important that it has a holiday dedicated to it.

Despite that, too many businesses skip this critical step, putting their data at risk in the event of a cyber attack or other data-destroying disasters.

Without a plan to consistently back up your data, if your business's data is lost or stolen, you can lose weeks, months, or even years of your work.

Unfortunately, losing your important data is pretty common.

  • 45 percent of businesses have suffered a data loss in the past two years.
  • More than 60 million computers will fail this year (and data loss is the leading cause of those failures).
  • 113 phones are lost or stolen every minute.
  • 30% of all computers are already infected with malware.

 

Why should you back up your data?

There are many reasons why businesses should back up their data.

For starters, data backups can help your company recover from a disaster or system failure.

Backing up your data can help you comply with regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

And finally, data backups can help protect your business from cyber attacks by making it easier to restore data that has been corrupted or stolen.

This is especially important, as the number of cyber attacks and the cost of a data breach continues to rise. According to the 2021 Cost of Data Breach Study from IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach is now $4.24 million—the highest total cost ever recorded.

Backups are an essential part of any business continuity plan and can help reduce the impact of a data disaster.

 

What are your options for backing up your data?

There are many different ways to back up your data. You can use an online backup service, a cloud storage service, or an on-premises storage solution. You can also back up your data manually.

The best option will depend on your business's needs.

Some of the most common methods of backing up data include:

  • On-premise storage. On-premise storage is a type of backup solution that stores your data on your own servers. This is a good option for businesses that want more control over their backups and don't want to store their data in the cloud.
  • Cloud storage. Cloud storage is a type of backup solution that stores your data on remote servers. This is a good option for businesses that want to store their data off-site or don't have the resources to set up their own on-premise storage solution.
  • Online backup. Online backup is a type of backup solution that stores your data online. This is a good option for businesses that want to back up their data remotely and don't have the resources to set up their own on-premise or cloud storage solution.
  • Smartphone backup. Most smartphones offer built-in backup features that allow you to back up your data to the cloud or your computer. This is a good option for business professionals that work a lot from their phones and want to back up their data on the go.

When you opt for cloud or online storage solutions, you'll want to make sure your data is encrypted. Encryption is the process of transforming data into an unreadable format. This is an important step because it helps protect your data from hackers and other cyber threats.

We recommend using a mixture of on-premise and cloud or online backups. This way, you'll have a backup solution that is both reliable and secure. In other words, a backup for your backup.

Just make sure you create a backup plan that fits your business's unique needs. Decide what information you need to back up—think about anything you absolutely can't live without. And find a backup method that meets those requirements.

Whatever method you choose, it's only valuable if you actually use it and back up your data regularly. Data backups should be done on a schedule, preferably one that corresponds to your company's disaster recovery plan.

The frequency of backups will depend on the amount of data you need to back up, but it's generally a good idea to back up your data at least once a week at a minimum.

And most importantly—don't forget to test your backups! Test your backups each week to ensure that they are working properly. If something happens to your data, you need to be able to restore your backup.

 

How do backups protect you from cyber threats?

During a time when cybercrime is at an all-time high, data backups are more important than ever and essential to your security strategy.

By backing up your data, you create a copy of your files that can be used to restore your system if it's ever compromised.

Backups provide peace of mind in the event of a data disaster, they can help your business comply with regulatory requirements, and protect against cyber threats.

For example: Backing up your data is one of the best ways to prevent ransomware attacks.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and holds them ransom until you pay the attacker. If you have a backup of your data, you can restore your system from the backup and remove the ransomware infection.

Without a reliable backup of your data, you would likely lose everything that was encrypted by ransomware. Unless you pay the ransom... which currently costs companies about $570,000.

That should be a good enough reason to create a backup plan.

 

Before you go...

Here are some quick tips to remember for backing up your data:

  • Back up your data regularly. The best way to protect your data is to back it up frequently. The recommended frequency depends on your business, but backing up at least once a week is a good rule of thumb.
  • Make sure your backups are secure. Your backups should be stored in a safe place where they can't be accessed by unauthorized individuals or cyber criminals.
  • Test your backups regularly. It's important to test your backups to make sure they are actually working. You don't want to find out they're not working when you need them the most.
  • Have a disaster recovery plan. In the event of a data disaster, it's important to have a plan in place for how you will recover your data quickly.

     

Conclusion: Backing up your data is so important it has a holiday

Backing up your data is one of the most important things you can do to protect your business, period.

Whether a cyber attack, natural disaster, hardware failure, or other data destroying nightmare—having a backup of your data can mean the difference between staying in business or struggling to keep the doors open.

World Backup Day is a great time to reevaluate your business's backup plan and make sure you are doing everything you can to protect your data.

For more information on how to back up your data, reach out to us today.