Backup Anytime

Ask the data experts.

New! (October 2008)

Following of from the continuing success of the “Who’s who in data” interview series we have decided to allow you to ask the questions! Simply respond to this post using the standard comment option below. Present your question in the comment. Given the question is appropriate we will publish it and ask it of an expert from the “Who’s who in data” interview series. The expert asked will be chosen based on the relevance of their experience and expertise to your question and their willingness to answer. The chosen expert may therefore be from a past, present or yet to be published interview.

The real benefit here is that information on this page will be provided in order of readers wishes rather than the interview chronological order of the main “Who’s who in data” section.

Appropriate questions may be asked regarding any of the following.

Data protection, data management, data law, data backup, data security, data storage, data de-duplicattion, data technology, data privacy and yes you’ve got it. anything of relevance to the data industry.

Go ahead, all you have to do is ask! Click on comment and type your question.

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In the cloud cu-cu land
Have you tried acquiring data centre space recently?
Have you been monitoring the price of Amazon S3 data storage?

If you have been doing both you will know that data centres are now charging a premium and conversely Amazon storage is so cheap it demands a second glance from the most staunch anti-amazonian.

Data centre prices are effectively being prevented from falling due to a shortage. This shortage has more to do with power than physical space or infrastructure. Just about every non power cost has fallen (as is the norm) but the issue of power currently (and this is not a medium term issue) outweighs everything else.

This is followable and logical. The S3 prices are an exception which demand further attention.
Some very basic research (simple Google search) shows Amazon have had issues of their own this year. Much of this is sadly the norm with cloud data and stands out in the case of Amazon not because of any weakness specific to them but because of the amount of data in the Amazon cloud and consequently the number of people who are alerted immediately should an issue arise at even a sectional level.
Put simply, a company can surely only be blamed for issues they cause or issues they could prevent and fail to prevent. The cloud by it’s nature may have numerous levels of redundancy but it also has many dependencies. One simple router issue could cause a storm of protest to be directed at an obvious but not necessarily guilty party.

The advantage of the Amazon cloud is that it is very much affordable. The decision regarding specialist online backup or commercial storage versus Amazon storage is one based on price. If you go for the cheap seat don’t complain about the view. If you insist on a premium seat don’t expect it for nothing. It is here that the similarities with theatre seat pricing end. In the online storage business it is cheap or premium. No person can tell you which you should use. It is not a service you are putting a value on. It is not a potential provider you are putting a value on. You are putting a value on your data.