Online backup solutions for your business

Online backup solutions are a good option for those looking to protect their business' critical information. Here's an overview of how they work.

Sometimes we don't realise how critical our data is...until it's too late. That's what happened to me in late 2002. I lost the contents of my hard drive; programs, data...everything.

Always one to look at the bright side, I decided to take the opportunity to explore all the options for safeguarding my data. There are plenty of ways to protect your data, I chose an online backup solution. Let me explain why.

Online backups provide a great alternative to other forms of back up such as optical drives, additional hard drives or USB memory sticks. There’s no initial outlay of capital to buy a drive of any kind.

There’s no need for training on how to use online backup. And best of all, you can totally automate the process so you don’t even need to remember to do it every week or month.

How do online backup solutions work?

Once you’ve selected your online backup provider, you download a piece of software onto the computer you want to back up. This busy piece of software allows you to select the files to be backed up, manages the internet connection, and encrypts and compresses the data before transferring it across the internet to a secure, remote location. Then it enables you to view or restore the backed up documents if you ever need to.

Another clear advantage is, if you have a physical hard drive and your house burns down, you just lost your backup! The disaster recovery offered by offsite storage is a big plus for online backup solutions.

Running costs are limited to paying a monthly fee, usually dependent on the amount of space you require. Setup and installation is simple – all you need to do is download the software and you are off and running. Recovering your data is just as quick – you simply log into your account and begin the recovery process. No more waiting for IT staff to fit you in.

The backup process itself is completely automated – you select what days, which files and how often you want your information backed up. It happened whther you remember or not. Your backed up files can be accessed by anyone with permission, so you can share your files with travelling colleagues, clients, or home PCs.

The downside to online backups

You really need a broadband connection to take advantage of this kind of solution. You could do it with dial up, but watching grass grow might be more fun.

And even with broadband – the first time you back up your data does take some time. All your files have to be encrypted, compressed and copied. After that first time, however, the system is smart enough to only backup new files or files that have changed. This speeds things up considerably.

I set mine to backup each week at 3am on a Wednesday morning. There’s an email waiting for me when I log on confirming the process has been completed.

What about security?

It’s understandable to have concerns about sending your data through cyberspace. Providers go out of their way to describe the levels of security they apply to your data. Before being transferred, the backup data is encrypted to 128-bit level (military grade) - making it effectively impossible for anyone to intercept or decrypt the data. The user is the only person who can read it.

Also, data storage centres are more secure than your own premises. They come with fire suppression, security cameras, personnel access controls and backup electricity generators. They use multiple ISPs, high-end firewalls and clustering and mirroring techniques to ensure the stored data is always available to their clients.

How to find online backup providers

Type “Online Backup Solution” into your search engine and you will see a plethora of providers. For the record, I use a service called ibackup, but the marketplace is competitive and your search will reveal numerous other solutions to consider for your business.

Megan Tough runs Complete Potential, a company that helps businesses solve their strategy and people problems. She loves being a solopreneur, and when she doesn't have her nose to the grindstone, is fulfilling her other passion of fitness and health.

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I received advertising material on the backup services now provided by Big Pond (Australia) which hosts my email.
I don't know how it compares as I haven't used it. See www.bigpond.com Hosting & Storage Karen from Springwood NSW
I am an IT consultant, and though not paranoid about backups, I am pretty serious about them! Personally I believe online backups to be the only serious option for small business and home users. I have been in a situation where I replaced PCs lost in a fire, asked for the backup disks to restore from only to be told they were in the desk drawer (which is now a pile of ashes)!
I use an Oz based company partly because they are Australian, but mainly because their support impressed me, their pricing is reasonable and they are flexible! Keith Mewes from Bowral
Online backup is one of many options for offsite data backup. Unfortunately some of the most important aspects of why you need backup seem to have been forgotten in this article.
Recovery from Virus; and
Recovery of a previous version of a file - in other words archive.
I too work as a professional consultant servicing SME's and Corporates. The most common form of restoration request I encounter from clients is... "A folder full of important data is missing".
Without Archive, in these situations the Backup is useless. You must have the ability to store Archived copies of backup because in most of these cases, people haven't noticed the file/folder missing until they go lookign for it weeks, if not months later.
Generally the online backup services offer at most is 7 days archive. Many of them are simply a form of data sycronisation - which is basically a mirror copy of the data you selected to backup, which can also be a problem if your data is infected with a virus - essentiall you replicate the virus into your offisite storage.
Online backup is a great option, but businesses must be aware of and take into consideration all the possible scenarios when looking at what backup solution fits their business best. Ben Fisher from Sydney
Many thanks for taking the time to put these additional points across so clearly Ben. Robert Gerrish from Flying Solo | Read my articles
I have recently started using Acronis True image Home as my backup solution and it works really well. Unlike other backup programs, True image makes a complete image of your hard disk. Should your hard disk fails or a software installation stuffs up Windows, you can reimage the backup to a new hard disk in one go and your PC is restored to the exact same state as when the backup was taken - including all applications, settings and data. This is a great time saver. And it also lets you add incrementally changes to each backup to save time when you backup daily. Zern from eicolab
In addition to a regular backup of critical files to DVD and laptop I also use Microsoft's FolderShare. This has the added advantage that I can access all of my files while on the road and automatically synchronise with my home office PC while working Terence Kierans from Quinns Rocks, Western Australia

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