1. A data retrieval system comprising: a first computing device having a processor that supports operation of a software application and an interface module for retrieving data for the software application; a second computing device communicatively coupled to the first computing device and to one or more storage media for storing the data; a third computing device communicatively coupled to the interface module of the first computing device and to the second computing device, the third computing device storing a storage and backup map that maps the data to the second computing device; and a data index stored on the second computing device that indicates a particular location of the data on the one or more storage media that is to be retrieved by the interface module of the first computing device, the data index comprising different information than the storage and backup map.