If you are considering external backup for the safe storage and protection of your customer and business information, you have started to think in the right direction. The need to have a second copy of your information stored securely or another location to store your information is very important to any small business. You may not be at the stage where your business needs a large amount of storage or a backup that can be provided, such as that provided by an external backup service (those that use tape for large amounts of data) , well for now anyway. There may be a day in the future when you will, but what can you think about in the meantime. Let’s look at some options for when you have smaller amounts of data. When it grows, you will have to switch to the big guns of tape data storage. If your business is online, you can expect exponential growth in the data needed to protect, you can also get into the habit early.
- Online data storage. There are several ways you can start storing your information or creating backup copies by transferring data online. Remember that you will need to use some software and start paying for space online for any credible storage. Just thinking, using Google Docs to store information is the easiest way to do this. A paid service is something like iDisk. You pay a monthly premium for online disk space. This is typically used for people to store their information instead of having a disk at home.
- Managed server. Managed servers are a way to store your business information in another location. These again will cost you a monthly fee and often provide you with a number of features and mean that much of your information, not just your backups, is stored elsewhere. Again, you are using the Internet to transfer your data. This is a more granular service, offering you software, secure storage, and the like.
- Setting up your own disk somewhere. Some of those folks who are a little more technically inclined are interested in setting up their own drive somewhere. The information transfer is still online and you need to configure the unit to be online somewhere. The most common way is to install a bunch of hard drives hidden in the wall of a building or in your home. In this way, there is real physical protection in addition to the normal security features. You will have to think about a variety of other issues, such as being able to always keep it online even when there is a power outage.
It’s important to understand what off-site data storage companies offer. Serious protection in very high security protection and physical transit of information in safe vehicles: maximum information security. The other options explained here do not offer anything similar to the protection, security, control and transfer of your information as that of professional services. Please note that everything explained above is only possible with online information transfer, and for complete and complete security, that is not an option. With very crucial and sensitive information, especially when you have large amounts, they are the only option.