It’s coming March 31st … are you prepared?
What would happen if your computer crashed, or your phone was damaged or lost? Do you have a plan in place to mitigate a disaster that may cause you to lose important files, data, precious photos, and memories?
World Backup Day is a gentle reminder to nudge you into ensuring you have a robust data backup plan in place. Your plan needs to include regular backups, testing those backups, and storing them securely.
The consequences of no backup plan.
Without a solid plan in place to secure all of your digital data, you’re at risk of permanent loss of vital information which can include things such as financial records, important documents, precious photos, and other valuable information.
Recovering that lost data will cost you time & effort, lost productivity, stress, potential legal issues, and the cost to hire a professional to recover your data can be substantial.
What should I backup?
It’s vital to backup ALL of your digital files. It’s not just your computer and phone, you need to include every single device you own. Consider things like:
- Tablets
- SD cards
- Flash drives
- External hard drives
- Social Media accounts
- Online photo storage sites
- Important voicemail messages and other audio files
- CDs & DVDs (yes, some people may still have these hanging around)
Consolidate all of these into a single place, then implement your backup plan using the 3-2-1 Rule.
Implement a robust backup plan.
In photo organizing, we use the 3-2-1 Rule which can easily be applied to all other digital data. Here’s how it works:
Three copies of your data. The original plus two backups.
Two different media types. Vary the types of formats you used to store your digital data on. Things like external hard drives (EHD), Thumb drives, and cloud storage.
One offsite. Whether it’s with a family member, or a cloud service, keep a copy away from the original and alternate backup. In the event of a disaster such as fire or flood, it will do you no good to have everything stored in one geographical location.
Maintain your backup plan.
Here are a few things you can do to ensure your backup plan is current and working.
Automate your backups. Set up automatic backups so they happen regularly, even if you forget.
Test them regularly. It’s not a matter of “IF” something will fail, it’s “WHEN” it will fail. Technology changes and things wear out.
Review your backup plan. Schedule a once-a-year review of your plan. Perhaps on World Backup Day? This will ensure it remains effective and meets your needs.
It’s a small investment of time and money, but taking these steps will help you rest easy knowing that all of your important digital data is safe and secure for years to come.
