It's too bad, but just the reality these days: For many SMEs, backing up their data only plays a minor role. On the one hand, helpful solutions are often too expensive, at least at first glance; on the other hand, the presence of RAID arrays on servers is deceiving - it portrays a false sense of security. The bottom line is this: Many errors can unleash the worst-case scenario - data loss.

The purpose of a backup is to protect data and system against a host of potential disaster scenarios. These risks include software errors, malicious attacks, viruses, hardware failures or a host of other potential issues.

Sometimes, a mere shut down of power or an electrical surge that emits a strong voltage spike can even destroy highly sophisticated RAID storage systems.

However, the most frequent cause of substantial data loss is the user himself. For instance, the accidental deletion of seemingly unimportant data may not be noticed until days or weeks later, and in many cases that's simply too late to launch a rescue mission.

To counter the usual problems of breakdowns, users are best advised to employ redundant data maintenance. This means storing vital information on different systems, ideally even in different locations. That is crucial in that it helps users guard against physical forces beyond their control, such as burglaries, flooding, fires or earthquakes.