March 18,2025:We live in a world where digital is our second home. Everything’s stored there – our work, personal files, and our memories. Now, for a moment, sit back and think about what happens when an unexpected event strikes like a device failure, accidental deletion, a natural disaster or theft? Data loss. And the painful regrets that accompany it.
Many believe data loss is something that happens to others. Unfortunately, this is not the case. According to a 2025 Western Digital survey conducted by Researchscape, 71% of respondents in India have lost their data at least once[1] even though 64% of Indian respondents backup daily or weekly showcasing the importance of backup in today’s time.
Despite assuming their data was secure, there are countless stories where people have faced the sudden shock of losing all their data. Here’s what five people have to say about their experiences, and what you can learn from them!
The Content Creator:
“I was working with a special client. I had all the content I created over a period of one month on one drive. It failed and I lost not just storage but a month’s worth of work. Since there was no back up, I had to redo it from scratch and obviously couldn’t deliver on time. I almost lost the client and spent sleepless nights fixing the situation, but the stress and lost time taught me the hard way – always keep multiple backups.” – Kritesh, 27, Food influencer
Lesson: Always have at least three copies of your data on two different types of storage such as cloud and external hard disk drive (HDD) or cloud and a network attached storage (NAS). One of these backups should be kept out of the home in a separate location to help safeguard your work in case of a disaster scenario (e.g. fire, flood) and prevent loss of time and effort.
The Business Owner:
A person sitting in a room with other peopleAI-generated content may be incorrect.“A ransomware attack locked me out of my files. Thankfully, I had an offline backup that saved my business.” – Adarsh, 22, Startup Founder
Lesson: Cyber threats are on the rise. Protect your business data with regular offline backups.
The Parent:
A person taking a picture of herselfAI-generated content may be incorrect.
“Our old laptop suddenly stopped working and the fear of losing my children’s first step videos felt overwhelming. We had cherished memories right from their birth to their first day of college. Luckily, we had a backup of all our family photos.” – Anuradha, 38, Homemaker
Lesson: Sentimental data is priceless. Even for personal files, data should be backed up in three places and stored in two different locations.
The IT Expert’s Golden Rule:
“At work, I see data loss cases every day. A friend once accidentally deleted a folder containing confidential documents from both his desktop and the bin. There’s no way we could recover the data – unless he had saved it on the server. My rule? A perfect balance of storage: three copies on two different types of storage solutions: in the cloud and on an external HDD.” – Sourav Sharma, 31, Technology Consultant
The Final Cut: – storage streamlining my workflow:
“As I work with a lot of heavy footage involving movie trailers, data transfers and online edits, constant backups are crucial. My external HDD is the beating heartbeat of the entire workflow.”
Lesson: Reliable storage and regular backups are essential for a smooth workflow. Always invest in high-quality external drives to prevent data loss and workflow disruptions.
So, what can you do?
Losing data can be frustrating, and the regret of not having a backup can hit hard when it’s too late. So, this World Backup Day, let’s instill the habit of taking control of our data and making backup a habit. Here are some tips.
- Automate backups to avoid forgetting – Make sure to set up automatic backups on your devices to ensure your files are regularly backed up without any extra time and effort. Automation is the way to go in today’s world as it removes the risk of human error. Choosing a reliable storage companion is essential to manage, store and backup data efficiently. The WD My Passport® 6TB[2] HDD, for example, comes with Acronis® True Image™ [3] software. With extra layers of encryption, password protection and built-in backup software, scheduling backups for your valuable file becomes easier.
- Use a mix of cloud and local storage for the best protection – Two are always better than one. Storing data both in the cloud and on physical storage devices like a WD My Passport 6TB HDD ensures that even if one fails, whether due to technical issues, a cyber threat, or a disaster scenario, you will still have access to your important files elsewhere.
