Results from the Home Computer Backup Survey

5/20/2006

As expected, home computers play a serious role in most family’s lives. Survey responses confirm that home computers are used to manage the household, provide an entertainment venue, and provide an ability to work at home.

Of our survey respondents, computer is pervasive and varied (more than one answer was allowed).

Personal Email	87.5%
Storing Digital Pictures	81.3%
Personal Finance Software	75.0%
Online Banking / Credit Card / Investment Accounts	71.9%
Music / Video	62.5%
Electronic Bill Payment	53.1%
Games	50.0%

With the high use of home computers for personal financial management, online banking and credit card accounts, and electronic bill payment, we found it interesting that less than one-third (32.3%) of respondents have elected to switch to electronic-only statements and transaction. More than two-thirds (67.7%) choose to keep using paper statements in addition to online services.

While depending on home computers for important personal and business information, we found it reassuring that most respondents (87.1%) think about and backup their data (12.9% never backup their data). Surprisingly, less than half of those backing up their data, 38.7% of all respondents, backup on a regular basis – daily, weekly, or monthly. More than half of those backing up their data, 48.4% of all respondents, are doing so -- occasionally or frequently -- with no set plan.

If “at least weekly” represents a baseline standard for home computer backups, only 35.5% of respondents make the grade. This low level of diligence is surprising given that 38.7% of survey responses claimed a home computer crash would be “A Serious Problem” or a “Devastating Loss”. Another 38.7% rated a home computer crash as “A Significant Inconvenience”. Less then one-fourth (22.6%) of survey responses felt a home computer crash would be “A Minor Nuisance”.

The disparity between the acknowledged value of home computer backups and action to protect data on home computer data might be explained by the lack of easy-to-use tools, as reflected in the methods used. With more than one answered allowed, the results are as follows.

CD-ROM / DVD / Floppy Disk	50.0%
External Hard Disk	37.5%
Copy Files to another Computer	15.6%
Memory Stick	12.5%
On-Line Backup Service	3.1%
Tape Drive	0%

While tape drives and on-line backup services generally provide tools to easily schedule and manage backups, these methods are less popular.

Additionally, the methods being used to backup home computers are not necessarily the most efficient given the amount of data on the computer. Nearly all responses indicated at least 1 Gigabyte (GB) of data (89.3%); and 57.2% of surveys indicated more than 5 GB of data. With this much data, copying files to another computer and backups to CD-ROM, DVD, and other removable media take significant amounts of time. Backups to external hard disks can run more quickly, depending on the chosen backup tools.

Our Analysis

While the awareness of the value and need for backing up data on home computers exists, most respondents do not follow through on this understanding with appropriate action. In looking at why, the correlation between the speed, efficiency, and ease-of-use of current backup methods and the frequency of those backups cannot be ignored. When backups are time-consuming and difficult to manage, the best intentions fall short of the need.

Looking at the survey results, backup solutions for home computers should:

• Be able to run on a scheduled basis without human intervention
• Be easy to configure with respect backup content and frequency
• Minimize the need to handle, label, and otherwise manage backup media
• Use newer “vaulting” or “bit-wise” technologies to reduce backup and restore times
• Be affordable to purchase and/or use on a regular basis

Given this charge, Horizon Information Group is surveying possible solutions. The results of our search will be presented in a future edition of Strategic Technology Horizons.

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