Data backup is the process of creating copies of important information to safeguard against loss, corruption, or accidental deletion. These backups are typically stored in a separate location from the original data, allowing for recovery in case of disasters like hardware failures or cyber-attacks. 

Backups can be scheduled to occur at regular intervals, such as daily or weekly, and can be performed using various methods. For instance, a full backup involves copying all data every time, while incremental backups only save changes made since the last backup. The primary goal of backups is to ensure that data can be restored to a specific point in time, making them crucial for disaster recovery and compliance with data retention policies.