When was the last time that you backed up the data from your laptop or phone? Most of us live pretty hectic lives, juggling work and family life so it's not surprising backing up our data can sometimes fall by the wayside.

The 31st March is World Backup Day, a day for raising awareness of the importance of personal and professional data and making sure we back it up. This national day falls just before April Fools every year - another little nudge to help you remember!

Basically, a backup is a second copy of all of your important files that may be stored on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. Both personal and professional data can be backed up. Important digital letters such as insurance documents, emails and most precious, your photos and videos that once lost, simply cannot be replaced.

Data backup should be done much more frequently than once a year, however World Backup Day gives the world a much-needed reminder of how important it is to do.

Why Would I Need To Back Up My Data?

Your phone or laptop may get stolen immediately losing your data

Hard drive failure may result in lost files that can not be recovered

Viruses can cause physical damage or formatting errors which can permanently damage your data

The purpose of a backup is to have a recovery plan should the primary data become inaccessible for whatever reason. It's a great idea to keep backups online or, at the very least, on a second hard drive, internal drive or hardware such as CDs.

Save and protect your personal information and cherished memories in just a few clicks. To celebrate World Backup Day we've compiled some of the best storage devices and hard drives to make the job as easy as possible.