You know how you’re supposed to shower before jumping into the pool? Or vacuum under the bed? Backing up your data is just like that, except the consequences of not doing it are much more dire.
By 2020, 1.7 MB (megabytes) of data will be created every second for each person on the planet. With more and more of your most important information being stored digitally, any loss of your data can be potentially disastrous. Here’s 5 reasons you need to start backing up your data immediately.
- Accidents happen Did you know 90% of Toy Story 2 was accidentally deleted during its creation? The good news is that while accidents like these can’t be entirely prevented, the damage can be largely mitigated with automatic, continuous backups.
- Thieves target phones 2.1 million phones were stolen in the U.S. alone; that’s a staggering 5,753 phones every day. So when 64% of people would be more upset about losing their data that has not been backed up than the device itself, it’s even more surprising that 37% of mobile users don’t backup their data. Luckily, Apple and Android phones now come with the ability to automatically backup your phone to some degree. All it takes is a few minutes to turn it on!
- Infections While mobile devices are always a hot target for thieves, you don’t want to forget about your computer. 1 in 10 computers are infected with viruses each month, and an infection could mean a total data loss of your most important information.
- Data loss 53% of people either lost data themselves or know someone who lost data, and could not get it back. If you’re one of the 30% of people who have never backed up, that means you can’t even recover your data with an older version.
- Time is money When you lose your data, the effects aren’t as simple as data loss. Data loss and the resulting downtime cost $1.7 trillion annually. Small businesses are especially vulnerable because they think they can’t afford an extensive backup system. But a report from Verizon found that even small breaches or losses of fewer than 100 files can cost businesses from $18,120 and $35,730.
- Continuous, automatic backups You don’t want to rely on your memory to initiate the backup process. Instead, look for a service that will start running the second you turn on your computer.
- Number of devices Be careful. Some services charge according to the number of devices you have, so if you use both a desktop and a laptop, you could be paying double for your service.
- Restoration process There’s no sense subscribing to a service that does a great job backing up your data, but forces you to go through a long, complicated restoration process. Bonus points if you’re able to search for and restore individual files!