We might only be a few days removed from World Backup Day 2019, but the idea that 65% of consumers confirmed they suffered data loss (as revealed in our annual survey of attitudes and habits about data protection) has been rolling around in my head ever since. After all, that’s nearly 30% more people who reported they or a family member lost data in 2018 – a significant jump. The fact we all use more data and we’re accessing that data on more devices makes it obvious that we’re also creating more opportunities to lose that data – so that increase is understandable. But we still can take steps to try to reduce the frequency of data loss despite the increase in volumes and devices. It seems now is a great time for a reminder about the steps needed to keep your data safe. The following five recommendations are designed to help you negotiate the modern risks to your data given today’s habits of data use and the ever-evolving threats that lurk online.

Today rising downtime costs, pressing data privacy concerns, crippling non-compliance penalties, and new, ever-evolving digital security threats have raised the stakes for business managers and service providers alike. Customers are rightfully concerned about modern data threats.

For organizations of all sizes, cloud software represents an astonishing opportunity to thrive and expand. So much so, in fact, that the RightScale 2018 State of the Cloud Survey finds 96 percent of survey respondents now use cloud-based software with 81 percent implementing a multi-cloud strategy.

In 1966, Robert F. Kennedy delivered a speech that cited an ancient Chinese curse: “May [you] live in interesting times.” He continued, “Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty, but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.” That measured perspective, simultaneously seeing the glass as half-empty and half-full, is a useful one to adopt when considering infrastructure vulnerabilities in 2019.