Which of the following ensures the long-term preservation of important data?

The correct choice, archiving, is vital for the long-term preservation of important data because it involves transferring data that is no longer actively used to a separate storage location, specifically intended for long-term retention. This process ensures that data remains intact, retrievable, and stored safely, even when it is not in everyday use. Archiving helps in preserving historical data for compliance, legal purposes, and future reference, while also optimizing the performance of primary storage systems by removing data that does not require immediate access.

Backing up, while essential for protecting data against loss, is primarily focused on creating copies that can be restored in case of data loss or corruption, rather than on the long-term retention of data. Real-time syncing is about maintaining up-to-date copies of data across different locations or devices, so it does not address the preservation aspect. Version control is a system used to manage changes to documents or files over time, enabling tracking of different versions but not specifically designed for long-term preservation. Thus, archiving is specifically tailored for ensuring data's longevity and integrity over time.