One of the things that
is so important when it comes to preventive maintenance and
information system care is the importance of regular, reliable remote backup.
No matter how well you treat your system, no matter how much care you take,
you cannot guarantee that your data will be safe if it exists in only one place.
Unfortunately, people regularly lose large quantities of data because they haven't backed it up.
Often the reasons that people give for failing to back up their information are efficiency
or memory related:
- They don't understand how important backups are, because they haven't had a disaster happen to them (yet).
- They forget to do them because they don't have a routine for doing backups.
- Doing the backup is a time-consuming chore and they can't be bothered.
- They don't know how to do remote backup.
- They backup on site, not realizing that a remote backup is far more secure.
Fortunately a handful of companies are now offering computer backup online.
This is known as "remote backup."
To begin a remote backup simply requires that you download some software from a backup service provider's web site. You program the software for your business by indicating which files need to be backed up and when the backup should be performed.
The remote backup service will then do the work, automatically establishing an Internet connection at the pre-appointed time and backing up your files onto their computers.
Although the first remote backup that the company performs can take a few hours, tying up your computer for the duration, the subsequent backups are performed quicker because only modified data will be backed up. This is also referred to as incremental backups.
If your data matters enough to get upset over losing, it's worth protecting, and remote backups are an essential part of data protection.
