"Researching Data Protection Services"
"Things You Should Look For in an Online Data Backup Service!
Depositit
by Anthony Ryb
http://www.DepositIt.com
Business experts all agree that if you are using a computer,
laptop or any electronic hand held device for carrying out
business, you must have a secure and reliable data backup
solution in place. In this article, we will discuss features
you should look for when selecting an online data backup
service.
To fully understand this topic, we need to qualify what is
meant by the terms "Secure and Reliable". Every seasoned
computer user has experienced some form of data loss, be it
due to an accidental file deletion, a power surge, fire,
flood, theft, leaving your laptop, pda or mobile phone on
the train or at the restaurant and of course virus attack!
By whichever method you lose your data, and regardless of
whether it is a single file or your entire hard drive,
there is a cost - both emotionally and financially. This
loss can be kept to a minimum if you have an up to date
backup copy of your data available that is easy to access
and guaranteed to restore the data you have lost.
Therefore, a secure and reliable data backup solution must
'remember' to back up your data so you don't have to, store
the backup copy securely off site, confirm that it has been
carried out successfully and imperatively restores your
data when the need arises.
15 Things You Should Look For in an Online Data Backup
Service
WEBSITE NAVIGATION:
How easy is it to navigate and find the information you
require and what impression do you get?
1. Costs; How much is the service going to cost you, and what does this include?
2. FAQ's and Online Support; Are most of your questions answered, or is there a lack of information available?
3. Contact Details; These should be in a prominent position and include a (local rate) telephone number and email
address for you to get in touch with the relevant
department. If a company is difficult to contact, why use
their service?
SECURITY:
When selecting an online data backup service, you need to
be assured that they have taken every precaution to
guarantee the safety of your data.
4. Data Encryption; Online storage companies provide
varying levels of data encryption. 448-bit encryption is
now available and offers very strong security; this should
be the minimum you accept.
5. Mirrored Storage; Ensure the online storage company you select has their own secure backup process in place and
enquire what this is? Do they back up at all, is it onto
tape or to a second server and is this server located in a
separate data centre? The most secure method includes
simultaneous data mirroring to 3 independent servers located
in geographically separate data centres. This ensures 3
copies of your data are stored in 3 separate locations.
6. Password Protection; Data retrieval should be easy, but only to the registered account holder. A password should
be required prior to carrying out any important function
such as file retrieval or deletion.
PROGRAM FEATURES:
7. File Types; What files types do you wish to back up?
Select a service that doesn't restrict you to just word
documents and spreadsheets, or charge extra for storing
email, music or digital images.
8. Backup Copies; This is different to how many secure data centres store your files (1, 2 or 3). Backup copies
refer to how many back dated copies of your data can be
stored/retrieved. For example, accountants may wish to
hold a full years worth of accounts for their clients,
hence they would require the ability to store over 365
back copies (for each client). The more backup copies you
can store the more flexibility you have.
9. Multiple Users/Networks; Different storage companies follow different revenue models, with some charging per
individual computer/account/licence and others simply on
the amount of storage you use, regardless of how many users
on the individual account. All make their money from
storage so why pay extra for sign up charges or additional
licences!
10.Data Retrieval; Should you lose a single file or your
entire hard drive, you want the retrieval process to be a
quick and simple operation. Single file retrieval is an
important option as quite often this may be all that you
require. Retrieval should be accomplished in 3 steps or
less - open client application - select data to restore -
click the Restore Now button.
EXTRAS:
11. Backup Confirmation; Knowing that your backup has
been completed successfully or not is very important.
Receiving an email after every backup is not only
reassuring, but also acknowledges that your files are
available for retrieval when you need them.
12. Unlimited Definitions; It may be sufficient to have your single 'My Documents' folder automatically backed up
once a day. However, you may have additional requirements
that include backing up your emails separately, or perhaps
a database needs to be saved on an hourly basis. You
should be able to schedule all your different back ups at
a time and frequency that suits you.
13.Compression; Most online storage firms will compress your data prior to transfer (to increase speed of backup
and reduce storage on their servers). Make sure that you
know exactly how much data storage you are actually
receiving in return for your payment? I.e. many companies
suggest they will back up 500 mb of your data, but are only
offering 50mb of storage space on their servers. This
assumes a compression ratio of 10:1, which though not
impossible is quite unlikely. If you have a mix of data to
back up, then it is reasonable to assume a compression
ratio of 2:1, which means you could store up to 500mb of
data within a 250 mb storage package.
14. Delta Blocking; Once your data has been backed up to a storage company's servers, all future backups should be
incremental. This means that only new or changed files
are backed up, which speeds up transfer times, helps to
reduce bandwidth, and helps keep storage costs to a
minimum. Delta blocking helps to reduce transfer times
even further and is a useful feature if you are frequently
working on and updating large files.
15. Automatic Upgrades; The last thing you want is to be midway through an important backup when the service you are
using decides you have reached the limits of your account
and puts a stop on it. Before allowing you to upload
additional data you may need to contact them in order to
increase your storage level. Increased storage requirements
and upgrades should be automatically accommodated for so
that the safety of your data is never compromised.
Editor's choice:
DEPOSITIT backs up your data automatically, every single day over a secure Internet connection, stores three separate copies in three maximum-security off-site facilities and then sends you an e-mail to confirm the backup is complete.
The entire process is completely automatic. There's nothing to remember, nothing to do and no hardware to buy or maintain.
Depositit encrypts your data using military grade 448-bit technology, ensuring complete privacy and guaranteeing that nobody but you can ever view it.
If data from your computer, laptop, PDA or mobile phone is ever lost, stolen or corrupted, Depositit ensures that there is always a current copy available for immediate retrieval. All you have to do is simply select the data you want to restore, be it a single document, digital photos, music files
or your entire hard drive, then select OK and watch a copy instantly return to your computer. It's that easy.
Depositit also automatically archives 30 previous copies of your data, so if you ever
get a virus, you can go back in time and retrieve a clean copy that was made before the attack.
Depositit is the safest, easiest and most secure solution for all your data protection needs.
How much does it cost?
Using traditional backup devices will cost a minimum of $550 USD. a year (this includes time spent backing up, hardware & media) and does not guarantee 100% that your data will be retrievable. Additional expense may also be required for engineers if the device fails!
For the average computer user (Lite User 500mg storage), you can backup your PC for as little as $10.95 USD. a month.
What would you miss more ... $10.95 a month or all the data on your computer?
Various packages are available to suit whatever your individual needs may require. Prices quoted are per year for this state of the art data protection service that automatically backs up your PC's, laptops, pda's, mobile phone and networks every single day.
Depositit is the safest, easiest, fastest, and most cost effective solution for all your data protection needs.
For further information and to subscribe to Depositit, CLICK HERE NOW
Anthony Ryb is one of the founders of http://www.depositit.com
Having recognized the need to be able to protect your computer's data from loss, either through human error, hard drive malfunction, or computer theft; Depositit.com was founded.
Depositit Online Data Backup guarantees the safety of all the critical information stored on your computer, laptop, pda or mobile phone.
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