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Once they understand how it works, many small to medium-sized business owners eagerly accept their IT manager’s suggestion to move their data storage system to the services of a web-based storage provider. The reason why is simple: compared to the costs of traditional backup systems (including hardware, various media and costly, constant human interaction) the savings and benefits of an online backup system are impressive, in terms of dollars, man-hours and reliability.

Large companies usually have the IT budget necessary to pay for on-site backup systems and a full-time, 24-hour staff to handle backups and restores. However - even though their data is just as critical to success - most small businesses usually don’t have the money to pour into that kind of data storage system. There’s hardly money for even a dedicated backup server - forget about a dedicated IT staff. The sad reality is that, most often, a small business’ IT staff is so overloaded with and overwhelmed by the many, vital tasks of managing the company’s data on a daily basis that they frequently shove running backups to a back burner, just hoping they’ll get to it before disaster strikes.

There’s no worry about security of data in the hands of a reliable online data storage company, either. When that concern is voiced, it’s almost always because the person worrying about it simply doesn’t fully understand either the technology or the process.

In fact, all stored data is encrypted before it’s moved to the internet, and the data stays encrypted until the customer him- or herself needs to access it. Even then, only the business has the encryption key needed to release the data to view. The level of encryption is extremely high, as well. Online data storage companies most frequently use the same types and levels of encryption utilized by large financial institutions and the federal government.

Another plus of online data storage is the time necessary to recall whatever data is required. Typically, recovery time for data stored online is much less than the time needed to recover from tapes, CDs or zip drives. And with online data storage, there’s no IT personnel involved in either accessing or restoring … no time spent picking up media from an off-site storage facility and bringing it back to the office … no time spent searching for the right tape and then downloading it to a server … no human error and no salaried time wasted on the mundane (but necessary) machinations of manual data retrieval.

Considering the time, personnel and budgetary savings of using an online data storage system instead of media-oriented in-house backups, it’s no surprise that so many small to medium-sized business owners are opting for this process in lieu of their old reliance upon media-based storage. The speed, reliability and cost-savings of online data storage so far outpace the budgetary, personnel and space requirements of media-based systems that online backup is poised to replace media backups as the system of choice in today’s business world.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

There’s a certain appeal, granted, to having all your business data - customer files, order information, organizational data - right there on tape, disc or zip drive on your own servers in your own offices or stored nearby.

Media based technologies once were, in fact, the most popular means for backing up crucial business data. However, these solutions have an escalating total cost of ownership and simply don’t provide the most secure data protection available today. As the business’ data grows, additional tapes, zip disks and CDs must be purchased, driving up equipment and maintenance costs.

And consider this….

What if there’s a fire? What if the fire, itself, is put out before much damage is done, but the sprinkler systems have gone off, drenching your IT facility along with everything else? What if a Trojan invades your servers? What if any one of dozens of all-too-common disasters strike and obliterate your carefully backed up business files in an instant?

If your media-based backup systems are all you’re relying on and something happens to damage or destroy them, your business is instantly up the proverbial creek without a paddle. And beyond the physical risk of sole reliance upon that kind of backup, the fact is that it’s more expensive, as well.

At first glance, media backups may seem to be cheaper, but there are hidden costs and hassles in using them that aren’t present with - aren’t even a consideration in - a remote, online backup system.

With media-based backups, an employee (or two or three) must physically see to the backup, and as well as time spent doing so there is the very real fact that human beings make human errors. Beyond that, the media files have to be physically transported to and from an off-site storage area … the storage area, itself, must be leased … the recovery process is unreliable, as well as time- and labor-intensive … restoring down to a single-file level can be very challenging … and, finally, you have no way of knowing whether data was accurately backed up.

With an online data backup system, there’s no personnel (and therefore no human error or salaried time) involved … it gets your data safely stored offsite for you, without anyone having to carry it there … you can schedule automatic backups for the middle of the night … you can restore a single file or an entire entry with just a couple of mouse clicks … you have access to at least twice as many (often more) historical versions of your data files … and you are automatically notified if there is any kind of glitch in the backup process.

Many companies today are opting to use both a tape/zip/CD backup and a remote backup system, relegating their media-based systems to performing monthly backups and utilizing the remote system for daily data backups. This is proving to be a very cost-effective approach in terms of employee costs and wear and tear on tapes and server hardware, and one well worth considering in the ever-changing world of online commerce.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

A couple of years ago, when a business acquaintance first told me about his company’s decision to switch from media-based data storage (tapes, CDs, zip drives) to utilizing the services of an online data backup company, the first thing that came to mind was a nightmare that had occurred in my business back in the mid- to late 80s. “Disaster” was definitely the word for it - and our protection against the fallout from it was practically non-existent.

Sometime after the end of business on a Friday, some pipes burst in the suite of offices right above ours. Throughout the weekend, untold gallons of water crashed through the ceiling unrestrained and uncontrolled, so that by Monday morning it looked as if a tidal wave had washed us. Unexpected, to say the least, on the 14th floor of a building in the middle of town.

As is the case with most executives it was my habit to be the early bird to the office, and the sight that greeted me when I unlocked the door is forever burned into my brain. Our carpet was soaked through with three to four inches of water. Our furniture was all but floating through our suites - and even the pieces that remained stationary were soaked through and ruined. All the phone lines were shorted out. And I didn’t dare flip any light switches….

Worst of all, though, was what I saw when I went to inspect our small, fledgling IT area. Absolutely everything in the room was thoroughly drenched and dripping water, from our server to the file cabinets housing tape backups to the PCs on the desks. We had, just several months prior, begun the arduous task of moving our client and other business data from hard copies onto an electronic storage system - and I can still hear the one word that echoed in my head as I surveyed the damage: Gone.

Our insurance policy covered the financial losses - but nothing could reimburse us for or replace the staggering amount of vital data lost to the flood. Because this was in the 80s and IT departments were just beginning to be considered in small businesses, the learning curve was steep and expensive when anything out of the ordinary happened. Online data storage services didn’t even exist in those days. Our entire repository of crucial data had been on those tapes and on that server - and we lost almost all of it.

The first lesson my company learned from our flood was that we needed physical, off-site storage for our organizational and customer data. That’s how we handled backup and storage for many years following that event - but while that was a great deal safer than storing our data on-site, there was nothing to guarantee our storage site wouldn’t ever experience such an unexpected disaster, as well.

I never once fully stopped worrying about it - until I learned about online data storage and backup services.

Today, my company utilizes both an on-site tape backup and the services of a remote, online backup system. Our in-house tapes are mostly used for monthly backups (thus saving wear and tear on the tapes and maintenance on the hardware) and we use an online data and storage service for daily data backups. We’re fully covered, now - and our data is as safe as it possibly can be.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

Here in the 21st Century, the thought of someone dead set on crippling the company by hacking into its database is a business owner’s worst nightmare. If it’s not actually #1 on the list, it’s at least in the top five Worst Things That Could Happen.

Unfortunately, without strong safeguards in place to prevent it, such a scenario is entirely possible. In some extreme cases, it’s even likely.

Consider the situation of an employee you’ve decided you’re going to have to fire. If that employee is currently a member of your IT department, and if you don’t block his or her access in time, what’s to stop them from taking your entire company down with them when they’re let go? The startling - and scary - answer is: Very little, if all your data is stored on tapes, CDs or servers right there in your offices.

Maybe you’d be quick enough to prevent a disgruntled employee from damaging your database before you could show them the door - but what about an unknown, less-than-honorable low-level staffer, IT or otherwise, who’s been approached by an unscrupulous competitor offering big bucks for some sneaky, internal sabotage? No one likes to think it of anyone working for them, but pretending that 100% of the people on any staff are honest and completely trustworthy doesn’t make it so. The sad truth is that some people can be bought - and if they are bought by someone who’s out to hurt or destroy your company, pretending that it “couldn’t happen here” could be the epitaph on your organization’s tombstone.

In today’s business world, just about all companies depend, to greater or lesser extents, on electronic data storage and a strong, secure internet presence. So how does one best meet those very real needs without exposing the business to apocalyptic destruction from crackers (evil hackers, intent upon doing damage)?

One universally acknowledged way - and probably the surest way - is to move from on-site server and media-based data storage to an online data backup system.

With an online data backup system, data is safely stored on an offsite computer — and only the business owner has the key to de-encrypt the information. That means it’s safe from sabotage by disgruntled or unscrupulous employees - or by anyone else out to harm your business. Beyond the recognized safety factor of that, however, other pluses are there’s no salaried time involved in backing up and storing your vital customer and other business data … there’s no chance for human error to occur … backups can be scheduled for the middle of the night … and there’s no chance of a tape, CD, server or any other media-based system being corrupted.

With so many things to worry about in running a business today, online data storage and backup offers companies the security of eliminating at least one of those worries easily, quickly and reliably.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

A month or so ago, on one day there were over 200 wildfires raging simultaneously in the state of Florida. Many of them were in uninhabited, remote areas - but at least a few were creeping close enough to a business associate’s offices over on the western side of the peninsula that government officials issued an area evacuation advisory.

My first concern, of course, was for the physical safety of my friend and others in the area. But once that was ascertained, knowing that a good 85 to 90% of his sales are conducted online, I voiced concern about his business, should the proximity of the fires prevent him from entering his offices for any length of time.

To my surprise, he almost chuckled at my concern!

“I’ve got a million serious ‘what ifs’ to worry about right now,” he said, “but thankfully, daily sales transactions and customer service aren’t on the list.”

The reason why, he explained, is that several months ago he had stopped using on-site, tape backups of customer and other business data and had switched to an online date storage and retrieval service.

In practical terms, what this meant for my associate was that a huge chunk of his small business was now fully protected from fires … floods … earthquakes … from any kind of natural disaster that might threaten his extensive and valuable database and online sales. No matter what might happen to his physical plant, the business of accurately and reliably receiving, acknowledging and fulfilling customer orders would continue without a glitch.

Similarly, his extensive records of client history and information, along with all his other company data, are likewise protected by the same online data storage system - keeping their data safe regardless of the local conditions.

That’s because instead of sending backups to a tape attached to an on-site server, this company’s data is sent to another computer safely off-site and are always accessible via a key code known only to the business owner. No one has to remember to do the backup, either; it’s automatically done, each and every day.

No human errors. No dropped or corrupted data. Nothing physical to lose or have damaged. No “all eggs in one basket” panic should something unexpected and uncontrollable occur.

It’s hard to imagine anything safer and more secure than that — come what may in the arena of natural disasters with the potential to dismantle or destroy a business.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

Among those factors, a lightning strike is far and away the most damaging, but also dangerous are things like accidental contact with power lines by repair trucks and other vehicles or even by animals. When power to a computer is disrupted, there frequently is a surge of current that can, in a nanosecond, completely destroy a database.

Long ago, the successful sale of whatever widgets a company offered wasn’t much affected one way or another by weather. In today’s electronic business world, though, violent weather can wreak havoc with threats to the data that make possible the successful marketing of a service or product.

Florida is the undisputed Lightning Capitol of the U.S., with hundreds of thousands of strikes recorded each year; Texas ranks #2, but Pennsylvania leads the nation in total lightning damage. In fact, the only places on earth relatively safe from lightning are Arctic, Antarctic and the middle of the oceans.

If a business happens to be located in a state with a high incidence of lightning, one of the first things the business owner learns is the importance of protecting customer and other business data from the mayhem created by a sudden surge in power. Even if you’re not located in a high-risk state, the United States records millions of serious strikes every year … coast to coast to coast to coast. No business, anywhere in the country, is immune to them.

When a lightning strike - or any other form of violent weather - abruptly severs power distribution, there usually is a surge of current that can, in a nanosecond, completely destroy a database and the hardware containing it. The surge might occur during the disturbance, during operation of the equipment, and/or when power is restored. Destructive power surges can occur on any line running into your office - including AC power lines, telephone lines, and coaxial cable lines. One way or another, that means your servers - and all data backed up on them - are at risk.

A simple “surge protector” strip affords only the most minimal protection. For one thing, their effectiveness depends upon human oversight and maintenance - and human beings mean human errors. (Accidentally clicked it off? Whoops!) For another, if the surge protector has been hit once, its efficacy is immediately cut dramatically, affording hardly any protection at all from any subsequent strikes - yet many companies simply hit the re-set switch and continue using the same “protection.”

The safe way to protect your invaluable business data - customer background, ordering and contact information, organizational files, etc. - is to have your data backed up by an online data storage and retrieval service. An online data backup system means that no matter what happens to your physical plant or the tapes, CDs and servers housed therein, your data is safe and you can retrieve it at any time.

Today, a company’s electronic business data is most likely to be its more important, most valuable asset. Protecting it with an online data backup and storage services ensures that come what may - hurricanes, floods, tornados, storms - that data is safe, secure, and the business will go on as usual.

You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.
http://www.globaldatavault.com

In today’s world, none of us can escape from the essential task of data storage. As a result of the great rise in the use of computers that has taken place over the last two decades, data storage has come to acquire a new meaning. In the old days, paper and pencil records existed. The result was that too many files and folders occupied space on desks, chairs, and file cabinets.

We still have folders and files these days. They have just become a lot more accessible. Rather than occupy space on the office furniture, these folders occupy space on our computers. The records that are in use today are classified into hard copy and soft copy. These days, it is the latter that is rapidly gaining on the scale of indispensability. However, the differently-colored folders and files that grace our offices cannot be ignored just yet.

As far as storing hard copy goes, your best option is a file cabinet. Keep it organized from the very start and rest assured that files will be easily available. Maintain records of who uses which file and when, to reduce the likelihood of hard copy vanishing into thin air.

However, the task of storing soft copy is different. Computers, after all, are electronic products. Hence, they are vulnerable to all sorts of electrical problems. From power surges due to electrical storms, to motherboards that are destroyed by a virus, computers and the data stored on them are easy victims. If you are in an organization that has a lot of data stored on computers, minimizing the risk of data loss will have become an essential feature of your working.

This would require you to develop a data recovery plan, if for some reason, you lose your data. It is recommended to keep making backups of the stored data to minimize the possibility of data loss.

Many a time, we take it upon ourselves to try and repair drives that give trouble. Avoid doing this as you might lose even more data. Instead, get an expert to see to your problems.

Enterprise storage is an important issue in most modern-day organizations. There are several methods that you can use to limit data loss. One of the ways is that of using storage systems such as DAS, SAN and NAS. Of these, DAS (direct attached storage) is the oldest, though it continues to be popular. You could also try using data recovery software to take care of problems in the future.

There are many ways of working on data storage. Choose the best option for your storage needs after evaluating aspects like cost and availability requirements.

Want to learn about storage, read about Enterprise Data Storage, Data Recovery, and Direct Attached Storage Devices.