Backup Heads For The Clouds

July 3, 2009 • Vol.31 Issue 18
Page(s) 37 in print issue

Regulatory Compliance, Outdated Tape Systems Drive SMEs To Internet Online Backup

When it comes to backup services, many SMEs have their heads in the clouds-Internet clouds, that is. They are cutting the tapes that traditionally have served them well as physical backups and outsourcing the job to specialized firms. A study by Connect Support Services (www.connect.co.uk) shows that half of IT directors surveyed plan to switch from backup tapes to online backup within the next three years. 

Ever-expanding regulatory compliance requirements are driving the move to cloud backup. However, there are other factors-such as the challenge of internal management and finding lost files-that push SMEs to cloud backup. Plus, some SMEs find their current tape systems becoming glutted or outdated. 

“We absolutely see the trends the study points out,” says Jeff Cato, vice president of marketing at CoreVault (www.corevault.com), a service provider that delivers cloud backup. 

Steve Rodin, president of Storagepipe (www.storagepipe.com), agrees. Rodin says that the enterprise is moving away from tape backup and its inherent manual processes. He says rapid growth and availability of bandwidth and the dropping prices of digital storage are driving this trend. 

 Benefits Of Cloud Backup 

“Everyone’s data is growing exponentially as companies go paperless and …

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