World Backup Day: Don't Be An April Fool!

Well, another designated global “holiday” is upon us and yet it’s a very important one because though people know they need to backup data, most don’t even think about it until it’s too late!

When was the last time you backed up your data? World Backup Day is today, 3/31, and although it is not an official holiday it is one that should be taken seriously. Who knew that we’d need a day to dedicate to backing up our most precious and important items!

Scary Stats

Some scary stats for those who don’t backup their files (provided by Hostgator):

• All hard drives will crash during their lifetime
• More than 1 in 10 laptops will be stolen in their lifetime
• A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds
• Every year 46% of computer users lose their music, photos, and documents
• 50% of all hard drives will crash within 5 years
• 89.1% of PC users don’t perform regular backups
• A recent study from Gartner, Inc., found that 90 percent of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years.
• 70 percent of companies go out of business after a major data loss

Most of us have learned the hard way that backing up our data is important and hard drive failures are an unavoidable reality.  Here is an infographic that highlights the importance of regular backups.

Click picture to view full image

My Backup Strategy

Now there are tons of ways to backup your files and I won’t dictate how you do so but I’ll share with you my strategy.

Website

I backup this entire website on a monthly basis and the database files on a weekly basis using WordPress backup plugins. (I don’t post on this blog but maybe a couple times a month so I will never be more than a post or two lost if anything happens.)

On another blog though – UncommonChick.com, I backup the entire site monthly because I post there 3-4 times a week and make changes frequently. If I’m making substantial changes, I’ll backup the entire website with each change!

Computer files

Because the files on my computer are my life blood, so to speak, I backup them up frequently. I backup the entire hard drive on a monthly basis to an external hard drive with Terabytes of data. I backup my “My Documents” folder weekly to that same hard drive (and a second hard drive when I remember) as well as a cloud service. I feel MUCH better knowing my data can be restored from multiple places at least.

Cell Phone

I’m sure these days, if you’re anything like me, you take pictures and videos and store music with your phone. Well, what happens if your phone is stolen or it crashes (like mine did last year)? I currently have Verizon and they have a cloud backup solution that I use so even if I change phones, all contacts, photos, videos, music etc. are saved in the clouds! Can’t beat that! Check with your cell phone provider to see what options they have for you. Of course you can even backup to your computer on a regular basis as well.

Over to you…

So today of all days (or whatever day you’re reading this ), I encourage you to backup ALL of your cherished photos, videos, and important documents. If you’ve ever had a hard disk fail or stolen computer, you’ll know that it’s a bit like losing a piece of your soul – trust me!!

What’s your backup strategy? How often do you backup your files? What software/hardware do you use? Please weigh in below!