Backing up your data is like exercising; You know you should be doing it but it doesn’t always make it onto the top of the priority list. Missing a few workouts might have few consequences, but putting off data backup could mean losing personal and professional information from your devices. Avoid the disaster of losing data by jotting down a few of our best ideas to backing up the information stored on your devices.

1. Consider the cloud

The cloud is something we all know a little bit about but not everyone utilizes its capabilities. There’s a few good reasons the cloud makes it onto the list; the cloud is a free, affordable and safe option to consider when protecting your data. Not only is the cloud affordable and safe, it’s also extremely accessible. You can access your data as long as you’ve got a computer or mobile device and a network connection. A few examples of cloud storage options to consider are iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive and DropBox. Whichever you choose, make sure to do some research and find the best one for you.

2. Use an external hard drive

Another great option to back up your data is to use an external hard drive. The benefits of using an external hard drive are that it is extremely simple to use and it can only be connected to one device at a time. This gives you more control when it comes to accessing and backing up your data. In addition to this, you can schedule automatic backups so you don’t have to remember to do it again!

3. A CD, DVD or blue-ray disc will do the trick

Does this option feel like we’re going back in time a little bit? Probably. However, they are still valuable options for storing and backing up your data even if they aren’t the most popular option. Similar to an external hard drive, you’re have the ability to be the one in control of backups and store them in safe secondary places.

 4. Save it on a USB flash drive

If you go this route, you won’t need a large place store this miniature option! A USB flash drive can go anywhere you go and can be accessed at any time. There are a variety of options that are not only affordable but also have large capacities for data.

 5. Try a network attached storage device (NAS)

If you’re looking for something that was made specifically for storing and saving your data, this is it! These devices are able to back up not one, not two, but even more, multiple computers all at once, wired or wirelessly! And another bonus? It doesn’t always need to be done manually, as you can set up automatic backups using a network attached storage device.

Among the many digital best practices, the importance of backing up your data cannot be stressed enough – and if you move this task to the top of your to-do list, you’ll be glad you did! Did we miss any of your preferred data backup options? Tell us about them in the comments below.