subject: Data Backup and Recovery Avoiding The Mess [print this page] Data Backup and Recovery Avoiding The Mess
In the last ten years, the digital domain has begun to supplant the real world in importance. Almost all of any company's important business documents are in digital format now, and the numbers of digital photos and videos far exceed print formats in most homes. There's no question that digital media is far easier to store and locate than physical formats, but this convenience comes at a price. Other than a fire or other natural disaster there is very little chance that an entire physical collection can be destroyed in a moment, but the inherent instability of electronic media means that all data is at the mercy of every spike and surge in the electrical system.
Of course, most people regularly backup their most important data. External hard drives have dropped in price considerably in the last few years, and on-site automatic backup is standard operating procedure of almost every major business. Home users may lag a little behind in this trend, but most users will utilize DVD backup or some other form of physical media. These are adequate measures for typical electronic failures like hard drive crashes, but they are not sufficient for a true disaster. Most physical media will not withstand flood waters or fires, and a whole lifetime of memories or years worth of financial records can be destroyed in a matter of minutes.
Fortunately, there is a solution. The widespread availability of broadband Internet means that most users now have the option of backing up their data online. Because of the dropping price of memory, many companies now offer unlimited automated online computer backup for less than twenty dollars a month. Typically this involves merely installing a small piece of software that regularly monitors a computer for changes anytime a user is connected to the Internet and stores the changes on a remote server. This is an inexpensive yet important investment for any small business. There are even free options to automatically store up to two gigabytes of important data for home users.
Off-site data storage means that a company is no longer at the mercy of local disasters. In most cases, companies that offer online computer backup actually store your data in two or more locations through a process called redundancy. Often these two storage sites on in different countries or even different continents, which further protects data from catastrophic loss.
Whether you have a small business with vital documents to protect or simply a home user who doesn't to lose your child's baby photos, online computer backup is a simple and inexpensive method of protecting your data and media from unforeseen disasters.
