Title : Online backup information
Audience : Small business principals and managers.
Source : Http://www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm
Posted : August 07
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Online backup information

The purpose of this document is to provide general information about online backup. Given its' broad remit, if it does not answer your particular questions please contact us or feel free to browse other more specific documents on our website.

Origins
Online backup has become big news in recent years. It has however been around for some time. Even before the advent of the Internet, military and university technology experts made use of phone lines to transmit data for safe keeping. Large corporations were soon to follow. The advent of greater computer communications such as broadband and the reduction in costs due to market momentum has made online backup the essential application it is today.

Present
The uptake of online backup in the past two years has resulted in safer storage for even small companies and the growth rate has not gone unnoticed. Most companies without online backup are considering it and the vast majority with broadband will use it in time. Eventually it is expected that only companies without broadband and the reckless will be without online backup.

Road map :
The original most basic form of online backup was just that; a method of transferring data from one location to another. The obvious improvements were encryption which makes it secure and then compression which reduces storage requirements and associated costs. Added to this were varying backup types such as full, incremental, differential and bit level. Other important options now are retention periods and management.
On the horizon we have real time back and solid state to solid state. These technologies are not alone in design but in use right now. In time, reducing costs and market requirements will make them the norm. Backupanytime will make these technologies available to the market place.

Advantages :
Online backup offers a fully automated backup system which reports to the company and makes data available for immediate retrieval. It keeps backups off site and negates the risk or responsibility of having to physically move data at night. Given that online backup is normally provided as a subscription service, it comes with (if the supplier is reputable) an expert group and personal technical support.

The industry :
The online backup industry (like most industries) is a mix of dedicated online backup companies, corporations diversifying in to new markets and service resellers. It is very important to use the type of supplier which is most appropriate to your needs. It is however very easy to identify the different types of provider. The corporations which are diversifying in to online backup can generally be identified as they will offer little personal contact even at the sales stage. They are playing a numbers game and may be suited to you if they are in your region and you are absolutely confident that you will not need technical support. Service resellers are a good option if you have a relationship with the reseller such as if he / she is your general I.T. Provider. Dedicated online backup companies should offer a good balance of technical expertise and availability to assist. Ideally you should be using a dedicated backup supplier and introduce them to your general I.T. Supplier so you have two points of contact and there is no relationship damage done as a result of introducing someone new in to the equation. Reputable I.T. Suppliers should be pleased with the implementation of online backup.

In summary
Online backup is not new.
It has been well tested by military, university and large corporations for many years.
Online backup is not very expensive.
It is the reduced costs which have brought it such following from small companies in the past few years.
Online backup is safe.
Online backup negates the risk of physically moving data at night. All data is encrypted and compressed.
Online backup is becoming the norm.
Practically all companies with good in house I.T. Management will move to online backup given broadband.

If you found this document helpful you may like to visit www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm or our website proper at www.backupanytime.com

If you are a system administrator and would like technical details please register your interest on our contact page www.backupanytime.com/contact.htm requesting membership of our private white paper area for I.T. Professionals.

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