24 Hour Data appreciates the opportunity to save data (and businesses) when a worst-case scenario happens and you need emergency data recovery. We understand that no matter how frequently or how reliably you back up your data, mission critical data can still be lost. To minimize your chances of needing emergency data recovery, follow the “1,2,3” steps to data back-up.

 1. Local back-ups daily – Back up all your files daily, locally. The best way to do this is on an external hard drive. Companies like Seagate, Toshiba and Samsung make great external hard drives that connect to your computer via a USB cable and can stand up to practically anything.

 2. Back-up in the cloud – Programs like DropBox allow you to store your data “in the cloud,” or on the Internet, where you can access from anywhere in the world where you have a high-speed internet connection. This is moving toward the preferred back-up solution for businesses and individuals. But as the recent Amazon server crash showed, “in-the-cloud” storage is not entirely safe.

 3. Remote back-ups, stored elsewhere but easily accessible – Your third data back-up storage method should be on hard media (such as an external hard drive), but stored off-site. If you lose your data due to fire, flood, or natural disaster, your back-ups should be available in a place that’s relatively easy to reach, but not so close that it would fall victim to the same disaster your computer or server experienced. These back-ups can be updated daily, weekly or monthly, depending on the amount of data you create every day and the importance of that data.