What Is the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy? Should You Follow It?

You might think that backing up information is a relatively simple process, and it must be said that on the face of it, it is. What you do, in essence, is create a copy of a file so that should the original becomes corrupt, you can restore the data in it. There is a lot more to it than that, though.

The backup and restore processes present their own sets of unique challenges that must be considered carefully if the data is to be correctly retrieved. Furthermore, the amount of data that we need to back up grows at an enormous rate, and so does the number of ways in which we can lose it. You can see how all of a sudden, what looked like a straightforward job becomes an impossibly complex, pitfall-ridden task. At this point, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there is no one single algorithm that you can follow in order to correctly back up your data. Many would argue otherwise.

3-2-1 – the winning backup strategy according to many

Given how many different people work in the industry and how complex the problem is, you might be surprised to hear that quite a few experts in the field seem to agree on what the best approach to backing up valuable data is. The strategy has been given a name: 3-2-1, and when you learn what it incorporates, you'll see that it does seem to solve the majority of the most common problems related to backing up and restoring data. Crucially, at the same time, the 3-2-1 strategy is so simple that it can be explained with a single sentence.

You have three copies of your data, two of which are stored on different devices, and at least one that is located offsite.

The reasoning is also completely solid. As we mentioned already, a backup is a copy of your data, and as such, it, too, can get corrupted. By having more than one backup, you increase your chances of successfully restoring your information. The strategy also covers the problem of the physical location of your files.

Even if you have three recent backups, if they are all stored in your house, and something horrible like a fire happens to it, you will still have no way of retrieving your valuable files. This is why, experts are adamant that at least one of your backups should be located in a different place, and they increasingly agree that this place is the cloud.

The 3-2-1 strategy was designed to ensure that the people who follow it can get their data back in most feasible scenarios. Does that mean that you should follow it, though?

Is the 3-2-1 strategy faultless?

The fact that it's well-thought-out doesn't necessarily mean that the 3-2-1 strategy is the perfect solution for everybody. Users who need to back up their family photos, for example, can probably do without a third copy of their data, provided they have found a backup solution that can reliably and securely store their files in the cloud at an affordable rate. For others, a third copy that is stored offline is vital.

In a corporate environment, the 3-2-1 strategy makes more sense, but even so, it fails to cover some factors that definitely need to be considered. For example, it doesn't help organizations decide how often they should back up their data, and it does nothing to tell them how to set up an access control policy that mandates who can restore information and under what circumstances.

In other words, the 3-2-1 backup strategy is not a one-stop-shop. Even if you decide that it can help you back up your data more securely and efficiently, you still need to ensure that you implement it correctly and think about all the problems you might be faced with.