March 12, 2026
Backups: the 3-2-1 rule, made simple
Nobody thinks about backups... until the day they need one. A drive that dies, a laptop left in the car, ransomware that scrambles everything: that day, the only question that matters is "can we get it all back?"
What's 3-2-1?
- 3 copies of your data: the original and two backups.
- 2 different types of storage, for example a drive on site and the cloud.
- 1 copy off site, to survive a fire, a theft or water damage at the office.
Why the cloud alone isn't enough
OneDrive, SharePoint and the like sync your files, but syncing isn't backing up. If a file gets deleted or encrypted by ransomware, that change syncs too. These services keep some history, but they're not built to replace a real backup.
An untested backup is just a hope
The worst time to find out a backup doesn't work is when you need it. That's why we recommend testing a restore every now and then: recover one file, just to see that it works.
Where do you stand?
Not sure where your backups are, or whether you have any? That's exactly the kind of thing we look at together during a 30-minute call.
A question about your situation?
Let's talk for 30 minutes, no strings attached. No sales pitch, just a conversation.