online data backup, online backup

Six essential points you should know when choosing an online backup service - Introduction

2009-05-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

Twelve to eighteen to months ago I used to regularly have to explain to IT managers what online backup was, what happened to the data on their servers and why it was secure. Now however, such knowledge seems much more common place in the industry.

IT Managers understand their data is encrypted and compressed before it leaves their servers. They know only deltas of their data are transmitted to the data centres. They also fully appreciate the arguement of why their data is much more secure than on the tape drive systems they have struggled with for years.

Given this increased general knowledge one might be tempted to think all an IT Manager now needs to do is find a cheap service and recycle their tape drive systems. However, not all backup services are the same in the same way there are so many different car models on the market.

Considerations when buying a car include engine size, reliability, number of seats, colour and so on. Over the next few blogs we take a look at six critical factors of online backup services to futher educate IT Managers.

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USB Drives are cheap, who needs online backup?

2008-12-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

You can buy a 1 TB USB drive for under £100 at a well know electronics store (at time of writing). Why not simply hook it up to your PC and use windows or some other backup software to copy you critical files across on a scheduled basis?

Well you can of course and we think such practice can be a useful part of a backup strategy but not for critical files. In fact even not so critical files can cause a company financial loss and and therefore may not be suitable for this type of risky backup.

The centre manager of a fairly well known organisation recently told me how they are going for ISO9000 certification and have a premiere visit from an auditor. As you might guess, a USB stick didn't cut the mustard, especially when it was being used to backup several computers and then taken home in someones pocket...now....where has it gone again..?

The kind of protection you use for your data is really a reflection on your view of the impact of loosing it should you get round to thinking about it properly. Low impact and a USB drive may well do - high impact and you'd be wise to think again - online backup may well be the answer.

Virtual call centres save money and offer flexibility not possible with traditional solutions
Virtual switchboards right company, right department, right person, every time
Online data backup - guaranteed peace of mind with IBM

Both raid configured hard disks failed - online data backup

2008-11-26T02:02:00.000-08:00

A company who knows the value of the their data, and the impact on their business of loosing it, had a raid system in place so additional protection was already being implemented. They also used a tape backup system although this caused ongoing heart ache with the various problems tape backups can cause.

Then one day both raid hard disks failed! The server crashed and needed to be rebuilt. Tape backups were out of date and the only sure thing in place was our Professional Online backup service.

They downloaded all files as required and no one was sacked but rather praised for having such protection in place. When restoring files several options were available - they could selectively download the most important files according to the needs from staff members.

As this company also had the single mailbox recovery software plugin in place, individual mailboxes could also be restored as required for their Exchange service.

The complete restore could be activated and managed in house - no specialist fees were required from outsourced companies. We of course offered FREE support as required; the process was so simple we didn't need to do much.

This is another true story - Our Professional Online backup service has been proven once again.......

Virtual call centres save money and offer flexibility not possible with traditional solutions
Virtual switchboards right company, right department, right person, every time
Online data backup - guaranteed peace of mind with IBM

External Hard Disk Failure....

2007-09-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

A computer literate colleague used an external hard disk to back up his important data. The process seems simple enough - copy critical files and folders to the drive using a program or drag n' drop. He had performed this function many times and so was proficient at doing so.

...a number of months later this colleague decides to access some of the backed up folders for reference and discovers his external hard disk is blank. No files or folders whatsoever.

So what went wrong? Was the backup not successful in the first place? Or was the initial backup fine but the data had since been erased somehow? My colleague wasn't sure but the end result was the same regardless - lost data.

This colleague is now using our automatic online data backup service for secure backups he can trust. What's more, we monitor the backups as an added extra to ensure all is well .....which means he has increased peace of mind.

Virtual call centres save money and offer flexibility not possible with traditional solutions
Virtual switchboards right company, right department, right person, every time
Online data backup - guaranteed peace of mind with IBM

USB Stick woes.....

2007-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

The owner of a small but successful garage had already experienced data loss after an IT "expert" deleted his hard disk for him. Thereafter the owner vowed to always make a backup himself given the pain he went through (the MOT renewals and client details form part of the critical and invaluable data he lost).

However, the new backup method involved using a USB stick rather than a robust backup strategy. Apart from committing such an important task to such a small device which can easily be lost, damaged or stolen, the owner wasn't regularly checking files had been successfully backed up....another mundane (yet crucial) task that many companies miss.

The latter point became apparent when one of our engineers visited the garage and asked to see the type of files being backed up - upon loading the USB stick it was totally empty! After a short silence of shock (which seemed to last forever) our professional online backup service was installed where it has been working ever since protected inside IBM data centres.

Data loss was avoided in this instance albeit against risks that shouldn't have been taken.

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Unexpected broken laptop.......

2007-09-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

The first in our series of true stories picked from over the last 5 years in the industry.

A business owner knew he was exposed and planned to backup his laptop. He had critical business information stored on it accumulated and created after much hard work. Given the laptop didn't show any signs of hardware fatigue and the operating system was fine, backing up these important files didn't seem a priority.

Even still the business owner decided to use our services after receiving a recommendation. We spoke to the individual on Thursday who said he would download and install the trial on Friday. However, as ever, "higher priority" tasks meant setting up the backup was postponed once again until the coming Monday.

Over the weekend the laptop was unfortunately dropped on the floor and the shock to the hard disk rendered it unusable....and all data was lost. This incident brought real tears to the individuals eyes as the reality of permanently lost critical data sank in.

Now a client of ours, the data is safe and sound with our watchful eyes also monitoring the backup as an additional extra.

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True stories.....

2007-03-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine having been in this industry for a few years now, we hear many stories of how companies and individuals have lost their data. We thought it might be helpful to share some of these stories with you so similar mistakes and data / reputation loss is avoided.

Of course some learn quickly while others continue to take risks once the "disaster" is over. I wonder what you will do? We'll keep all identities confidential but you will know how closely you identify with the victims.

Keep watching this space for the first and subsequent stories - we're sure you'll find them educational and relevant in helping to prevent loss in your business however big or small.

Virtual call centres save money and offer flexibility not possible with traditional solutions

Using tapes and online backup - top 3 reasons why

2006-11-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Many companies using online backup also use tapes. This may seem strange but here are some key reasons why they do this:-

1. They backup the most critical data using online backup and archive less important data on tapes or other removable media

2. They use tapes as an extra backup....but can obviously suffer forgetting to do so the odd time without any consequential loss

3. As data ages it can become less important and therefore not worth premium backup. In this case companies archive old data on tapes or disks.

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What if you can't access your building?

2006-04-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

All companies who understand the impact of losing computer data owe it to themselves to ensure business can continue in the event of a disaster. Online backup offers other advantages in addition to making easier, safer and cheaper backups. one such advantage is when drafting business continuity plans.

Any plan as to how business can still be conducted should include "what if I can't access the building?".

So many companies use tape drives systems to backup their data and worse still store the backed up tapes in close proximity to the tape drive itself. If access to the building is prevented so is access to being able to restore data.

If tapes are stored off site, a compatible tape drive system is still required - not all tape drives can read all tapes. Realistic options are then to either:-

buy another tape drive system

borrow one from somebody else

Use a spare tape drive on standby

rent a tape drive system

All these problems have associated issues.

Option 1) is unnecessary expense, time and hassle.
Option 2) may be too inconvenient to be viable. How will you backup in the meantime?
Option 3) gives rise to unnecessary waste
Option 4) could work but is likely to be expensive.

Online backup presents a simple solution as you can download you data to any computer connected to the internet providing you have the correct credentials. You can also easily restore just those critical files you need to get running right away. Files can be selected using wild card characters (e.g. search for *.doc for all word documents on backed up system.

We'll continue looking at other ways in which online backup gives superior benefits to your business.

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online backup offers greater procedural security

2006-02-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

Procedures present the hallmarks of a professional company and fundamentally help ensure tasks are completed in a consistent fashion. However, a company with the best procedures in place can still fail to execute even critical assignments - why is is?

Is isn't rocket science to understand the answer lies in the human element. We forget, cut corners and are sometimes "too busy". This is a common reason why companies don't backup critical data as they should.

The procedure is simple enough and even well understood yet the task is mundane and there is always something else staff would rather be doing. This is where the automation feature of online backup really helps. Corners can never be cut and the backup software never gets bored.

The above culminates in a more secure procedure for backing up your critical files - ensuring the task really is completed.

There is another side to procedural security as well. If you're taking removable media such as tapes or DVDs etc off site anything could happen to the data in transit such as theft or accidents. Computer files are automatically backed up to an off site location with online backup so such worries are completely alleviated.

Restoring files gives rise to the same argument. No physical transport is required - the file restore procedure is to simply click on the backup software "find" button, enter your file name and restore the required files - it really is that simple.

So backup procedures are both simplified and made more secure using online data backup.

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online backup offers greater electronic security

2006-01-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Let's start by defining what we mean by electronic security using a simple analogy.

Imagine you were a soldier in the middle of a battle and wanted to send a message to a Sergeant elsewhere on the battle field. To prevent the enemy from picking up and understanding your message, you might use a special code. In other words your message has been encrypted and only those who understand how to decode it can understand it.

When you backup files and folders to to DVDs, backup hard disks, tapes, etc they too can be viewed by anyone who has access to your computer - either with permission or otherwise. The most common way to prevent non intended access is by encrypting your files where only you know the key (an encryption key is simply a secret arbitrary alphanumeric word).

With online data backup, files are automatically encrypted before leaving your computer. They are also stored in an encrypted state. Only you and others who know the encryption key can gain access.

The vast majority of backup systems today using tapes, DVDs, etc don't encrypt their files at all. If someone else did gain access either my mistake or malicious activity you would be left wide open. With professional online backup services you are obliged to encrypt all your files fro greater electronic protection - you don't have to worry about it.

In the year 2005 a large financial company was sued for millions of dollars because unlawful access was obtained to highly sensitive customer data. As a business, you are legally obliged to ensure this doesn't happen - online data backup takes the pain away.

Gain greater electronic security with professional online data backup, Linux backup

Online data backup offers greater security

2005-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

Do your important files and folders deserve the highest affordable security you can give them? If your answer is "yes", "I suppose so" or anything similar then read on.

We can describe several aspects of security:-

1) Physical security
2) Electronic security
3) "Procedural" security

I'll take each of these in turn starting with physical security and explain how online data backup can help.

Physical security

This is where companies perhaps fail the most and are extremely vulnerable. Tape/CD/DVD backups are kept on the shelf just above the desk or taken home and kept in the house. Most companies wouldn't even dream of keeping thousands of pounds in box at home on the shelf yet important files can have a similar value.

In most cases such files are valued higher than the direct monetary value anyway due to the length of time it took to gather the data. For example, if you lost your subscribed email marketing database of 3,000 contacts the monetary value might be X and the time it took to compile the list could have been over several years.

So what would be the ideal solution? An off site location with physical security similar to that provided by a bank vault. The main telecoms and internet providers already utilise such locations given the amount of value placed in their facilities.

Physical security includes 24x7 CCTV, patrolled security, interruptible power supplies, restricted access and fortified building walls. Place your tape/CD/DVD in such a facility and you'll experience decent physical security.

A professional online backup system will already store your files in such a location - a secure data centre. All the physically secure aspects above will be in place.

As well your files will be stored in at least two different data centres providing additional security. This can be time consuming and impractical if using a tape system that took all night to backup!

So physical security is implicit in a good professional online backup solution, even when backing up small numbers of files.

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Online data backup saves time and money

2005-12-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

Equating saving time to saving or even making more money can sometimes be difficult to visualise. After all what difference does 20 minutes per day, or 2 hours per week or a day a month make?

Interestingly enough backing up data can actually take a lot longer when considering tasks such as checking your backed up data and transporting tapes/DVDs/etc to a secure off site location - data backup not done properly isn't actually worth doing.

One can see how more than a day per month can be spent backing up data. So how much does the time really cost? Whether you run your own small or medium sized company or work in a larger company your time is likely to be worth anything from £200 - £1500 per day...and potentially more.

And what about your ability to win new clients? If you could win, or influence winning a new client with the time you spent backing up data; the "loss" you experience could be even greater.

Professional online data backup gives you back ALL the time you currently could be saving - even if it's to spend more time with family and/or friends.

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Online data backup automates the mundane task

2005-11-03T02:20:00.000-08:00

Following on from the series of blogs explaining how you can so easily loose important files, contacts lists, invoicing data etc; we now focus on looking at how online data backup can really help.

The first key way online data backup can help is by automating the task. One of the biggest reasons why companies don't backup is because they either forget or can't be bothered!

There's always a more important task to complete such as making a sales call or getting home for tea etc. You can probably identify with your own biggest stumbling block.

With online data backup you configure backup software to run automatically at set times every day....or more than once per day if you like.

You also benefit from not having to contend with finding tapes, Cd's, DVDs and burning a new set of data - not to mention finding a safe secure off site location to store your precious data.

The bottom line - automation helps us humans where we would normally fail. So if you really know inside you should be backing up every day, you should perhaps be considering online data backup.

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Are you convinced yet?

2005-10-31T17:08:00.000-08:00

If you could see into a crystal ball and knew you were going to lose data you would of course back up in advance. Since no such crystal ball exists regular data backup is the only viable solution.

So far we've looked at the most common and likely ways you may lose what is important to you on your computer. This blog isn't designed to scare you nor cause unnecessary worry but rather to prevent future stress and real loss.

Given the later point, we'll now begin looking at how online data backup can help using easy explanations.

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Accidental damage to your computer will happen

2005-10-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

By now you should be getting the picture that loss of really important files, folders, financial data, client data etc is a real possibility.

Just two days ago my 2 year old daughter got her leg caught in the power lead to my laptop which sent it crashing to the floor.

The hard disk was shook up and it looked like the computer was history. As I was waiting to see whether it would survive I realised all my important data was backed up. If this had happened to me abroad, I could have used a third party computer to access presentations and files etc.

Accidents will happen - they are unavoidable. The question to ask is does one have to wait for an accident before taking action?

Online data backup helps ensure one is prepared for such accidents. If I hadn't backed up my files, I would have been rather more worried by the accident caused by my daughter.

I could have backed up files using another other media such as tapes, but online data backup increased the likelihood that I was up to date with my backups and meant I was covered whether home, at a friends house or away from the office.

Are you beginning to see the value of online data backup?

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losing your computer data through theft >> online backup

2005-10-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

I could start listing a number of stats and quotations from various sources. I could include a picture of someone who is about to have his PC stolen or include some other graphic to get your mind ticking.

However, I've decided not to do any of the above and simply appeal to what you already know - is your PC or laptop at risk of being stolen? Of course it is. Like any other business item but with far greater potential consequence.

Laptops are obviously stolen more than desktops due to greater convenience. Laptops are also on the move more than desktops making them more vulnerable.

All kinds of PC are at risk, including backup tapes and other removable media. That's why online data backup includes moving critical data to an off site location with high physical protection.

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Files lost via human error - online data backup really helps

2005-10-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly YOU as a computer user are the cause of a great deal of lost files and corrupted databases! Although various research confirms this claim, it may be a little unfair if have not found the software you're using to be very intuitive.

Nonetheless we all make mistakes, accidentally delete files and unintentionally over write existing files. The worse times are when you are not sure when this has happened.

It can be particularly annoying, and detrimental to your business, when customer records or contacts have been accidentally deleted. The embarrassment and non professionalism can result in loss of clients - I know of such cases.

Online data backup can be very useful in these potentially tragic cases as it's possible to restore files from weeks and even months in the past. Simply search an online archive and recover your required file(s) in seconds.

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How you can lose data with viruses

2005-10-15T03:44:00.000-07:00

Viruses have been around for a long time but perhaps not in such measure as today. Literally thousands of viruses are released every week around the world and cause more damage than you can imagine.

Most of the computer programs on your PC are designed to be helpful to you achieving your own aims. A virus is also a computer program which normally aims to engage in malicious activity.

In terms of data loss, your hard disk can easily be corrupted and rendered unusable, viruses can erase files or all the data on the computer can be deleted. Even if you don't loose data directly, a virus could prevent you from using your computer.

Almost everyone would have experienced a virus at some stage. They can enter your computer through many different avenues. The most common are through the internet and email or by loading a program or file from a CD, DVD, etc.

The great thing about online data backup is you can protect several historical versions of a file.

This means if a virus effected one of your files 7 days ago, you can use online data backup to restore the file as it was 8 days ago before it was affected!

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online data backup - easy explanations

2005-10-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

We'll be starting a series on explaining in easy terms how online data backup protects your data. Our goal is to primarily educate the market and help company's make their own choice as to whether its right for them.

The begin with, lets understand why you should back up your data. There are numerous reasons why computer files are lost - we'll explore some of these over the next few blogs.

The first reason is due to hardware or system failure. It doesn't matter if you have a brand new PC or an old one, they can both just as well fail without warning.

The main storage device inside your computer (hard disk) can mal function or a crippling problem with the main electronic system can arise. As the hard disk is essentially a mechanical device it is naturally prone to failure.

In fact all hard disks will definitely fail at some point - it just a question of when. As you don't know when this might happen the only real protection is ensuring your critical files and folders are backed up.

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** NEWS FLASH - Online data backup for MAC OS X

2005-09-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

We can now offer our online data backup service to MAC computers running MAC OS X.

Be careful about taking a chance, we've seen too many disasters. Online backup presents an easy way to ensure you've backed up everyday.

Contact us for more details on +44 (0) 870 116 7676 or through our website - www.data-backup-online.co.uk

Backup to educational blogs follows this.

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cost of restoring files: tapes versus online data backup

2005-09-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Let’s say you want to restore a file from last week – what process do you go through?

1. locate the tape
2. Insert into the tape drive system
3. Retrieve file

In a little more detail……

Locating the tape

Assuming you rotate tapes through a 5 day cycle you may find you don’t have last weeks copy! Let’s assume you do for the purpose of this comparison.

If you store your tapes offsite a trip may be necessary. Even if you store the file at home an extra trip might be needed if you need the file urgently.

The cost of locating your tape could therefore vary depending on whether you store them off site, on site or at home – in which case the distance to your home comes into play.

Insert tape into tape drive system

I’ve listed this as a separate item because it may not be a trivial exercise.

Again it depends where your tape drive system is located. If in another office it could be another trip. Other issues could arise if the server is in use.

Retrieve file

This is perhaps the most painful part of the process for a tape drive system. You may have to restore the whole image just to retrieve 1 file if not using more modern and expensive tape drives. This could take the best part of a day and tie up the server! The real cost includes lost productivity.

With online data backup you simply enter the file you want to restore in the search box (wildcards accepted), select the file with the required backup date and click the “restore” button.

It’s so easy.

You can also go back 3 months with the same ease.

The cost of restoring files from a professional online data backup system is negligible.

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Manual effort to backup using tapes vs online data backup

2005-09-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

To investigate this cost lets simply list the tasks required when using tapes.

Purchase tape drive and initial set of tapes
At the end of each day insert tape into drive and run backup
Usually the following day someone removes tapes and inserts a blank for the next backup
Port the tape to an off site location
rental space of secure off site location

Now let's consider the actual cost using man days.

Initial cost

Tape purchase and delivery: £(4 man days)

Tape conditioning and labelling: £(0.5 man day)

Learning how tape drive system works: £(0.5 man day)

Process for rotating and storing tapes: £(0.5 man day)

Total: £(5.5 man days)

Ongoing cost per month

Inserting new tape into drive: £(2 man days per month)

Porting tape to secure off site location: £(4 man days per month)

Data centre rental for off site location: equivalent to £(1 man day per month)

We haven't included duplicating tapes and storing each in a separate location. Add £(4 man days per month).

Total: £(11 man days per month)
or £(7 man days per month) leaving out tape duplication.

So how much is your time worth per day? Insert the figure into the totals above to work out the true cost of using tapes.

With online data backup simply pay a month fee according to the amount of data you want to backup. See typical pricing for a good professional service here.

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Cost of buying tapes Vs online data backup

2005-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

As tapes are essentially mechanical they unfortunately don't last forever. In fact the industry standard recommendation is to replace them every 4-6 months, at least for those serious about backing up their data.

So how much do tapes cost? Of course this depends on your particular tape drive - lets call this cost £Tape.

One tape for each day of the week is 5 x £Tape.

Then change the tapes 4 time per year. This is 5 x £Tape x 4.

Insert your figure for £Tape to get an actual number. We'll consider the maintenance cost of tapes in a later blog.

With online data backup no tapes exist so this cost is zero.

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Cost implications of online data backup

2005-08-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's easy to create high level headlines on how online data backup saves money, it's more of a challenge to look at the details. So let's do the more challenging task here now and over the next few days.

Before we start we need to ensure we are comparing apples with apples. Our criteria at the outset is for those who see their computer files and data as important - important enough to backup regularly with a reliable method. For those who know the impact on their business of losing critical data.

If this is not you then our analysis probably won't apply even though online data backup will still offer more convenience and save you time. You can continue with your current backup solution if indeed you backup at all.

If the criteria does apply then read the blog immediately after this one as we go through through a more detailed cost analysis.

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