{"id":75760,"date":"2017-05-31T09:56:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T16:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=75760"},"modified":"2025-12-12T13:31:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T21:31:39","slug":"backup-awareness-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/backup-awareness-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Backup Awareness Survey, Our 10th Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Backup<\/p>\n

This is the 10th<\/sup> year Backblaze has designated June as Backup Awareness Month. It is also the 10th<\/sup> year of our annual Backup Awareness Survey. Each year, the survey has asked the question, \u201cHow often do you back up all of the data on your computer?\u201d As they have done since the beginning, the good folks at Harris Interactive have conducted the survey, captured and tabulated the answers, and provided us with the results. Let\u2019s take a look at what 10 years worth of surveys can tell us about computer backup.<\/p>\n

Computer Backup<\/a> Awareness Survey<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with 2017 and see how computer owners<\/a> answered our question.<\/p>\n

\"Computer<\/a><\/p>\n

The most popular answer is \u201cYearly\u201d at 26.3%. The least popular choice was \u201cDaily\u201d at just 9.3%. The difference between those two extremes can be easily calculated in days, but consider how much more data would be lost if you had backed up 364 days ago versus just 23 hours ago. How many photos, videos, spreadsheets, tax documents, and more would be lost when your computer crashed, or was stolen, or was attacked by ransomware like Wannacry or Cryptolocker. The longer the time between backups, the higher the risk of losing data.<\/p>\n

Backup Trends Over the Last 10 Years<\/h3>\n

With 10 years worth of data, we have the opportunity to see if attitudes, or more appropriately actions, have changed with regards to how often people back<\/a> up their data.<\/p>\n

\"Historical<\/a><\/p>\n

In general, more people seem to be backing up as all of the individual backup periods; daily, weekly, monthly, etc., are either the same or increasing their individual percentages over time. The chart below highlights the good news.<\/p>\n

\"Computer<\/a><\/p>\n

We are winning! Over the 10-year period, more people are backing up all the data on their computer, at least once. From a low of 62% in 2008, the percentage of people who have backed up their computer has risen to 79% in 2017, a 27% increase over 10 years. OK, so it’s not amazing growth, but we\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n

Facts and Figures and History<\/h3>\n

Each survey provides interesting insights into the attributes of backup fiends and backup slackers. Here are a few facts from the 2017 survey.<\/p>\n