11

Jun

Comparing Online Data Backup Solutions for Small Businesses

Posted by: Carolyn Young

It should be common practice for any business to backup their data in case of emergency. The benefit of online data storage is that the likelihood of your information being lost – due to theft, natural disaster, or computer malfunction – is dramatically decreased by having your secondary storage solution in a remote location. Some companies, such as Renovo Data and 4Service Inc., offer large scale storage and “Disaster Recovery” services that can support multiple servers and locations – our needs do not necessitate anything quite that intensive.

So when we began evaluating the best solution for us, we focused on companies that target individual users and/or small businesses. Our primary needs include: a low monthly or annual fee, at least 20GB of storage per user, and scheduled back up times so we don’t have to worry about performing the backup ourselves. The top three companies that showed the most potential were: Carbonite, Mozy, and Box…

Carbonite:

• Utilizes a desktop application that loads all your data initially and then continuously updates when documents are added or modified.
• Can store unlimited amounts of data for one flat annual fee of $49.95
• They use a colored dot system so you can quickly identify the backup status of a document

Mozy:

• Mozy offers MozyHome that is $4.95 per month for unlimited storage, or MozyPro that charges you based only on the storage amount you predetermine
• Both MozyHome and MozyPro utilize a desktop application that performs manual and/or scheduled backups

Box:

• Offers both storage and file sharing (which wasn’t one of our main criteria, but is a plus)
• They do not use a desktop application that performs automatic backups; the backups need to be done on a manual basis through their website or via e-mail
• The maximum storage capacity available in their Business option is 15GB for $19.95 per month

Even though Box offered file sharing, which is a nice bonus for the price, either Carbonite or Mozy will most likely end up being the online data storage tool that we choose. The perks of their lower costs and automatic backups, outweigh the other offerings that Box provides.