Online Backup Services: Best Way to Backup Your Data

For businesses wanting to ensure total data security, online backup offers the most effective way to securely collect, compress, encrypt and transfer your data to offsite hardware using a broadband internet connection. As a cost and time effective alternative to traditional backups, remote backups are also far safer. This ensures that your data is kept secure even in the event of server damage caused by fire, floods, server crashes or even viruses.

Traditional backups are often done using an on-site server, and many companies assume that this will be enough to keep precious data safe. In reality, only online data can guarantee that your data is secure, using off-site servers that allow easy access to backed-up data whenever you need to restore.

Online Backup – Key Features

Aside from the security benefits, online backup also offers a wide range of benefits, and can be quickly and easily set up to your specifications. In this way, your data can be accessed online without any delays, without the costs associated with traditional backups. Some of the main features offered by online backup systems include:

• Automatic or scheduled backups – you can run automatic backups when you are not using your computer, or select daily, weekly or monthly backups if you prefer to plan in advance.
• Block-level incremental backups – after initial backup is complete, you will only have the need to back up new or altered files, saving you bandwidth and time.
• Custom configuration – set bandwidth policies for usage and backup speeds, and select custom backup sets or defined file types for your backup requirements.
• Browse and search – you can easily search or browse backup sets that will be downloaded to any computer with an internet connection.
• Multiple restore options – restore your backups through a software client or use a website for simple and effective data restoration.

5 Questions to Ask Your Online Backup Provider

Companies who are considering the benefits of online backup may not be sure exactly what to look for in a provider. To help you get the best possible support and reliability for your remote backups, you can ask your IT company the following question in regards to their online backup services:

1. What types of data are included in a remote backup plan? You should be able to back up a wide range of file formats as well as basic Word and Excel files.
2. How much experience does your IT company have in remote backup? At least 5 years’ experience is recommended by backup experts to ensure the best level of security.
3. Does your provider have certification? This ensures that your IT company is bound by set standards recommended by an external governing body for the best level of support and reliability.
4. What support is provided by your IT company? This could be anything from email support to telephonic support, with response times ranging from instant to 24 hours or even longer.
5. How is data restored? This could be to disc or to external drive, with the option to download data to your desktop.

As the most effective way to keep your company files, photographs and other important documents secure, online backup is more than a necessity – it is an investment.

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