| With all the disasters in recent news, more and more | | | | primary business is not online backup but marketing. |
| individuals and businesses are looking into remote | | | | They will be successful as long as their advertisers |
| backup services to protect their data. At the same | | | | see a value in using them. |
| time, more and more online backup providers are | | | | 2) How much can I store? |
| entering the market place. How do you choose? | | | | Some remote backup services limit your storage |
| What should you be looking for? | | | | capability and stop backing you up if you reach that |
| To answer these questions, you first have to | | | | limit. |
| evaluate your risk and the level of loss you are trying | | | | 3) What types of encryption are available? |
| to prevent. Most data loss comes from human error. | | | | Not all encryption methods meet government |
| You erase the wrong file. You overwrite a previous | | | | standards. If you need to comply with legislation such |
| version of a file. If these are your typical scenarios, | | | | as HIPAA, be sure your remote backup provider |
| then you want a service that can provide a simple | | | | uses approved encryption. |
| quick restoration process. Do you need to meet | | | | 4) What levels of compression do you offer? |
| government requirements, such as those contained in | | | | Compressed files reduce transmission times and |
| HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley? If so, then your remote | | | | storage utilization. Picture files, zip files, etc. are |
| backup provider must also meet them. Is your | | | | already compressed. You may not want your system |
| primary concern, a natural disaster? Then, your | | | | tied-up recompressing these. |
| provider should be located outside the disaster zone. | | | | 5) What levels of support do you offer? Can I talk |
| Once you have listed your priorities, you can begin | | | | with you over the phone? Can I get on site support? |
| asking the provider some or all of the following | | | | Restoring data can be critical to your business. Can |
| questions: | | | | you get the help you need when you need it? |
| 1) What does online backup cost? | | | | 6) How do I know if my backup is successful? |
| Some providers charge minimal amounts but force | | | | Remote backups can fail. You need to know if your |
| you to accept advertising. This means that their | | | | data is suddenly at risk. |