No Boundaries with Online Data Backup
A Backup Article Contributed by Melissa Larose
No Boundaries with Online Data Backup
Online data backup can give you a no boundaries computing network. The ability comes from Internet access that is authenticated and data that is encrypted. Employee's world wide that have the authority can log in from any computer in their possession and access the most recent information your network has to provide. Likewise if your network has been destroyed or has crashed, recovery can happen from a remote location.
The employees charged with the responsibility of returning the network to normal after a crash can do so and recover the backup data from a remote location. No more heading for the office at 3:00 AM.
Getting Online Data Backup up and Running
Online data backup is a fairly simple process to understand. It's not much different than attaching a file to an email and sending to another location. Deciding on the online data backup service you are comfortable with will mean deciding on whether your service needs to be local but on the other side of town, out of town or out of state and how far away that state can be, or choosing to go really way out and have your online data backup service located overseas.
Several other decisions will need to be made before you begin to research price and storage amenities. You will need to know how large a volume of data you will be needing to backup and what the growth rate is for that data. You will also need to know what your recovery process involves and what level of access do you need to your data. Some companies identify the critical data as top priority with several groups of data following the priority data.
Online Data Backup Tools
The tools for data backup online are few and generally provided by the online data backup service without charge. Each service use a software package, either one that is proprietary of one that is off the shelf and tweaked for their own preferences. This software will consist of a user-friendly interface that will lead you through the backup process. An administrator on your end will set preferences and settings for time frame, files and folders to be copied and authorization for authentication of users.
Authorization can be tiered and specific to a file, set of files or folders. Authentication can happen in several layers as well.
To take control of the security of your data you must ensure that the online data backup software includes not only authentication but also encryption of your data. Encryption should happen before the data is sent out of your network and should be decrypted after it arrives back on your network. The key for encryption should be well guarded and not sent with the encrypted data.
A Way to Save with Online Data Backup
Most online backup services will charge you a monthly fee for the loading and storage of your data. When you ask for a quote ask for a quote using the full, uncompressed size of your data. This gives you a little play in the numbers because you will be compressing your data before encrypting it and sending it. Compressed data, of course, is smaller in size that uncompressed data and will use much less storage media.
