More than a third of data loss from digital storage media is caused by human error, undermining the potential business benefits of cheaper, higher capacity storage, according to Ontrack.

Poor handling of disk drives and other media or user-triggered malware accounts for 35 percent of data recovery requests to specialist firm Ontrack, according to business development manager Philip Bridge.

While mechanical failures outside of individual control still account for a healthy percentage of lost data, situations caused by human error are often exacerbated by poorly-informed attempts to fix the problem, Bridge said.

For instance, if you drop a hard drive in a toilet, your chances of data recovery are better if you immediately seal it in a plastic bag, reducing the odds of oxidisation, rather than trying to remove the excess liquid.

While backup plans should minimise the need to repair individual defective drives or tapes, not enough enterprises comprehensively test their backup restore capabilities.

One recent survey by Brocade suggested that 86 percent of backups were successful, which in itself would be bad news for the remaining 14 percent.

Other data suggests a grimmer picture; one study by Glasshouse found that 40 percent of enterprises don't perform any offsite backup.

"Quite honestly, they don't do it properly," Bridge said. "Even with good backups, there's a clear value in a recovery service."