Data Backup Services

We're all different. We have different jobs, different  families and different  interests, so it makes sense that our computer backup needs would be diverse too. Fortunately, backup software manufacturers understand and offer backup choices to fit virtually any need. Whether you work as a network manager in a large or small corporation or you are a home user wanting to secure your hard disk information you will find the information you need here at PowerHouseComputers.com. Securing your data in today’s world is a must! One day you can be infected with a virus or your hard drive can stop working. That’s when you will thank yourself that your computer information has been securely stored on a backup. Act before a disaster happens! Not after it happens! Well, you do make data backups of your system? DON'T YOU? Consider for a moment the valuable role that computer data plays in your life and business. Many households and businesses spend hundreds of dollars a month on other, less critical, elective expenses - while leaving their most valuable asset, their data, totally unprotected. Finding out the right data backup solution just for you can be confusing. Your need depends on what you want to backup, how you want to backup it up and on what type of computer or network you are using. Today it can be difficult to choose the right backup solution that you need. Not because they are difficult to find, but because there are too many of them. Are you looking for an online data backup solution? What should you backup? How should you backup? The answer to these questions depends on your specific needs and circumstances!

Backup Basics
Fact: The average business has $60,000 worth of computer data and many of them have little or no protection at all.

Fact: It does not take a dramatic natural disaster to make you lose your data. Tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, power surges and outages, employee mistakes or sabotage - there are simply too many opportunities to lose your mission-critical data. A secure online backup service from helps to ensure that your data will survive... even if your computer hardware doesn't. Every day viruses, worms, hard drive crashes, software failures, and theft turn businesses upside down in an effort to recover information and resume operations.

Fact: The average PC data loss can cost more than $2,000 when you consider technical support for recovery, lost productivity, and lost data.

There are three basic types of backup: full, incremental and differential. Put simply, full backups allow you to make a copy of all the data files on your computer in a single shot. They are perfect for computer novices and for the average home computer and should be performed weekly.

The other two basic backup types, differential and incremental, are more for people who work from home or who want to backup a computer used in a business. These types of data backups are typically done several times a week (if not daily) for maximum protection against data-loss.

Differential backups only backup the files that have changed since your last full backup, so these take longer and use more storage space, but have a shorter restoration time.

Incremental backups only backup the files that have changed since your last backup (whether your last backup was a full or an incremental backup) so incremental backups are quicker and take less space, but restoration time is much longer as you must restore both your last full backup and all of the incremental backups performed since that time.

Backup Options
Many of today's backup software programs offer a wide array of backup options; giving you the flexibility to create a backup and recovery solution that will fit your needs. Here are a few:

One-Click System Backup Programs - If simple is what your life demands, then this tool may be just what the doctor ordered. Although it's not freeware PC Backup by Data Transfer is a convenient tool that makes a full system backup with the click of a single button.

Files-In-Use Backup Programs - If the data you need to backup changes throughout the day, this tool is a good choice, as it can perform several data backups while your computer is active. The ability to backup files while in use is an excellent tool for those that work from home or those in an office with projects that evolve throughout the day. This tool is available with most backup software programs.

Complete System Backup Programs - Also called Image Backup, Drive Image and Hard Drive Image, a complete system backup saves a copy of your entire hard drive, including your operating system, registry, drivers, software application as well as your data files—allowing you to restore your entire computer back to a given point in time. A complete system backup is a good alternative to reformatting a hard drive that's heavily infected with spyware or computer viruses.

Online Backup Programs - Are the most economical, secure and automatic way to insure that your data is backed up.

.Advanced Backup Options
Some backup software comes with options that go way beyond the simple novice approach, giving you special tools to deal with unique challenges. Here are a few examples:

Backup Data Compression - Most backup software programs offer some form of data compression, which allows you to pack more data into the same location—perfect for anyone with limited storage space.

Backup File Filtering - Filtering allows you to filter certain types of files for backup. For example, you can select to backup all of the images in your hard drive-giving you the freedom to refine your data backup in ways that best suit your needs. This tool is also available on most backup software.

Backup Password Protection and Encryption - If you use passwords to protect data on your computer, it makes sense to do the same with your data backup. Most backup software offers password protection, but not all allow you to encrypt your password, which keeps your files safe from hackers.

Cost Benefit Analysis - In House Backups vs. Secure, Offsite and Automatic Service

Copying data to CDs/DVDs or tapes that are left on premises only insures that some data will be available for restore if the backup media is accessible after a data loss event ? and if this data is taken offsite it is usually unencrypted, making it available for viewing and use by virtually anyone that might come into contact with it. Fires usually destroy backup media that are left onsite, and in many cases the affected premises are off-limits to everyone for many days after a fire or other disaster. Proper backups are done automatically, at non-peak business hours, are securely encrypted, are available for restore at any time, and are taken offsite ? every night.

Cost(s) for proper in-house data backup include:

Employee time - backing up: (daily) ½ - 1 hour
Backup Media: $2 - $200 ? depending on format
Hardware: $200 to $8000 depending on format
Employee time - verifying backups: (weekly) 1 hour
Employee time ? swapping media: (daily) .25 hours +

Assuming that the employee responsible for the backups, removal of media, verifications and restore processes is on a salary of at least $30,000 per year, and using the minimum time dedications outlined above, the cost of properly backing up an Small Business Server's data is about $71.25 per week or $285 per month or and $3420 per year? (not including hardware). If you factor in the cost of true manual rotation of backup copies to a secure offsite location using a courier service ($300 per month+) and the aggregate costs associated with restoring data from tapes or the internal costs of managing a single total loss/restore event, the costs of in-house backup can skyrocket to well over double the previous estimate.

Compare this to the online backup service, operating automatically at non-peak hours, and without imposing on your existing staff or adding hardware or media resources of any type. Typical average charges for service might be $50-$75 per month, resulting in a minimum cost savings of between $2520 and $2820 per year.