This clause specifies how often the software company saves copies of your data (for example, daily, weekly, or hourly). It matters because if something goes wrong—a hack, a server failure, or accidental deletion—you can only recover data from the most recent backup. If backups happen weekly and you lose data on day 6, you lose a week's worth of work. Under contract law in the UK and US, the company is only responsible for backing up at the frequency they promise; if they promise daily backups and only do weekly ones, that's a breach. Your backup frequency must match how critical your data is.
Match the backup frequency to how much data loss you can tolerate—if you add important data daily, demand daily backups at minimum. Ask in writing whether backups are tested regularly (a backup that's never been restored is often useless). Negotiate a clause that specifies how quickly they can restore your data from a backup, not just how often they back it up. ---
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this clause mean in simple terms?
This clause specifies how often the software company saves copies of your data (for example, daily, weekly, or hourly).
Why should I care about this clause?
It matters because if something goes wrong—a hack, a server failure, or accidental deletion—you can only recover data from the most recent backup.
What are my options?
If backups happen weekly and you lose data on day 6, you lose a week's worth of work.
How does this affect small businesses?
Under contract law in the UK and US, the company is only responsible for backing up at the frequency they promise; if they promise daily backups and only do weekly ones, that's a breach.