09 March 2011

Kroll Ontrack study reveals over half of IT professionals couldn’t recover their valuable data

In a Kroll Ontrack study out today, 40% of respondents surveyed about data loss said the value of their data was simply ‘priceless’, with 16% saying it would have cost them up to ten times as much as the cost of Ontrack Data Recovery services from Kroll Ontrack to recover from the data loss.

In addition, over half (54%) of those surveyed did not have the necessary skills to be able to recover their lost data themselves, and a further quarter did not know if they would have been able to recover the data.

The need for organisations to better understand and manage their data was also highlighted by the Kroll Ontrack 2010 global survey on the causes of data loss. It found that while more than 90 percent of respondents had lost information, one fifth “did not know” how their data loss occurred.

The results underscore the fact that you cannot gamble with your organisation’s data management - preparedness is critical:

1.  Understand the value of data to ensure that critical data is identified and adequately protected.

2.  Link with a trusted data recovery partner that has the expertise to be able to recover data from the environment your organisation’s data resides in, whether in a traditional network, virtualised or in the cloud.  It is foolhardy to leave such an important decision unattended until the time of a live data disaster. 

3.  Lastly, the steps taken in the ‘golden hour’ after a loss incident occurs can dictate whether it will be possible to recover that data.

• The majority of avoidable data damage occurs after a failure, when users attempt to open the casing, unsafely remove hardware or tamper with small but essential components. 
• Moreover the use of unaccredited freeware data recovery software can further compound the data loss scenario.

Phil Bridge, Managing Director, Kroll Ontrack UK, comments: “We wanted to understand our customers’ data management practices in light of increased complexity of data storage, such as in virtualised and cloud environments. With so much irreplaceable and confidential data at stake, it is crucial that people take better steps to safeguard their data, for example, by ensuring that data is properly backed up, and that the backup media and technology is regularly tested.” 

Bridge continues: “Ultimately, we want to help users avoid the upset and frustration that can be felt as a result of data loss, especially if it involves the loss of business critical or personal data. Having a partnership in place with a dedicated data recovery specialist is the best way to protect and recover  data if disaster strikes. With over 50,000 successful data recoveries globally in 2010, in the event of a data loss incident, Kroll Ontrack is available around the clock to remedy virtually any data loss.”