For Half of Consumers, Data More Valuable Than Their Devices

Acronis International GmbH announced the results of a survey conducted among 350+ consumers, revealing how they value and protect the information located on their devices.

In time for World Backup Day, the survey findings, which are also highlighted in an info-graphic, demonstrate the importance of backup and digital responsibility in an environment where every part of consumers’ lives is taking a digital form, including financial and health documents, photos, work files, and more.

According to the research, over 75% of consumers store their data digitally and more than 50% state that their personal data are more valuable than their actual devices – solidifying that consumers know they need to preserve their data. In fact, the survey results show that consumers would be nearly three times more upset if they lost their photos than if they lost their phone, computer or tablet.

Although they treasure their digital information, the survey reveals that consumers are putting little effort into ensuring their data is safe. Less than half of the respondents do not save their data on an external device or in the cloud. This means that more than 50% of consumers store their data only on their computer – or not at all.

Of those using a backup system, only one third are protecting their entire computer system, the rest are simply protecting some files. Nearly half of the respondents value their data at over $1,000, proving that they certainly hold their information to a high standard. While only five percent of consumers surveyed are willing to actually spend that amount to recover their data once it is lost, an overwhelming 94% of respondents expressed that they are willing to spend up to $100 dollars to preventively backup their data.

“The majority of consumers do not realize the importance of backing up their digital memories, including everything from precious photos to financial information, until a catastrophe occurs,” said Serguei Beloussov, CEO, Acronis. “What consumers should understand is that there are easy and inexpensive ways to safeguard the digital data that they’re most afraid of losing.“

World Backup Day serves to educate and motivate the public on the importance of taking action to protect their most precious information stored digitally. As the survey indicates, consumers place high value on their personal data, but aren’t yet taking the proper steps to ensure that their information is secure.

The survey was conducted by Acronis in February 2015 through a Google consumer survey and consisted of 366 respondents in USA .

Ask yourself: Are you protecting your digital life?