It is interesting seeing these old posts from a viewpoint 4 years on.

The Big Data phenomenum is really putting a value on data and therefore data loss. In the past 4 years there have also been a few cases where high placed military personnel have had their laptops stolen. Even though those laptops will have been encrypted the secrets contained within could cost someone their life.

As to how much a lap-top is worth. Let us suppose that I am sent on a business trip and the lap-top is lost at the start of the trip. As an IT person this could hamper or even negate the purpose of the entire trip. So that is my worth to the organisation per day x the number of days, plus the cost of the hardware.

If the laptop is lost at the end of the trip then it is a case of how much of the intellectual capital gained during the trip was lost with that machine. As for backing up the machine, with ever increasing security concerns can you actually use a USB drive with your company lap-top?