Happy World Backup Day
On Saturday the 31st March 2018, the world
mutedly celebrated what is, in the opinion of Fields Data Recovery, one of the most
deserving yet little-known awareness days there is: World Backup Day.
It’s understandable that this day doesn’t generate the same
degree of coverage as those designed to promote check-ups that could save lives
or draw attention to suffering, but the fact that so few of us are aware of
this day’s existence serves as proof of the fact that we simply don’t
appreciate the vital role data plays in our day-to-day lives - until they find they've lost vital data, at least!
Many of the awareness days that are held are designed to
raise awareness of various illnesses and conditions. No one would deny that
this is both noble and important yet few would advocate the importance of World
Backup Day even though the physicians, scientists and academics striving to
cure/prevent these ailments are undoubtedly heavily reliant on data. If they
failed to back this up, they would probably lose years if not decades of
research if their storage media failed.
A similar situation applies where developments for
third-world countries are concerned. Solutions to problems such as access to
clean drinking water, adequate energy, cultivatable land and many others are
again reliant upon data. The vastness of these problems is largely why solutions
to them seem so far away but, again, data loss would inevitably result in years
of lost work if no backups had been made.
Data’s value is not just scientific, though. It is also
vital to the everyday activities of the vast majority of modern businesses.
Companies with robust and up-to-date backup procedures can weather the storm of
data loss with relative ease. Those that have failed to acknowledge the indispensable
role of data within contemporary companies will instead find themselves downing
tools for several days following the failure of their media. The cost of getting data recovered also negatively impacts their bottom line further.
Finally, data is also hugely valuable on a personal level,
too. Photographs and videos can hold tremendous sentimental value, music can
keep us entertained for hours and, on a more practical level, various files
such as spreadsheets and word documents can store vital work or organisational
records.
In short, we find it surprising that it’s necessary to try
and raise awareness of the importance of regularly backing up data. It is,
after all, something nearly all of us use on a daily basis and, should it
suddenly become inaccessible, would adversely impact us for a number of
reasons. Data is a vital part of everyday life and we can only hope that events
designed to emphasise its importance – such as World Backup Day – serve their
purpose and that people treat their data with the respect it deserves.