u.k. Online backup

Title : UK Online backup
Audience : Small business non tech decision makers with an interest in UK online backup
Source : http://www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm
Posted : FEB 08
Copyright : backupanytime original content.
Redistribution as is : No permission required (with credits)
Modification : With written permission from backupanytime..

The purpose of this document is to provide general information to companies in the UK using or considering using online backup anywhere and for non UK companies considering backing up or mirroring in the UK and associated regions. The scope here is wide and pertains to new and changing technology so a number of UK online backup documents have been provided to allow readers to focus on specific areas relative to their focus on UK online backup. This document assumes at least basic familiarity with the concept of online backup and it's focus will be on the UK and other regions for comparison. If you are absolutely new to online backup please visit the backupanytime.com home page on www.backupanytime.com for introductory information.

Where it all started.
For detailed information you can visit <UK online backup history> or for a very brief drill down please stay here. Some components of online backup such as the development of encryption owe much to UK 20th century military work. In the main however, online backup was developed in the U.S.A. by university and military parties. The original intention was to transfer data safely from one location to another. Despite vast improvements, this today remains the intended purpose of online backup, not just in the UK but globally. Commercial enterprise saw the benefits of this technology and used, improved and franchised it on a global basis.

Gaining trust.
The single biggest benefit of online backup is that it automatically moves data to an entirely different location which is managed by an outside source. The paradox here is that this was also the single biggest problem from an uptake point of view and to a much smaller extent, remains so today. Practically all large companies and the vast majority of small businesses have accepted for some time that modern encryption methods mean data in transit or off site is far, far safer than the data on office computers. It still remains an issue in some owner managed small business sectors.

The Vanguard
We have already discussed the importance of the participation of University and military entities in the emergence of online backup. From a commercial point of view, large corporation and medium sized technology companies made practical use of online backup and their uptake at the expensive and buggy early days lead to the streamlined cost effective options available to all business today.

UK online backup for small business.
Today, in the UK, online backup is seen as a prerequisite to securing data availability. There is no manual on site backup system which allows the same level of automation and avoidance of human interference with data systems. While UK online backup costs have reduced and made remote data backup in the UK more affordable, this trend is set to continue. If we are currently in a position in which the absence of Internet backup from a companies data defence measures is seen as irresponsible, this is becoming more stark on a daily basis.

UK online backup providers, non UK online backup providers and data location.
This area pertains to online backup providers supporting clients in the UK. Ideally you want to chose a supplier who is near to but outside of your region and working within European data protection guidelines. This provides protection from UK regional issues (climatic, criminal and infrastructure) whilst ensuring Euro compliance. It is important to ensure that putting this in place does not present language barriers from a support perspective or remove the data to an inaccessible location from the viewpoint of physical carriage. It is indeed for these reasons that Ireland has become a data centre location of choice for UK business. In the example of backupanytime, we have in two years moved from a UK client base of 4% to a UK client base of 38% a considerable proportion of which was achieved pre UK launch simply by word of mouth. Taking in to consideration that backupanytime.com is Ireland's' largest online backup provider and has a UK client base of 38% and set to increase considerably you can see the emergence of a trend in which online data backup providers (given technology and service to be of a suitable standard) are finding clients from just outside their region favourable to using their services. This level of sophistication of client requirements is maturing as shown by most online backup companies Google search queries coming from outside their region. Given that this page is from an Irish company and you are researching UK online backup, this in itself is a demonstration of the pervasiveness of “near but outside jurisdiction online backup preference”.

UK online backup cost.
The cost of online backup is dependent on a number of factors. These are examined more generally here.
Factors affecting the cost of online backup may be outlined as follow.
Cost of physical media.
Number of mirror centres.
Number of disconnected backup media copies (if any as a significant number of so called online backup companies simply mirror and do not backup) at main centre.
Regional costs of data centres used.
Technology investment.
Salary cost of human resource.
Insurance.
Level of responsibility accepted re. online backup client contract.

From this we can see that there are vast differences in cost depending on location(s) and level of service. An extreme and possibly unfair example would be the comparison between an uninsured, mirror only server in a second world country with no client region support and on the other hand an insured, multi skilled, managed service with actual backups and mirrors combined with a simple contract accepting responsibility for the security and availability off all received data and run from a first world country proving unlimited technical support in the clients language.

This almost unlimited level of difference of online backup service provided explains to a certain degree the vast differences in pricing ranging from free or almost free to seemingly very expensive pricing structures. The problem as with any business is further complicated by pricing on a high or low level being no guarantee as to the level of service to expect.

UK online backup comparison
Price may be used as a benchmark in conjunction with detailed service information. To gauge the suitability of a provider, a number of questions need to be answered clearly and concisely. Among the most important are the following.

Level of encryption used.
Type of encryption used.
Where is the encryption code generated.
Level of compression used.
Location of main server.
Number and location of sub servers.
In house backup policy and procedures. (Not mirror, ensure they physically backup data)
Type of contract offered and in particular any caveats or client tie in period.
Type and level of insurance.
Server uptime and data availability figures.
Choice of relevant, verifiable client references.
Level of support including out of hours and any delay to response times.
Any support type not covered under the contract.
Level of governance and law in provider region particularly if outside the E.U.

If you are at all serious about your data you should have no difficulty asking these questions and likewise if your intended online backup provider is serious about your data, there should be no issue with clear and concise answers.

UK online backup law.

You will notice above that the level of governance in the provider region is an important issue and we have said so particularly if outside the E.U. This is not meant as a claim of general superiority of European online backup law or a slight on that of any other region. It is included as a comment because of Euro compliance being essential for U.K. online backup and whilst law everywhere is evolving and most computer data law exists to protect individuals, significant legislation relative to company data retention is in place. European data protection law is of world wide importance because of the size, importance and credibility of the European union and any move which does not take this in to account would be irregular and not recommended. U.S. Law, particularly with reference to H.I.P.P.A. compliance is mature but covers a much wider area than online data backup. It is widely believed also, that while U.S. law may be mature in some areas of data protection, outside of the state of California, there is little serious local application or enforcement from a data perspective.

Summary
Online backup is not a new concept. It has however only become a practical reality on a global level in the past few years. The uptake and advancement in most first world countries of online backup is testament to the security and value it offers. The UK, due to its level of education, strong economy, safe climate and solid governance is a location which will see commercial uptake far exceeding 90% in the coming years. Backupanytime.com plan to be a major part of this growth. Call us today in strict confidence to secure the future of your data.

Backupanytime.com
“Data outages can not be totally avoided. They must be prepared for.”