Prevent data loss: make backup part of your routine
We live in a time when we own more data than ever. Photos and videos of moments we never want to forget. Important working documents. Access to customer data, financial statements, conversations, plans - everything is in our digital memory. But how vulnerable are we really because of this? At least with a regular backup routine, we are already much less vulnerable than without!
Backing up should no longer be an extra task, but a habit. Just like brushing your teeth or grabbing your key before going out the door.
More devices, more data, more risk
Smartphones, tablets, laptops - for work and for play, data are increasingly intermingled. And yet more than 30% of people still do not back up their data. Not because it is difficult, but because it does not exist. There is a lack of urgency. Until things go wrong.
Your phone stolen. A laptop that crashes. Or worse: a cryptovirus that takes your entire drive hostage. And then what? Then those photos, contracts or client files are gone. Sometimes forever.
Make backup a habit - with the 3-2-1 rule
The best way to stay ahead of data loss? Make backup a routine. You don't have to be an IT professional to do it right. Just follow the 3-2-1 rule:
- Three copies of your data (the original and two backups).
- Two different types of storage (e.g. an external hard drive and a cloud service).
- One backup in another location (off-site), for example in the cloud or outside the office.
So you are prepared for most forms of data loss - from water damage to ransomware.
Technology that works for you
You really don't need to arrange everything manually. Both Windows and Apple make it easy for you to do automatic backups:
- Apple Time Machine automatically backs up to an external drive.
- Windows Backup offers simple settings and scheduling.
- Extra backup in the cloud? Think iCloud, OneDrive or Google Drive.
Schedule a set time during the week - Sunday evening, for example - to check in on everything. Small effort, big difference.
Legal responsibility: backups and AVG
For organisations, there is not only a practical, but also a legal responsibility: the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) requires companies to properly secure personal data - including within their backup systems. A backup must therefore not only exist, but also be securely stored, encrypted where necessary, and cleaned in a timely manner. It is not only the ‘live data’ that counts, but also what lies dormant on a forgotten disk somewhere.
Every day counts
Officially, there is a World Backup Day, but actually backing up should be part of our daily digital behaviour. Not as an extra task, but as a basic requirement for peace of mind, continuity and ownership of your digital life.
Let's make 2026 the year when we no longer lose data but win habits.