--- title: "3-2-1: A Simple Rule for Complex Data Protection" description: When companies lose data, the ripple effect reaches all the way to the bottom line. For a gargantuan company like Amazon, data loss and its associated downtime would cost more than $65 million per minute, Acronis Fellow Joel Berman writes in TechRadar. For small and medium businesses, downtime can be just as painful. In a study from Acronis and IDC, 80 percent of SMBs estimate that data recovery costs $20,000 per hour. The remaining 20 percent put that figure at more than $100,000 per hour. canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/3-2-1-simple-rule-complex-data-protection/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # 3-2-1: A Simple Rule for Complex Data Protection When companies lose data, the ripple effect reaches all the way to the bottom line. For a gargantuan company like Amazon, data loss and its associated downtime could cost more than $65 million per minute. For small and medium businesses, downtime can be equally painful. In a joint study, Acronis and IDC found that 80 percent of SMBs estimate that data recovery costs $20,000 per hour. The remaining 20 percent put that figure at more than $100,000 per hour. Beyond these initial data recovery costs, companies incur additional costs from lost goodwill and legal fines even after their data is restored. In fact, according to a recent study from IBM into the “hidden costs” of data breaches, having one million compromised records costs an average of nearly $40 million. Additionally, these large-scale breaches take 100 days longer than smaller breaches to detect and contain. [Learn More](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cyber-protect/) [![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team") [Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/) 1 min read Last updated 27 June 2019 When companies lose data, the ripple effect reaches all the way to the bottom line. For a gargantuan company like Amazon, data loss and its associated downtime could cost more than $65 million per minute. For small and medium businesses, downtime can be equally painful. In a joint study, Acronis and IDC found that 80 percent of SMBs estimate that data recovery costs [$20,000 per hour](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/pr/2014/07/09-14-35.html). The remaining 20 percent put that figure at more than $100,000 per hour. Beyond these initial data recovery costs, companies incur additional costs from lost goodwill and legal fines even after their data is restored. In fact, according to a recent study from IBM into the “hidden costs” of data breaches, having one million compromised records costs an average of nearly $40 million. Additionally, these large-scale breaches take 100 days longer than smaller breaches to detect and contain. ### 3-2-1 Rule Data backup is more complex than ever for IT managers today, as companies strive to protect physical, virtual, and cloud environments. “These incidents prove that today, more than ever, all companies need a comprehensive cyber protection plan, so that at least one copy of data will always survive,” Berman says. He recommends that companies follow the 3-2-1 rule: Make **three** copies of every piece of important data, store that data in **two**different formats, and keep **one** copy offsite. Here’s a further breakdown. * Three copies ensure that no single event will wipe out all your data. * Two formats likely include an internal drive plus external media (disk, tape, network, cloud, etc.) * One copy offsite protects your data against physical disasters like theft, fire, or flooding. Data loss isn’t a question of _if_ it will happen, but rather _when_ it will happen. The faster that companies implement the 3-2-1 rule and establish a plan, the better equipped they’ll be to prevent an incident from escalating to a disaster. _Image via Can Stock Photo_ [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) ## Written by ![Image 3: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png) Acronis Editorial Team Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/behind-scenes-space-protecting-extraordinary-amounts-data/) [Behind the Scenes in Space: Protecting Extraordinary Amounts of Data](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/behind-scenes-space-protecting-extraordinary-amounts-data/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/report-data-breach-cases-rise-companies-must-rebuild-trust/) [Report: Data Breach Cases Rise, Companies Must Rebuild Trust](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/report-data-breach-cases-rise-companies-must-rebuild-trust/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. 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