You, Your Members, Their Data And World Backup Day

By Ron Daly, DigitalMailer

It may not be well-known, but its message and purpose should be well-heeded:  March 31 is “World Backup Day.” Given the huge amount of digital data generated nowadays, setting aside a day as a reminder to copy and archive files was a smart idea. Led by college student Ismali Jadun – way back in 2011 – you have to wonder why it was so late coming to public attention. I’m not just talking about data-driven companies like financial institutions and insurance companies. It’s important for anyone owning a computer, cell phone, mobile device or email account to safeguard information they want to keep.

And that’s pretty much every credit union member.

A 2012 study by Seagate and Harris Interactive found a whopping 90 percent of people consider their digital content valuable, especially their photos and videos, followed by school work and projects. Yet 30 percent of women and 19 percent of men never back up their files. And among adults who do save their files, only 10 percent do so each day.

According to the college kids behind World Backup Day and its initiative, backing up data is a “sure-fire way” to ensure the safety of files and important documents.  Do it regularly –once a year certainly isn’t enough. Not a difficult task for companies that have built in backup systems for their data, but what about regular folks? One answer is to use a large-capacity, external hard drive. Other common options include loading documents to flash drives or burning them to CDs/DVDs.

But the World Backup Day site also suggests that working with an online storage provider is “possibly the most reliable way to keep your files safe.” For credit unions looking to enhance member value and deepen relationships, this provides an opportunity to offer members a document storage option.

Consider what is lost when someone’s hard drive or mobile device crashes, or the stored external drive or backup disks are destroyed in a home fire or flood. How do you replace a wedding video or baby photos? In an emergency, would family members or loved ones be able to locate and access online medical or legal documents? Using an offsite, online storage service can provide a critical failsafe in these situations.

A Huge Opportunity for your Credit Union

But too many consumers are turning to general cloud storage providers, which come with some risks. When consumers store documents with these companies, they no longer retain ownership of their own documents.  In fact, they have no control over where it is stored in the cloud. And simple cloud security is nowhere near the multi-factor authentication needed to protect records, such as financial documents or other critical papers. How secure are members’ copies of tax returns with their social security numbers on them stored in the cloud, where they have no ownership over them and don’t even know where they are being stored? Doesn’t it make more sense for members to lean on their trusted financial advisor – their credit union – for help with organizing, storing and securing their important financial and personal files?

Northwest Federal Credit Union ($2.4 billion, 133,000 members in Herndon, VA) understands the role of trusted financial advisor and knows that the need can be met through their online safe deposit box service My Virtual Strongbox. My Virtual Strongbox (www.myvirtualstrongbox.com) gives their members an alternative to cloud storage and in honor of World Backup Day NWFCU is offering their members a 25% discount off the pricing of any additional space purchased on top on the free space the CU gives for being an eStatement member.

Four multi-billion dollar credit unions already have the service and almost 1 million members lined up to use it. You might be too late to help with World Backup Day this year but don’t miss too many more. Predictions are that every bank and credit union will be offering this service as part of their virtual branch in the next three to five years. Providing a secure, online storage service for your members sooner than later is a solid addition to your product suite and gets you there before the rest..

World Backup Day is like a string on your finger, reminding all of us of the importance of keeping our data secure. It’s also a good time to remind ourselves that not all storage options are alike.

HAPPY WORLD BACKUP DAY!