3 March IT Holidays You Should Know

If you look hard enough, there is a “novelty” holiday for just about every day of the year. While many are of the fun and goofy variety, like March 13 being National Earmuff Day and March 28 being National Something On a Stick Day, others are used to remind us of important ideals and practices. Let’s take a few moments to shine a light on those days dedicated to important information technology concepts (even though we’ve technically missed National Technology Day, on January 6, Data Privacy Day, on January 28, and National Clean Out Your Computer Day, on February 8).

The First Weekend in March — National Day of Unplugging

(March 4th, 2021 to March 5th, 2021)

Okay, so while this may sound weird (especially coming from an IT service provider) it is important that you step away from your technology on occasion. Back in 2009, when smartphones were first coming into the fold, there was concern about how the prolonged use of such devices would impact people—particularly in terms of their mental health.

This concern led to the implementation of the National Day of Unplugging: a project that grew from a Jewish arts and culture nonprofit’s small gatherings for technology-free Shabbat dinners to an international campaign to help slow down our normally fast-paced lives. Now, this movement in support of digital wellness is recognized around the globe, seeing significant participation each year.

We’ve always been big supporters of a healthy work-life balance, so we can completely understand how important it is to go low-tech every once in a while, especially while you’re away from the office and at home.

March 16th — National Freedom of Information Day

First enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act established for the first time that American citizens had the right to access records belonging to federal agencies. The day that celebrates this right, March 16th, is also the birthday of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.

Madison, often referred to as the Father of the US Constitution, famously advocated for an open and accessible government. As a result, the day of his birth is a fitting time to acknowledge the right that the act established. Since then, many advocacy groups like the National Freedom of Information Coalition have risen to continue ensuring that laws are in place to further secure these rights.

March 31st — World Backup Day

Finally, we come to World Backup Day.

We have stated time and time again that a properly configured business backup is a critical—essential—consideration that every business needs to account for. How much does your business rely on the data it has stored? If you’re like every other business, the answer is a lot… so what would happen if you were to lose it?

Keeping a backup can help save a business from such an outcome and the consequences that come with it. With data disasters potentially coming from so many sources, you can’t assume that it “just won’t happen” to your business. A backup (especially one involved in a larger backup and disaster recovery strategy) is just another copy of the data you need to operate. Best practices dictate that these backups are stored in multiple places, both onsite and offsite in the cloud, to ensure that they are always available.

World Backup Day is simply a day intended to promote the implementation of such a measure, and as such, should be observed by more businesses.

Washington Works is here to assist you in your implementation of all of your technology, including your all-important backups. To learn more, please reach out to us at 301-571-5040 today.