Data is, in its most pure form, knowledge that has been collected for use by your business. It’s not unlike a library in this way..but even libraries can crumble into dust, given enough time, as is evidenced by the Library of Alexandria. Despite its every attempt to overcome cultural prejudices and collect information on ancient civilizations, it still fell—and all its information along with it.

Will your business go the route of the Library of Alexandria, losing all its data, or will you attempt to overcome the risk of data destruction?

The Library of Alexandria: The Ancient World’s Most Impressive Library

In 283 BC, the Library of Alexandria attempted to build a comprehensive record of knowledge from the known world—a marvelous feat, considering libraries were regional at the time.

Demetrius of Phaleron, a former Athenian politician turned advisor to King Ptolemy I Soter, is the one histories attribute for the creation of the library, and he sought to collect, according to the 2nd century Letter of Aristeas, “if possible, all the books in the world.” Legends claim that any ships sailing into Alexandria’s harbor were searched for books, which were then taken to the library to be returned to their rightful owner or confiscated. The original owner was paid for their trouble and received a fresh copy of their book.

Allegedly, even texts from great Athenian poets found their way into Ptolemy’s collection, even though these texts were not available for borrowing. The king convinced Athenian governors to allow him to copy the manuscripts, potentially keeping the originals for himself in the library. Other manuscripts were discovered in book markets from all across the known world.

When you collect such a massive and valuable repertoire of knowledge, it needs to be protected—otherwise, it can be destroyed, as evidenced by the library.

The Destruction of the Library of Alexandria

In short, there are two events that caused the destruction of the Library of Alexandria: a civil war between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII and the rise of the Holy Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar joined the fray in support of Cleopatra, but found himself under siege, with the only viable strategy being to set fire to the enemy fleet. The docks caught fire, and from there, so too did the Library. An offshoot of the library, the Serapeum, survived for a few centuries, but it was destroyed when the Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of all pagan temples in 391 AD.

Eventually, a church was built to replace the temple—but nothing could have replaced the knowledge lost with the burning of the library.

Lessons for the Modern Business

Okay, now that you’ve sat through our little history lesson, let’s talk about how all it took was a single fire to destroy the world’s greatest library.

What does that mean for your business? Yes, today, we have contingencies in place that can preserve data even during disasters, but you have to enable them for your business if you want to keep it safe from such events. Otherwise, your data is at risk of the many disasters that could strike, including floods and other weather disasters, cyberattacks, hardware failure, and even user error.

While the Library of Alexandria did have some contingencies in place—some manuscripts had been duplicated and stored in the Serapeum—it simply wasn’t enough…

How to Use the 3-2-1 Rule to Keep Your Business Safe

… which is where we get to actionable advice that could have saved the library and absolutely can save your business.

The industry standard is the 3-2-1 Backup Rule, which is designed to limit potential data loss. Here’s what it looks like:

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule is as follows:

• At least three copies of your data are maintained, including the original you functionally use as well as at least two backup copies.
• At least two different types of storage are being used to store these backups, in case something happens to one storage option in a disaster event.
• At least one copy of your data is stored off-site, ideally in the cloud for convenient retrieval as needed.

If you follow these rules, you’ll be much more prepared to handle all backup-related issues.

Want help implementing data backup practices? Contact Compudata at 1-855-405-8889 to learn more.