There are many options and services available when choosing an online, off-site data backup service. If you are not familiar with what to look for or what questions to ask you could make a devastating mistake that can cost you lost time, money and even lost data. This document will briefly go over what options are mandatory, optional and what to look out for. Use it to assist you in making the right decision, but still do research for what is best for you and your specific business needs.
Cheaper is not always the answer
A company offering a backup service has expenses which will affect the price you pay. Yes, some are able to sell in high volume and, as such, give a discount to customers. But when a price is far cheaper compared to others there is usually a reason. One of the ways a company can cut costs is by not having an adequate network infrastructure in place. This can result in not being able to restore your data. Your "backed up" data may not even be there. That's right; the data you are paying a company to keep safe for you may not be able to give it back to you when you need it most. We suggest doing restores of your data at least once a month to verify backups are good. Another method to reduce their costs is to have their tech support located in different countries such as India or not having any phone support at all. We all know how well that works from our own experiences. When considering a backup company, call their tech support and see who answers the phone and how well they know their own product. Basically, know the company, how they operate and weigh the options and services they provide.
My data; stop that thief!
Security is an extremely big deal with so much information now passing through the internet and hackers trying to steal and sell everything they can. Make sure before backing up your data through the internet that it remains safe and secure. One way to do this is by verifying that the backup software encrypts your data before it leaves your computer and stays encrypted when stored on the service company's equipment. Look for at least 128-bit encryption. Also, having the data transferred using SSL (Secured Socket Layer) makes it harder for hackers to intercept, but if they still happen to, the data is still encrypted.
Floods, fires and earthquakes; oh my!
Just because your data has been encrypted and successfully backed up off-site does not mean it is safe. If a natural disaster occurs, how safe is the facility where your data resides? Data facilities are given a 1-4 rating (4 being the highest) to indicate how strong and reliable a facility is. Know this information before you back up your critical business data to Bubba's shed off the coast of Florida. Another service to consider would be if data backed up to one data facility is mirrored to another data facility in a different region. This way if one site is totally annihilated, or in case of equipment failure, your data is still safe and secure.
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