Remote Online Backup

It probably goes without saying, but most businesses today rely on computers. Even if you don't consider your business to be a "high tech" business, technology basics like email, contacts, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on have become critical elements of even the lowest-tech businesses. And if you are a higher-tech business, your dependency on computers obviously runs even deeper. But really, it's not so much the computers themselves that make up your "digital assets", it's the data they store. After all, a failed (or stolen) computer can be replaced fairly easily, but your contact list, business plan, accounting data, and so on--that's another story.

So--and we've all heard it before--back up your data! Historically (and still pretty much today) that meant using some sort of backup software to make a periodic copy of your data onto a tape of some kind, or more recently, maybe onto a CD or DVD. Nothing magical about that, in fact Windows comes with simple but effective backup software built in, and if you wanted something more elaborate, a long list of software vendors was ready to step in and help, ranging from pretty good freeware/shareware solutions to more expensive enterprise backup software. That's all well and good, but the issue has never been a failure of the technology--frankly, it's the failure of the human. I've seen various statistics quoted here and there, but the sad truth is that relatively few people have the discipline to run backups on a regular, consistent basis.

But that's not you right? You are religious about backup, making incremental copies of your laptops (and/or servers) on a nightly basis, full backups weekly and monthly, rotating those tapes in a typical multi-generational rotation plan, and storing the two copies (yes, two) of each tape in separate physical locations. (That's a quick overview of a "good" backup plan, but one that few small businesses follow). But let's say you do follow a backup plan, albeit a "lesser" one, that affords you some level of protection. It's a lot of work, and frankly falls into that category of "administrivia" that takes your attention off running your business. Beyond that, "lesser" plans are just that--the reason for the more elaborate plans, the rotation scheme, the two copies of each tape, the off-site storage, and so on is because the technology itself is not perfect. I've heard more than one story of critical business data being lost forever due to a faulty, damaged, lost, or stolen tape.

So what's the good news? Remote Online Backup. This is a service that's been coming for a long time (I want to say I remember announcements on this topic over ten years ago), but now it's mainstream. Why now? Two technology trends have converged to make this simple idea viable: cheap storage and cheap Internet bandwidth. Storage costs have plummeted over the years (almost exactly 20 years ago, I remember buying what was then the largest hard disk available in the world; it stored 500 megabytes, weighed over 100 pounds, and cost just over $20,000--today, even at retail, you can buy a 500 gigabyte hard disk that fits in the palm of your hand for well under $500). Other storage technologies, like tape, have also experienced similar cost-down/capacity-up trends. This is what has made it viable for companies to offer remote online backup at a price-point that makes sense to individuals and small businesses. And of course, cheap high-bandwidth Internet connections make it possible to actually transmit the data from your computers to the service provider's facility (not so practical on a 28.8kbps dial-up connection).

There are a number of providers out there today that offer remote online backup services, including Mozy, Carbonite, eSureIT, and others. As you'd expect, each offers their own twist on the basic concept--different service levels, the ability to easily interface to different kinds of computers (and even specific software, like Exchange or SQL Server), and such. What they all do is back up the data on your computers (from laptops to servers) automatically over your Internet connection to their remote secure data facilities. Once you install their downloadable software on the computers you want to back up, there's nothing else to do. The service provider takes care of all the "dirty work" and presents to you a web-based administrative interface for retrieving backed-up data in case you loose something. My personal favorite is Mozy (and the fact that they were recently acquired by EMC--a large and well-established data storage company--makes me feel even more secure with them). For basic backup of a Windows laptop or file server, Mozy is hard to beat, and their Mozy Pro version has a long list of advanced features for "power users". But it's not necessarily the best solution for everyone, so take the time to explore the options and find what works best for you and your environment.

I won't try to go into all the features or benefits of remote online backup here (I'm not selling it), but I will mention a few of the key points below that apply to all or most of the providers. Bottom line, unless you have or are planning to have a fairly well-staffed IT department, remote online backup is hard to beat (and even then, it should still be considered). I highly recommend it--the peace of mind that comes with this solution is well worth the very reasonable monthly service charges.

• Once installed, it just works (although most solutions let you choose between fully automatic and various scheduled backup strategies); so unless you want to, you don't have to think about it. Even for laptops, as long as you connected to the Internet every once in a while, all the changes you've made since your last connection will be backed up.
• Unlike most simple in-house solutions, the backup is near-real-time (assuming you're connected to the Internet when making changes), so all those updates you made to your new marketing plan this morning won't get lost if your hard disk crashes before your traditional nightly backup. Many of the services also provide you with "snapshot" backup, where you can go back and retrieve (via their website) the version of that presentation you were working on three weeks ago, after you've made dozens of revisions, saving over the original file on your local hard disk each time.
• After the initial "sync" (where all the relevant data on your hard disk is backed up in its entirety), the Internet bandwidth needed for incremental changes is relatively low, so as long as you have typical DSL or cable modem Internet service, there's no need to increase your bandwidth.
• Your data is encrypted before it leaves your computer, so it can't be intercepted or compromised in any way while it's en route to or stored at the remote backup provider's facilities. This ensures that your data will remain safe and let's you comply with HIPAA, PCI, and/or other privacy/security requirements.