Are Consumers Confused About Data Storage and Backup?

A new Carbonite (CARB) survey of 500 consumers revealed roughly 50 percent of respondents do not understand the difference between data storage and backup. Here are the details.

Dan Kobialka, Contributing writer

November 11, 2015

2 Min Read
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A new Carbonite (CARB) survey of 500 consumers revealed roughly 50 percent of respondents do not understand the difference between data storage and backup.

The survey also showed the majority of respondents leave their personal data unprotected, despite the fact that they place a “significant value” on this information.

Other survey results included:

  • Almost 30 percent of respondents said that a quarter of the data on their personal computer is irreplaceable. Conversely, the same percentage said they do not know when their data was last backed up.

  • 20 percent said they are “very concerned” about losing their data.

  • 20 percent noted that they would rather lose access to social media than lose their data.

“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of confusion about the differences between cloud backup and cloud storage, and users tend to pay the price,” Carbonite Chief Marketing Officer Nina McIntyre said in a prepared statement.

Managed service providers (MSPs), however, can provide education about data storage and backup to ensure customers can protect their sensitive information at all times. 

For example, Intronis Vice President of Channel Development Neal Bradbury recently offered three steps for MSPs to deliver effective data backup to customers:

  1. Identify and evaluate — Identify business-critical applications and examine how each application supports a company’s operations.

  2. Define RPO and RTO — Establish a recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO); by doing so, an MSP can help a business determine how frequently data should be backed up and how much time a company needs to recover an application to maintain its operations.

  3. Document, test and review — Track findings, test backups and recoveries and make any changes as needed.

In addition, McIntyre said offering automatic cloud backup remains a viable option.

“With automatic cloud backup, your photos and data are protected as soon as you create them, so you never have to remind yourself to manually upload your files to a cloud storage provider,” she said. 

What are your thoughts on data storage and backup? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].

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About the Author

Dan Kobialka

Dan Kobialka

Contributing writer, Penton Technology

Dan Kobialka is a contributing writer for MSPmentor and Talkin' Cloud. In the past, he has produced content for numerous print and online publications, including the Boston Business Journal, Boston Herald and Patch.com. Dan holds a M.A. in Print and Multimedia Journalism from Emerson College and a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State College (now Bridgewater State University). In his free time, Kobialka enjoys jogging, traveling, playing sports, touring breweries and watching football (Go Patriots!).  

See more from Dan Kobialka
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