The real question is whether or not the software *does* represent a "single point of failure". If it's using a file format that makes you unable to restore your data (or even just *read* it) unless you have the software that wrote it, that is indeed potentially problematic. I try to avoid software that works that way, myself. As others have noted, though, it actually *is* quite common practice to have multiple copies made in different ways. Even if they're not formal backups, I think anyone who values their data will from time to time make a "just in case" copy that is usable as-is. For me, the software I wrote to manage my data warehouse(s) doesn't itself depend on a network connection, so ingesting new files inherently means a copy being made out-of-band via rsync (or Samba or whatever) or physically plugging in a drive. 7e34510613b167bc82bb6c1e5da909f158a3b8e529871a49ef31e6faaf20ad92