- Security: Depending on the service you use, your files may be encrypted before they are even transferred over the internet. All online backup services use a secure connection, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) – the same security standards used for online banking. After being backed up, the files are encrypted to prevent prying eyes examining your data.
- Data is protected: Online backup services typically use certified data centers. A certified data center usually means it has layers of security built in from the time an individual walks into the center. The data centers have multiple electrical backup procedures, fire suppressant systems, and are natural disaster proof. Additionally, your data is security replicated at multiple data centers. There is no single point of failure. Redundancy is a built in function to ensure your data is never lost, destroyed, stolen, and always available to you.
- Affordable and Flexible: There are no equipment or consumable costs. Using online backups means you are using hardware owned, maintained and operated by someone else to store your data. There is no longer any need to buy consumables like CDs, DVDs, tape drives, disks, and other hardware/software.
- Automation: With traditional on-site backup, IT personnel must plan, setup, maintain the backup hardware, software, and media, including exchanging out tapes and transporting media off site. With online backup, the software is installed, setup, and runs on its own. All you need it an Internet connection.
- Simplicity: Your first backup service backs up all your files. Subsequent backups only backup files that have changed (so you don’t spend a long time doing a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. backup). Restoring is typically easy as click/restore or drag and drop. Your backups are versioned keeping up to 6 most recent copies of a file. Traveling and need to restore a file? All you need is an Internet connection. You have full control wherever you are – in the office, at home, traveling.
- Regulatory Compliance: For organizations that need to meet certain regulatory compliances, such as SOX, HIPAA, PCI, off-site backup meets those compliances through security, continuity, and services. Even companies with internal regulations and/or compliances, online backup meets those obligations.
- Remote & On-Demand Backup: With on-site backup, it is difficult to backup remote users and locations, and can be costly in hardware, Internet services, and software. With online backup, the software is simply installed on any device, anywhere that you want backed up. All that is needed is an Internet connection.
- Management: With on-site backup, IT staff is required and consumes time. With offs-site backup, no IT staff is required to maintain the backups. You control your own backup. Once the software is installed/configured on the device – that’s all. For restoring, on-site takes up IT time and can take hours or days and could require multiple media sets (tapes, CD’s, DVD’s). Online recovery is built into the client software, and is as simple as recover all, multiple files, or a single file.
- Support: With on-site backup, the organization will rely on multiple IT staff members and only when they are working on-site. With online backup, support is 24x7x365, and a single IT person is the point of contact who deals directly with the service provider.
- Common Sense: Computers crash. Hard drives crash. Thumb drives/Memory sticks don’t have enough space. Equipment gets stolen. It’s a question of when – and it could happen to you. With online backup, you no longer have to worry about this. If your computer crashes because of a virus – your data is still protected. If your laptop is stolen – your data is still protected. All your data can be restored, from any incident. You get peace of mind, save money, save time, and save energy.
