A Guide to Online Backup
It is a problem affecting thousands of businesses across the UK and the world.
When hard drives crash precious documents can be lost forever.
It makes sense their for to choose an online backup provider.
In a world in which our personal information is more important than ever before, this is an extremely attractive option, but how do you make sure you choose the right provider? As with anything there are certain choices you need to make before making your selection.
Anyone can operate a backup service if they wish and unfortunately there are a number of cowboys out there in the market.
Before you make your selection, therefore, you need to make sure all files and information will be kept in the utmost safety.
Primary factors to consider are facilities such as incremental backup.
This allows you to go back in time, as it were, in case you have inadvertently stored corrupted files.
Next, ask what disaster recovery plans they have in place.
If, for example, there is a fire at the facility, what happens to the data? A good online backup provider will often have two ISPs leading into the physical location of their building.
If one goes down then the other continues to function.
Aside from that you need to check issues such as security - both in terms of IT and the physical - and what ongoing support will be in place.
The final thing to look for is cost.
For many companies this will be the primary consideration, but bear this in mind; if a supplier is cheap, there may well be a reason.
You should instead be taking into account the most cost-efficient option for the level of service on offer.
The last thing to remember is to perform regular tests on the system.
Bear in mind certain unlikely scenarios.
For example, if the server goes down, how much down time will you have until you're up and running? Alternatively, what about theft or burglaries? If many computers are taken how long before online backup services can restore all the precious data? For an illustration of just how important this issue is, consider the example of companies that have failed to take good care of customer details.
There have been scandals of banks regenerating original customer agreements - sometimes containing different terms and conditions.
The effect on a company's reputation can be hugely damaging.
By using effective online backup, firms can safeguard customer data and ensure systems continue to run smoothly.
When hard drives crash precious documents can be lost forever.
It makes sense their for to choose an online backup provider.
In a world in which our personal information is more important than ever before, this is an extremely attractive option, but how do you make sure you choose the right provider? As with anything there are certain choices you need to make before making your selection.
Anyone can operate a backup service if they wish and unfortunately there are a number of cowboys out there in the market.
Before you make your selection, therefore, you need to make sure all files and information will be kept in the utmost safety.
Primary factors to consider are facilities such as incremental backup.
This allows you to go back in time, as it were, in case you have inadvertently stored corrupted files.
Next, ask what disaster recovery plans they have in place.
If, for example, there is a fire at the facility, what happens to the data? A good online backup provider will often have two ISPs leading into the physical location of their building.
If one goes down then the other continues to function.
Aside from that you need to check issues such as security - both in terms of IT and the physical - and what ongoing support will be in place.
The final thing to look for is cost.
For many companies this will be the primary consideration, but bear this in mind; if a supplier is cheap, there may well be a reason.
You should instead be taking into account the most cost-efficient option for the level of service on offer.
The last thing to remember is to perform regular tests on the system.
Bear in mind certain unlikely scenarios.
For example, if the server goes down, how much down time will you have until you're up and running? Alternatively, what about theft or burglaries? If many computers are taken how long before online backup services can restore all the precious data? For an illustration of just how important this issue is, consider the example of companies that have failed to take good care of customer details.
There have been scandals of banks regenerating original customer agreements - sometimes containing different terms and conditions.
The effect on a company's reputation can be hugely damaging.
By using effective online backup, firms can safeguard customer data and ensure systems continue to run smoothly.
