Is Online Backup worth considering? Discuss.

Online Backup is a new thing to me. It seems a little odd backup up your data over the internet but apparently everyone seems to be doing it now instead of using the traditional method.

The first thing that concerns me is the security aspect of online backup. Sending my important data over the internet doesn’t sound very secure to me, as I don’t really believe that anything sent over the internet is ever 100% “secure”. As soon as you click that send button then it is out there in cyberspace and I don’t really feel comfortable with that. I know that these companies say that they use “secure servers” that are kept in a “secure” building but to me, if someone can hack into the FBI servers then someone could quite easily get my data if they really wanted to. Techies out there may be nodding their head in disagreement, and if that is the case, let’s hear why they don’t agree with me.

One thing I do agree with is that it is easier; I have been using a trial version of a company’s online backup for over 3 weeks now and during this time I have been mightily impressed with just how easy it is compared to using backup tapes. Don’t get me wrong our old school method does the job when it comes to backing up, as it is all automated and just gets on with the job. But I when it comes to restoring that is a different story, that is a pain in the backside and usually I just get one of the techies to do it for me. With my online backup you just open up the software, select what you would like to restore and at the touch of a button, it’s done. For anyone out there considering online backup, trust me, this is one of the biggest plus points.

Cost.

On the cost side of things, this form of backup is expensive compared to using your good old tape drive, the company I am using charge me £185.00 a month for backing up roughly about 80 GB of data. That’s a cost of £960 a year which is a lot to pay out, especially if you have a small business. So if I were you I would shop around a bit as online backup companies are 10 a penny on the internet, they are all desperate for our business as for them it’s quite easy money, so don’t be afraid to play them off each other, that’s what I did!!

Another plus point about online backup is the fact that you never having to worry about changing the backup tapes everyday. Come on, admit it! We have all forgot to change the tape from time to time and we have all forgotten to take a tape home, and you can bet your bottom dollar the day you forget to take one home will be the day there is an earthquake or local disaster. Taking tapes home everyday is one thing I do not miss.

Conclusion

I think this form of backup should be taken seriously now. Fortunately for me I have never suffered any major data loss, but I do know people that have and I can sympathise with them greatly. Losing your data nowadays means losing your business and I know of one person that went under 2 weeks after a fire in their building destroyed their office and their server room. To be honest it’s not too technical either, I set mine up in under an hour and trust me, if I can do it then you can. But I still do have isues when it comes to security, you cant help but wonder when you look at an online abckup contract and notice they are not liable for anything if they lose your data........

If anyone else has an opinion then let’s get a discussion going on the subject.

Resources;

Online backup company that I decided to go with in the end. If you do decide to use online backup I would suggest shopping around and getting the most data for your buck. Get yourself a free trial aswell.