--- title: Recovery-in-a-Cave description: Just got done reading the funniest white paper ever, from our friends at Iron Mountain. It asks the question, “…what happens when the devastation is so fierce that it hits the backups too? Don’t panic.” canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/recovery-cave/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # Recovery-in-a-Cave Just got done reading the funniest white paper ever, from our friends at Iron Mountain. It asks the question, “…what happens when the devastation is so fierce that it hits the backups too? Don’t panic.” [![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 26 January 2015 Just got done reading the funniest white paper ever, from our friends at Iron Mountain. It asks the question, “…what happens when the devastation is so fierce that it hits the backups too? Don’t panic.” Don’t panic? Really? I think you damn well better panic – about your career. You stashed your backup tapes so close to your primary data center that they got clobbered by the same natural disaster? C’mon man! Better update that resume. And while we’re at it, why on earth are you still using tape? Iron Mountain, whose business is storing tape, points out just how fragile tape is: “…if tapes suffer major temperature fluctuations every night, they will weaken and become more likely to snap. When your staff fails to maintain drive heads’ cleanliness, or cleans equipment incorrectly, tapes may be more prone to breaking. To avoid such problems, know the cleaning cycle and storage conditions recommended by your vendor.” Snapping tapes? Drive head cleaning cycles? Fred Flintstone had to put up with this nonsense, but you do not. The punch line comes at the end of this litany of All The Things That Can Go Wrong With Tape when IM reminds us that they have a nice, safe cave where you can stash your tapes. A cave? What is this, the Al Qaeda approach to disaster recovery? Do they use mules to get the tapes into the cave? Look, disk-to-disk backup is mature; backup-to-the-cloud is mature; snapshotting, de-duplication, and virtualization are mature; and recovery-as-a-service (RaaS) is now mature. There is no excuse for backup to tape, and no excuse for sticking your tapes – and your company’s chances of recovery – in a cave. [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/really/) [Really?](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/really/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/hidden-hazards-san-san-replication/) [The Hidden Hazards of SAN-to-SAN Replication](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/hidden-hazards-san-san-replication/) 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. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com) ## Related stories Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog. [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) ![Image 4: stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/9600f3eea83b8f4e168ea6c1409c8c26.png) [stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/stc-bahrain-and-acronis-partner-to-bring-endpoint-security-to-businesses/) We are proud to announce a strategic partnership with stc Bahrain, expanding access to advanced cybersecurity services for businesses across Bahrain. **October 26, 2026**3 min read ![Image 5: Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/30cb571f6f1aaa131733e5727a4a250c.png) [Introducing New Acronis CEO: Prakash Panjwani](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/introducing-new-acronis-ceo-prakash-panjwani/) We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer, Prakash Panjwani. A veteran cybersecurity CEO, Panjwani previously served as CEO of WatchGuard Technologies and SafeNet. **October 15, 2026**2 min read ![Image 6: Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/18e90e89f5ec4ef0901f19008d4ccbf2.png) [Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-expands-mdr-toward-broader-workspace-protection/) Acronis is expanding the MDR service with capabilities that make this expertise easier to deliver and help partners address more risks. The developments build on a broader commitment to managed security: helping service providers protect the connected workspace while giving customers access to the expertise needed to investigate threats, respond effectively and maintain business continuity. **October 13, 2026**6 min read