Offsite Data Protection Saves Businesses

The odds are 1 in 4 that you will lose all the data on your hard drive due to a virus, hacker or natural disaster, such as a fire, flood, or earthquake. And if you are a business, you have a 1 in 2 chance of going out of business forever if you suffer a serious loss of data. There are many ways to backup your data, but they are not all equally safe.

CDs and DVDs are probably the most common way to back up files, but they don’t offer the kind of security that you might think they offer. You might believe that the disk copied the files perfectly, but many times when you need the data, the files are corrupted or missing due to damaged disks or other technical failures. And if you are a procrastinator and fail to back up your data regularly, then you will have lost many hours of work and memories. Not only that, but these disks are not usually encrypted so all of your data is at risk in case of theft.

You might be one of many people and businesses backing up your data on a second hard drive or tape backup solution. You will likely be able to recover data easily with these devices but only if they have not been corrupted or damaged along with the original hard drive in the same natural disaster or virus attack. And don’t rule out the theft option. In addition, up to 50% of recovery attempts fail with tape backups, say industry professionals.

The easiest and most worry-free way to secure your files is with the services of an off site data storage company. Offsite data storage and recovery is a rather effortless procedure:

Local Software Installation

First you’ll install a small application that interfaces with the backup server of the online data backup provider. The program can take up to 30 minutes to install and set up.

Initial Backup of Entire System

Second, you’ll need a broadband connection, such as a cable modem, DSL, or T1 line. Third, you’ll need to schedule a complete backup of your system. All reputable offsite data backup providers store your data in server “vaults” second in safety only to that of the FBI and CIA, so don’t worry about that!

Web Management System

Finally, you will likely have complete control to schedule backups, look at and retrieve your files any time of the day through a web interface. You should also receive an encryption code unique only to you to access your online storage.

I’ll stop here with a word of wisdom: don’t worry about data loss; worry about how soon you will contract with an offsite data recovery provider. To learn more about data recovery options to secure your business, visit Data Backup Solutions.