As our world becomes more digitized, the files we store on our computers are becoming increasingly more important. Instead of keeping handwritten letters in a shoebox, we correspond with family members using e-mail. If we use digital cameras, we often keep our photo albums on our computers.

Unfortunately, computers (and particularly the hard disk drives that hold your files) can fail. Your computer might run for a decade with no problems, or it could fail tomorrow—there’s no way to tell. To make sure you don’t lose important files if your computer stops working, you should back up your computer on a regular basis. The backup process copies your files to a safe place so that even if your computer fails, you won’t lose them.

By Desire Athow

Data backup is one of the most lucrative slices in the storage markets. Research Outfit IDC reckons that Online backup itself will be worth $715 million by 2011, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 33 percent

Backup is big business because more and more revolves around business service processes which generate a great amount of data and also due to legal requirements enacted by governments and regulating bodies compel businesses to keep track of every byte they produce.

Backup? What’s that?

Before planning for a backup plan, let’s make sure we actually understand what backup means. Wikipedia defines backup as “the copying of data so that these additional copies may be restored after a data loss event”.

People tend to confuse between backup and archiving and while similar, they are …

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As a storage manager, you have an increased responsibility of being able to efficiently protect your organization’s data no matter what. If somehow this data is stolen, lost or destroyed, the results will be catastrophic — not only in terms of lost customers and money, but the company’s reputation as a whole.

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All third party online backup service providers will pretty much guarantee secure data protection for your business. You can expect 100% reliable backup and recovery for your business - computers and servers while eliminating the risks and burden of tape.

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Online backup is the process of backing up your data offsite through the Internet.

›› Continue reading What is Online Backup?

First of all, let’s define what I mean by online backup. Online backup is a method of offsite data storage in which files, folders, or the entire contents of a system are regularly backed up on a remote server or computer with a network connection. A number of companies provide online backup services for subscribers whose computers are connected to the Internet, automatically copying selected files to backup storage at the service provider’s data vault.

Six advantages of online backup services include:

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What’s the #1 catastrophe that can put your out of business? It’s not competition. It’s not the economy. It’s not even a fire, flood, or hurricane. It’s the almost-guaranteed failure of that little magnetic disk spinning away inside your computer. If you’re not prepared, you may be cooked.

›› Continue reading What’s the #1 Killer of Small Businesses?

Trusting important corporate or personal data to an online backup provider can be unsettling.

Typically, secure data backups have resided on local tapes, CD’s or floppies that stayed under one’s physical control. With online backup, the data is sitting in someone else’s server.

›› Continue reading How Secure Are Online Backup Services?

Insurance

The same way you buy life insurance for yourself, your family and your properties, you need to insure your data from unforeseen incidents, like: virus, theft of your computer, accidental human error, fire, flood, tornado, mud-slides, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane or other disasters.

›› Continue reading Why Do I Need Online Backup?

With hundreds of companies offering seemingly the same service, choosing the best online backup provider could be challenging.

Prices and features vary quite widely from company to company; therefore an understanding of ones need is important.

›› Continue reading How Do I Choose the Best Online Backup Provider?