Data Loss Can Result From Stress According To Ontrack Survey

A study conducted by Ontrack that involved 150 employees from IT departments based in Germany concluded that stress and time pressure are two of the main reasons why data loss occurs.

The main points that were found were:

- 84% admitted to making mistakes that had led to data loss - 56% said that the two main reasons for their mistakes were due to stress and work overload related to time pressure - 77% of the respondents felt overburdened by their work - 89% of the respondent work overtime with 40% of the 89% working an additional 6-10 hours a week.

Almost half (48%) of the 84% that admitted to their mistakes leading to data loss were able to recover the data internally. 18% used a DIY data recovery software, 15% received help from an external data recovery specialist, and 3% were not able to recover the lost data at all.

It was also revealed that:

- Only 45% of the companies that took part in the study had a clearly defined data recovery process - 33% have prescribed recommendations for data loss action but they are not regularly reviewed. - 9% said that they have no emergency data loss plan in place but are aware of who to turn to - 12% have no emergency procedures put in place and are not aware of who to turn to

From these findings, the data recovery specialists at Ontrack recommend that companies should frequently check their systems, storages, hardware, and backups as well as keep their related documentation of the systems and emergency plans up-to-date.

For those companies that have a data loss emergency procedure in place, the likelihood of a possible recovery is faster and more likely.

Picture copyright: Ontrack Data recovery