An engineer's office was shaken by a small earthquake — hardly a surprise in California. A picture of former US president, and one-time client, Gerald Ford fell off the wall and hit his laptop, shattering the screen. After that, the man gave much more thought to what can happen to devices and data if such an event re-occurred.

The story exemplifies that disaster preparedness is part of efficient research data management. This can be accomplished by using well-functioning backup systems and storing several copies of important data on different mediums and in at least one other location.

• 11 ways to avoid a data storage disaster