When the term Data Relocation is used, the particular context of the usage is more important than the actual words themselves. This is because it will mean different things to different people.

Personal data relocation can refer to something as simple as backing up your personal computer. It is the sort of thing everyone knows is important but often does not follow up on. It can also mean keeping an off site copy of your personal hard drive.

Professionally speaking, this can mean a company that specializes in keeping data secure either online in the cloud or in hard storage that may be safe from magnetic contamination, hurricanes fire or flood. This is especially important for corporations, multinational firms and firms that may operate in unstable regions.

Data backup regardless of the size is basic to anyone who uses the computer for record keeping. It is just as traumatic for a person to lose all their financial data just before tax time as it is to a large company. The difference is in scale. Also, that large or even small company probably has some sort of backup off site.

Data Storage companies can provide relocation services in as many ways as clients want or ask for. There are hard copy vaults for manuscripts and priceless historical documents. Some of these are rated for anything up to atomic attacks. Access is understandably restricted.

Storing data in the cloud is becoming more common though it is still unproven. With the 2012 solar flares expected to be very strong, the cloud will get a real shake down. Stand by for details in a couple years. You may want to consider what the total loss of electronically backed up records will mean before 2012. Maybe the paperless society can wait another decade or so.

Data destruction is every bit as important as data storage and backup. The only foolproof way to destroy data is to destroy the medium beyond recall. That can take more than a reformatting of a disk like in what is considered the old days. Drilling through drives or physically melting, smashing and scoring seem pretty final. But ways of retrieving data improve at an astounding rate.

Destroying smaller and lighter magnetic media and paper is frequently handled by shredding companies that not only crosscut the media but also securely dispose of the waste by fire or chemical combustion. It seems that nothing is safe even in minute shreds. Next thing you know, someone will be sending data to the sun for final destruction.

The very medium that is used for data relocation is vast. From tape drives, yes they still exist, to flash drives and everything in between. There is a medium that will do the job of carrying your data around for you. But nothing will ever replace backing up the originals. It seems the only final destruction method you can count on is destruction of data that has not been backed up. So, click on the dialog box marked back up now.