Data recovery provider, Kroll Ontrack, has released results from its second annual survey of customers who lost valuable data.
One of the key findings from the survey was that consumers and businesses have increased their attempts to protect their data by backing it up but have used inadequate methods which resulted in data loss.
The survey results report that 65% of respondents had a backup solution in place at the time of a data loss incident. This is a 5% increase from the figures reported in 2013. What is concerning is that 59% of respondents claimed that they were taking a backup to an external hard drive. 15% utilised a cloud based backup solution whilst 10% used a tape based backup solution. 55% of the respondents also claimed that they made sure backups ran on a daily basis.
Despite so many consumers and businesses utilising a backup method, the main reasons for backups failing and therefore resulting in data loss are:
– The external drive was only connected on an occasional basis; backup not automated and instead performed on demand.
– The backup ran out of destination space.
– The backup profile did not cover all of the device requiring backup.
Abhik Mitra who is a data recovery product manager at Kroll Ontrack believes that having a data backup solution in place is just one step to ensure that data isn’t lost.
Mitra stated, “As the year-over-year survey results demonstrate, conducting backups is just step one in a complete backup strategy. Regularly ensuring your backup solution works effectively and the data is accessible is also paramount.”
As there are now a host of backup solutions available, there are very little excuses for businesses to be utilising a solution that isn’t adequate to meet their needs and demands. This survey also exposes the lack of quality that some backup solutions provide to consumers and businesses as data loss still occurs when backups are meant to be running.
Mitra added, “With backup technology getting better in quality and price, it is no surprise we saw an uptick in the percentage of people implementing a backup solution. What is interesting is that those that spend time, effort and money to implement the solution still experienced data loss, proving that one needs to be extremely diligent to ensure their chosen backup method is successful.”
One feature of a backup solution that is regularly overlooked is the monitoring aspect. An effective monitoring system that is easy to understand can help reduce the likelihood of a data loss incident from occurring. A cloud based backup solution also brings several advantages than other solutions and should be seriously considered.
Do you utilise a backup solution? Are you confident that you can recover your data no matter what happens?
