There are many solutions to running a good backup and as you would expect the cost can vary from the very cheap to the very expensive. One of the key factors in any backup solution is who is going to be doing it or monitoring it to ensure it has completed correctly.

The different types of backup range from USB Memory Stick, CD/DVDs, External Hard Drives, Tapes and On-Line. What we tend to find is that a combination of these works best.

Most backups fall into two categories, the home/small business and the business user with a server.

For the home/small business user, we tend to recommend taking a copy onto USB or DVD of older static data as often as possible, once a week or month. This is dependent on how quickly this data changes. Alongside this an on-line backup solution is used to ensure that all your key data is automatically backed up every night for you.  The advantage here is that, with the best will in the world, most people will put off or forget to backup all their data every day.  Using an on-line solution ensures that this is done without you having to think about it.  However, there is a cost involved, so backing up your old data and keeping that off-site keeps your cost down, while having an automated system looking after the rest gives great peace of mind.

Larger businesses and those with a server need to invest a little more in their backup solution. Cloning their entire system onto multiple hard drives every night works very well and is cost effective.  This works very similar to tape backups but is faster, more cost effective and allows you to back up your whole server.  The only down side, is that somebody needs to be responsible for not only changing the tape or drive, but also checking that it has run successfully.  There is little point having a backup if it isn’t monitored.

Again, using the on-line solution alongside this works well as data is instantly recoverable without having to fetch the correct tape / drive.  The other advantage of the on-line solution is not only that we provide it, but also that we actively monitor it to ensure that it has run.  We will immediately contact you to find out why the backup didn’t complete correctly.

The costs do vary from a few pounds for a memory stick or DVD to a few hundred for a hard drive solution or several thousand for a tape backup solution.  The on-line version works on the volume of data you are backing up.

Please call us to discuss your specific requirements.