14 Mar 2007
PC World to store digital photos in the Arizona desert

• Secure vault will store files that are automatically uploaded from customers' PCs for a small monthly fee
• Data will be encrypted and accessible by customers from anywhere in the world

The traditional repository of old documents, the attic, has now been replaced by a reinforced storage facility in the Arizona desert via a new service offered to customers by PC World, the UK's leading chain of computing superstores. Home PC owners can now protect the precious digital photos, videos, music and letters stored on their PCs against the risk of major crashes and irreparable damage to their hardware. The new remote data backup service will enable customers, for a small monthly fee, to automatically upload files to a secure 3 million square feet "hardened operations space" that they will be able to access worldwide.

Recent research from PC World shows that more than half (51%) of households have lost PC-based data. The new data backup service will be available via subscription from all 150 PC World stores nationwide. Software that enables customers to activate the service will also be pre-loaded on PCs and laptops sold through all PC World stores and its website, www.pcworld.co.uk.

Jon Naylor, PC World Customer Experience Director, said: "The value, both real and sentimental, of data stored on home PCs is rising all the time. There are also an estimated 70 million computer crashes worldwide every day. Our advice to customers has always been to make copies of their data, or risk potential loss. Now we have a new service that automatically collects the information that a customer chooses from his or her PC and stores it in a state-of-the-art facility in the Arizona desert. It's a long way from a suburban attic, but it's amazingly secure, easy to access and protects invaluable memories that might otherwise be lost."

According to recent PC World research:

• 2.5 billion photographs, 2 billion songs and more than 20 million home movies are now stored on home PC hard drives in the UK

The research also found that more than half (51%) of home computer users have lost PC-based data, and a quarter (25%) have done so in the last 18 months. At the same time Britons are storing increasingly large amounts of precious content on their home computers. PC World sells more than one million gigabytes of PC-based storage every day, enough to store an incredible 1.6 billion digital photographs, reflecting people's reliance on digital storage.

The PC World research also found that 85% of home computer users have digital photos stored on their PC, with some storing thousands of images, from weddings to holidays. When it comes to music collections, nearly two thirds (62%) of home computer users have digital music tracks stored on their PC and the percentage rises to four in five (79%) for 18-29 year olds.

Amongst the other irreplaceable items research respondents reported as having on their PC hard drives were the following:

• "Self-build cottage designs"
• "Bible readings"
• "Records of my vintage and antique teddy bear collection"
• "Passwords"
  "School work and pet photos"
• "Cross-stitch designs"
• "Unpublished novels"
• "Middlesborough FC history"
• "My PhD"
• "My will"
• "My blood pressure records"

More information:

Hamish Thompson
01727 203195 / 07702 684290

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