DataPreserve Online Backup Blog

Relief from the Heat

2010-07-07T11:47:00.009-06:00

Set up backups for Windows 7 machines now.

Getting relief from the summer heat is tough. Restoring data after your hard drive is fried can be tougher. That's why DataPreserve Pro is so important.

We have learned from years of experience that the intense heat of an Arizona summer can have the unintended consequences of destroying the hard drives of

laptops left in car trunks
computers running in building when the A/C breaks down
servers kicked by overheated personnel

Fortunately, DataPreserve Pro is equipped to backup and store the data from Windows 7 computers as well as from computers running Microsoft Exchange Server, SQL and other database programs and files.

DataPreserve Pro includes a complete software suite of enterprise level, cloud-based data protection software and storage designed to help you keep data from multiple locations safe with minimal effort and cost and maximum reliability. DataPreserve Pro allows you to access an enterprise solution at affordable pricing.

If you are still using DataPreserve Remote Backup 3.0 to protect Windows 7, Vista, Exchange and SQL, give us a call to find out about DataPreserve Pro before things get too hot.

Local vs. Online Backup

2010-06-14T15:53:00.005-06:00

Our last newsletter looked at the history of backup, from punch cards onward. History continues to be made as DataPreserve Pro offers a full-featured local backup software integrated with online backup and storage.

Until recently, IT professionals needed one application to ensure local copies of backup were running smoothly, and another application for online backup and storage. Managing and coordinating the two systems quickly became a nightmare, particularly when remote offices and branch offices came into play.

Now DataPreserve Pro allows you to set up an integrated local, server-based backup and online 'cloud' backup with one single software interface. Even with multiple clients, networked servers and multiple offices, a single DataPreserve Pro solution can be used to manage backups and protect your data.

There are other solutions that boast of local and online backups. Some, however, can back up only a single local machine, not multiple, networked machines. Help make history yourself by using DataPreserve Pro to protect your customers.

Baseball and Backup

2010-03-25T15:06:00.008-06:00

There’s one position in baseball that has a lot in common with online backup – the backup catcher. As Mel Antonen writes in USA TODAY, “Backup catchers deal with little playing time, big expectations.” They are expected to stay out of the way, sit on the bench. Yet they must continually remain prepared to be called into the game.

While pitchers rarely pitch a whole game, catchers typically play the time. That means that backup catchers may play once a week. When they are needed, backup catchers are required to go from passive waiting to active play at a moments' notice. They need a combination of infinite patience and quick, effect response. Further, backup catchers are a primarily defensive position. They are relied upon to keep opposing teams from scoring. Finally, “General managers say a dependable backup isn't easy to find. And deciding what kind of backup a team needs depends on how the roster shakes down.”

So too, online backup is required to restore data infrequently. Day after day other business processes are used and referenced while online backup patiently backs up the daily changes to data and stores them securely offsite. Many of our customers forget that they have online backup until they need it. Then the online backup solution, like the backup catcher, transitions into play. With fan fair or compliant the backup solution restores critical business data back to the user to defend the team from data loss.

Business managers also know that a dependable backup isn’t easy to find. The right solution requires and understanding of the type of data to be protected, the amount of data changed daily, bandwidth and other human and technology factors that require experienced professionals to determine.

The good news is that with DataPreserve business managers have access to experienced professionals through the DataPreserve reseller channel. DataPreserve has been reliably and patiently playing backup for over five years.

Links:
Backup catchers deal with little playing time, big expectations, USA Today

Online Backup 1/2 Way Around the World

2010-02-11T11:55:00.015-07:00

When a long time DataPreserve customer asked, "Can we backup data from Egypt?" our engineers said, "There's no reason why not."

Phoenix based Kinematics Manufacturing, Inc. runs international operations from its location near the Deer Valley Airport. Over the last 14 years the company has grown from a 2-man shop to become the largest manufacturer of slewing drives in the world and make a variety of other complementary gearboxes for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

"Our marketplace approach is simple; we listen to our customer’s desires and find a way to bring the ideas to life. We’ve spent the last 14 years making geared solutions others thought were impossible and hold 11 patents to our name." explains David Pope, President of Kinematics Manufacturing.

With success comes responsibility for protecting the data and intellectual property behind the success. Kinematics Manufacturing chose DataPreserve to backup and store its critical business data. Continues Mr. Pope, "We backup our client data, our forecasts and Outlook files, as a minimum. With DataPreserve we know our data is accessible and available if and when we need to restore it."

Kinematics Manufacturing recently added an account for its Egypt office. Any concerns about connectivity or latency were quickly dismissed. The DataPreserve Pro software indexed, encrypted, compressed and de-duplicated the data, and transferred it effectively from 1/2 way around the world to the DataPreserve private cloud data center in Phoenix.

Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition - Outlook Files Restored

2010-01-26T13:34:00.005-07:00

The Denver-based Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) has a membership that consists of over 110 diverse organizations and faith communities and over 6,500 individuals from across the state. Their job is to actively influence policies and to serve as a resource for people in prison and their families. Pam Clifton, CCJRC’s Membership and Outreach Coordinator, keeps much of the contact data for these members in Microsoft Outlook files. Pam’s Outlook contains the most current information for these many organizations and people that CCJRC communicates with daily and weekly. Without that data, work would come to a standstill. So when Pamela recently upgraded computers she wanted to be sure no files were lost in the transition. Fortunately, she is a customer of DataPreserve.

Using the DataPreserve web restore capability, Pam was able to download a recent backup of her Outlook files to the desktop of her new computer. From there, importing the data to the new Outlook program was a smooth process.

“Having a daily backup with DataPreserve gives me tremendous peace of mind. And being able to simply restore the data files I needed reassures me that the DataPreserve is keeping my data safe from disaster.” explained Pamela.

Thanks to the CCJRC for their great work and to Pamela for being a loyal DataPreserve customer.

Website Backup? Yeah, it makes sense.

2009-12-11T13:47:00.017-07:00

Websites are a critical piece of today’s business – many serve as the equivalent of the yellow page ad, storefront sign and front office receptionist, to say the least. While the actual size of the site in MB is typically small, the value of the data, graphics and layout is huge. Like other electronic data assets of your business, the cost of recreating a lost website far overweigh the very small additional cost of backing up that data. Typical sites may have only one to ten MB of data which cost only pennies a month to backup with DataPreserve Pro.

In addition to regularly scheduled website backups, there are other trigger points for a full website backup. They include whenever there will be major changes to the site, and when you are migrating the site to a different host or server. In either case having a full, current backup will give you peace of mind

How to backup websites
There are several ways to backup your website. Websites are stored on web servers which may be in-house but more likely on a hosted server with a web hosting company. Typically, hosting companies such as Go-Daddy and Network Solutions allow the files associated with a website to be uploaded through FTP access. In this case, the files can be accessed and backed up through the FTP backup feature in DataPreserve Pro. This flash video walks you through the setup.

Other companies may use the popular cPanel website management interface. Within cPanel there is a site backup feature. This feature creates a .zip file that is posted to the web server. From there you can backup the .zip file with DataPreserve Pro. The CPanel feature also backups up SQL databases associated with your website. Go to Tools/Backup as shown below.

Backing up databases
Your site may include a SQL or other database that records customer contacts, various levels of login/passwords, transactions, etc. Be sure this database is included in the backup

Related links
I’ve also added a few related links other ways to backup your website.
How to backup your Go-Daddy Website by Web Hosting Hero

Joomla Tutorial: How to Backup Your Website – YouTube video

How to backup your website in cPanel – Tutorial
Effective Classy Websites

Top Five Cloud (Backup) Computing Adoption Inhibitors

2009-12-04T16:51:00.007-07:00

Just found this article on Express Computer laying out critical drawbacks for cloud computing. Feeling good that DataPreserve online backup and storage can address the top five adoption inhibitors head on.

The original work is written by Bruce Robertson of Gartner research. Bruce focuses on the most critical inhibitors to the adoption of cloud computing and the means of mitigating the risks.

Here are the inhibitors and how DataPreserve addresses them. For the full article go here.

1. Risk testing
“Testing is difficult to arrange and conduct and often isn’t offered by the provider”
With DataPreserve online backup, testing is a simple process you can perform from your own computer. Just delete, rename or move a file or folder then you the DataPreserve software functionality to restore it from our servers to the original location. While we demonstrate this function to all of our customers many forget or change job functions and don’t realize how easy it is to restore data.

2. Data location
“You may not know where your data is being stored. The question may be which disk farm, which data center or which country?”
When you store your data with DataPreserve you know exactly where the data is stored, in our ‘private cloud’ high security data center in Phoenix,AZ, one of the safety (technology-wise) places on Earth. For online backup and storage this point is particularly important for data restoration. Pulling large data sizes back from the cloud can take too long. With DataPreserve we can hook up a portable hard drive to download your data and overnight it to your location. of course the data remains encrypted all the way from storage through transit.

3. Data and code portability
“Once you’ve put your data into a system, it can be difficult to get the data back out. Beyond the data, it may be hard to get process (and the code that executes that process) out of the provider.”
Data stored with DataPreserve is backed up and encrypted by one of two industry leading software solutions. This means that backed up data will able to be restored without requiring a proprietary software programmer to get it back.

4. Data loss
"Many cloud services do not come with backup/restore capability included—you have to add that as an option, often on your own or with another cloud provider."
DataPreserve is the backup for your system but here is a good point.

“Make sure your data is backed up or replicated. Make sure your backups are usable, whether they are done in-house, with yet another cloud service or with optional services from the same vendor. Do this regularly.”

5. Data security
“Others can access an enterprise’s data more easily when it is stored externally, making it more vulnerable to being accessed or copied.”

With DataPreserve your data is encrypted at the source, meaning that its encrypted at your location. It stays encrypted in transit and while stored with us. Confidential, proprietary, personal, no matter. We see only the bits and bytes and data sizes. Its up to you to keep your personal password that can access and unencrypt the data.

Summary
Cloud computing, like anything, has risks and benefits. We’ve taken the time to develop cloud backup solutions that are optimized for the small and medium sized businesses that need them. Our channel partners can feel confident that they offer a powerful, enterprise class solution at a price point that makes sense.

Boiling Down 201 CRM 17.00 for Online Backup

2009-11-24T14:15:00.015-07:00

There continues to be frantic analysis of 201 CRM 17 - the Massachusetts regulation for Protection of Personal information. The regulation requires not only thorough data protections measures, but also requires documentation and auditing of those measures. As with any new sweeping regulation, there is much speculation as to the effects. Here we've boiled down the verbiage to help clarify the top line requirements.

The implications for online backup?

Backed up data requires the same processes that the original data requires. Data must be encrypted and transit and at rest and secured using a comprehensive password policy. Specific personnel must be assigned to manage the process. The days of unencrypted backup devices and tapes will soon be over.

(17.02) The regulation applies to those who have personal information about residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That information is defined primarily as name with one or more of these: social security number, driver’s license number, financial account number, credit or debit card, or access codes that would permit access to financial accounts.

(17.03) Some highlights of the plans include: (letters match corresponding paragraphs in the regulation)
Developing and maintaining a plan with these aspects
a. Designating specific employees to design and maintain the plan
b. Identifying assessing internal and external risks to the data or the overall security of the plan.
c. Have specific policies for telecommuters
d. Impose measures for violation of the rules
e. Prevent terminated employees from accessing records
f. Make sure third party providers have the capacity to protect data
g. Collect the minimal amount of personal data required and give access to the smallest number of persons
h. Keep an inventory of where the data is kept
i. Regularly monitor and audit employee access
j. Revue the plan at least annually.
k. Document responsive actions taken in connection with any incident.

(17.04) On the technology side of the equation, there are additional requirements that describe user identification ID. passwords and the control of those.

If you want the research, see these links. The deadline for compliance was recently extended from January 2010 to May 2010.

Links:
The actual regulation 201 CMR 17
FAQ Issued by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (dated 11/2009)
Article on 201 CMR 17 in CSO Magazine

Nothing Static About Backup

2009-10-22T11:21:00.015-06:00

There's nothing static about backup. Among the talk of simplified backup, easy backup and set-it-and-forget-it backup, the reality is that our data changes often and in many ways. Even the best automated backup solutions require intelligent oversight to stay on top of the changes.

How does data change?
Sure, data on our computers changes daily with new and changed information added to our data sets: a new proposal, updated data bases, changed graphics or diagrams. Most of these changes are covered by an automated backup that backs up common folders. The concern arises is when other changes happen. Here are a few examples:

Software application updates - Many of our customers rely on industry specific applications such as MISys for manufacturing, DentiMax for dental offices, Amicus for attorneys, etc. Once the backup for these applications is set up, people assume that the data files remain in the same folder and are backed up on schedule. The challenge comes when users install updates to the software. We recently were called to help restore data for a medical office that had installed such an update. The new software changed the location of the data files for that software. The new location was not included in the original backup set. So when the computer crashed and we restored the data, none of the data since the update were available. Ugh!

Operating system updates - Depending your backup configuration, you may or may not backup operating system files. In either case the way the operating system works with your backup solution is important to understand. As we mentioned earlier this month, backup with Windows Vista and 7 can be much different that those with XP. So whenever you change or upgrade your operating system review the backup sets to be certain critical data is protected.

Changing computers or networks configurations - Of course changing computers or changing the network location for critical data should prompt a review of the backup set. And be sure the backup set includes that actual data files, not just a shortcut to the file.

We recommend a test of your backup, including restoring a test file, once a month. A full review of backup sets should be done quarterly and whenever one of the events listed above occurs. The best backup solution in the world doesn't replace common sense and familiarity with the working environment.

Change Happens - Be Ready with Updated Backup Solutions

2009-10-09T12:07:00.009-06:00

Windows Vista and Windows 7 require a new backup solution

Change is the one constant in our lives, particularly with Windows. So while school is in session for the kids we, too, have been learning a lot about backing up Windows Vista and learning about Windows 7.

While there are many differences between the 'traditional' Windows XP operating system and the newer Vista and 7, there are two critical aspects to consider.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 feature a new directory folder called 'Users'. Within this folder are specific user files including MS Outlook and other personal preference files. With Windows XP these files were located in different folder, usually in the 'Documents and Settings\username and other folders. The result is that users that upgrade from XP to Vista may loose files if they don't move appropriate folders to the new directory locations.

A second concern is software compatibility. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are 64-bit operating systems vs. the XP 32-bit design. This means that some programs that functioned perfectly well on XP will not run properly on the new OS. This may become a big issue for online backup companies that are tied to software designed for the old system. Fortunately for us, DataPreserve uses DataPreserve Pro powered by the ROBOBAK enterprise grade online backup software. This online backup solution was designed from the ground up with the 64-bit OS in mind.

In short, nobody does backup and restore of your Vista data like DataPreserve. Using the DataPreserve Pro online backup and a storage solution we make block level backups that are fast to upload and simple to restore. Our Remote Backup 3.0 customers are amazed by the ease of use of the DataPreserve Pro interface and its ability to compress and deduplicate across multiple locations.

Online Backup Sleight of Hand

2009-08-11T16:51:00.011-06:00

You wouldn't call it a conspiracy, but it is strange. Online data backup and storage benefits greatly from the efficiencies of deduplication, yet many of our competitors don't mention its benefits to their customers. The reason - deduplication can be a huge money maker for these companies.

Deduplication of data is in the news daily, particularly with the recent conquest of Data Domain by EMC over NetApp. The level of passion involved in the market is evidenced by the fun video, NetApp Battles the Competition, below.

When is a Gigabyte not a Gigabyte?
So why is deduplication so important for online backup companies? The short story is that most companies bill by data size - i.e. $0.50/GB up to $10/GB and more. However a GB of data on a laptop or server is not the same GB that is stored with backup. Through the process of deduplication, data that is redundant on multiple computers or devices needs only to be stored once at the backup location. As a simple example, MS Office 2007 Office program files take up 859 MB of disk space on a computer. If these files can be backed up for 100 computers using deduplication the disk space required on the backup server would be only 859 MB. If a company paid $0.50/GB to backup these files they would pay $42.95 to backup up less than one GB of stored data or about $50/GB. Now that's good business.

While this example is simplified, the point is clear. Deduplication makes a big difference in the amount of data stored and the cost of that storage. DataPreserve Pro passes this duplication benefit on to its MSP customers to allow them to share in the profits and witness the tremendous benefits that come with the backup of multiple similar devices. The published DataPreserve Pro pricing reflects the GB size actually stored on our servers, compressed and deduplicated. So for MSPs who want to share in the profits on online backup without having the investment or headaches, outsourcing with DataPreserve makes sense financially.

Of course there are many other advantages to a backup solution with good deduplication at the source - faster backups, cleaners restores, easier management of data, etc. See this interview with Bill Andrews of ExaGrid in Forbes.

What is Thin Backup?

2009-08-06T16:56:00.028-06:00

Thin Backup Option™ Speeds Exchange Backups

Face it. Exchange databases become more valuable and more bulky by the day. They must be backed up, but the time it takes just to scan for changed files daily can take hours. Then backup begins.

DataPreserve partner, ROBOBAK™, allows us to offer a valuable feature called the Thin Backup Option ™. Using Exchange database delta differentials that are available through Microsoft's ESE API, the Thin Backup Option™ for Exchange (TBO-E) cuts the time needed to complete Exchange backups by 90% or more, even for very large Exchange databases. This results in faster backups and greener backups that require less processor power to accomplish the backup.

In a report issued at the end of last year, Taneja Group analyst Eric Burgener offers the opinion that TBO-E "offers significant advantages in dealing specifically with backup window, recovery point objective (RPO), and bandwidth issues. In particular, Burgener states, "The TBO is well matched to deal with large Exchange data stores while minimizing the time and bandwidth required to consistently maintain a solid data protection regimen."

TBO-E represents a vast advantage over anything that's on the market today. DataPreserve projects that our customers will be able to cut the time needed to perform the backup and restore operations. Further, they can automate the process, depending on the size of their data load, which means that existing IT resources can be more efficiently deployed to handle other tasks. IT administrators can once again get a handle on email data protection requirements that have been increasingly spiraling out of control. They also have the assurance that their email databases, containing multiple gigabytes or terabytes of corporate-critical information, can be easily and reliably backed up offsite.

Combined with other ROBOBAK features, such as "instant backup" technology that discovers changes on the host or networked machine within second, TBO makes subsequent backups extremely fast. The technology also includes an "instant restore" feature that adds a search engine index to its server software, making it possible to locate specific files in a fraction of the time required by competing products.

How to Backup Amicus Attorney Software

2009-07-20T15:51:00.011-06:00

Amicus Attorney 2009 is a popular, if not the most popular, practice management software for law offices. Since the mid-1990s the software has helped tens of thousands of legal practices operate more efficiently. Because of the way we backup SQL databases DataPreserve Pro is uniquely capable of backing up the key files in Amicus. Here's how to do it. (with reference to data from Gavel & Gown Software, publishers of Amicus Attorney 2009).

There are two databases that store Amicus data. Include these in your backup:

Amicus, the core database for records and settings
AmicusMedia, the media database for People pictures and Graphics Customer Fields data

In addition, supplemental data is stored at both the server and at each workstation. On the server include:

Shared documents \Amicus Attorney PE Server\SharedDocuments
Document templates \Amicus Attorney PE Server\DocumentAssemblyTemplates
Custom Reports \Amicus Attorney PE Server\CrystalReportsTemplates

On each user's workstation consider backing up;

Custom Dictionary and the Spelling Auto-Text and Exceptions lists - to get to these use Windows Start/Run enter %appdata% and navigate to the \Amicus\[Amicus User ID] folder. Include this folder in your backup.
Custom Sounds - these are found at \Amicus Attorney Premium Workstation\Sounds or
\Amicus Attorney PE Workstation\Sounds

Be sure to include these databases in the backup set.

Summer games and backup. Why use online backup vs. a local device?

2009-07-06T13:46:00.041-06:00

As the kids while away the hours with the summer pass times of baseball and swimming, MSPs continue with the tug-of-war discussion about the best methods to backup and store critical business data.

It is clear to all but the staunchest supporters of tape backup that the end is in sight for tape. In spite of this, one recent report in SMB Storage claims some SMBs are doggedly hanging on to tape backup and another report in SearchStorage even makes guarded forecasts for bright new future of backup tapes. But with the increased reliability, encryption, security, speed and functionality of disk backup, it must be rare for any enlightened IT professional or MSP to implement a new tape backup system. I had the privilege of speaking with an executive of one of the world's biggest data storage companies this weekend who informed me that they have begun planning for the end of tape.

The real question – online or local backup?
So the question of what is the best solution for disk backup is now a relevant one - online backup or local? At DataPreserve, we believe the answer is BOTH. For speed and easy access, there is no substitute for having a local copy of your business data. Yet for business continuity and peace of mind, the best solution is automated online backup and storage in a private cloud. For a business with 5-50 computers, including one or several servers, MS Exchange and or SQL the most common causes for a data loss will be hardware failure or human error. Protection from these losses will typically be covered by local backup solutions. However natural disasters and theft are also ranked as major causes of data loss. So we recommend a combined solution that protects data from all these risks.

DataPreserve Pro
DataPreserve customers have the luxury of having a local backup on their own servers integrated with online backup and storage at the high availability DataPreserve data center. Using the DataPreserve Pro software, a responsible technology professional can manage both local and online backups through one management portal, offering ease of use and the fastest possible restores when data is needed. The integrated local and online backups both take advantage of the thin backup, de-duplication and encryption tools. No expensive local NAS device needs to be purchased or leased.

Private Cloud Storage - what it means for backup

2009-06-22T13:32:00.007-06:00

One buzzword in technology this spring is reference to the 'cloud', meaning the transferring of data through the Internet for computing or storage. DataPreserve has been using the cloud to provide secure online backup and storage for years.

In particular, DataPreserve utilizes a 'private cloud' or 'trusted cloud' concept. Data moving through the private cloud has a specific end point, in our case, the DataPreserve dedicated servers located in a high availability data center in Phoenix, AZ. Having data stored at a particular location has several benefits. The very practical benefit is access, the data is available for fast download when you need it. Some data storage solutions spread that data across an indeterminate number of servers in various locations, making retrieval of that data a time-consuming process.

In his article, Making the Case for Cloud Storage, Jeff Bolesof the Taneja Group makes these additional points for consideration of private cloud solutions:

Compliance with various regulations that require identification of the specific physical location of stored data.
Peace of mind of knowing exactly where your stored data is - in one of the premier data centers in the country.

American Quality Foods Chooses DataPreserve

2009-06-19T10:46:00.003-06:00

DataPreserve is honored to add American Quality Foods as a customer. We recently received this comment from Jason McKay, the Manager of Operations there:

"As the one responsible for the company's data, I became more and more frustrated with failing tape backups and the responsibility of taking them off-site. The decision was made to pursue an online solution. I did look at and demo'ed a few companies and made the choice to DataPreserve after just few days of running the demo. The interface used to manage backup profiles is great. Very easy to use and contains "wizards" for backing up SQL, Exchange and flat file servers. Talking to support during setup was a plus as well. Sal walked me through every screen on the interface and things were running in just a few minutes."

Patrick Hanley Recognized for Helping In-Transition Professionals

2009-06-17T09:58:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we had the privilege of seeing Patrick Hanley, GM of Field Operations, honored for his work as founder and board member of the Southwest Job Network, formerly the Scottsdale Job Network. Patrick was awarded the Emeritus Certificate in front of the 100+ attendees at yesterday's meeting.

Patrick is a founding member of the Southwest Job Network (SJN) that began in 2002 with just 19 members. The organization helps 'in-transition' professionals navigate and master the job search process. That original core group has grown to a group with membership of over 2,000.

During his acceptance speech Patrick noted that the turnover of attendees at the meetings was high, indicating that the group is effective at helping members find employment even in difficult times.

Hat's off to Patrick who continues to play an active role in Scottsdale area business development through the SJN and the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce where he serves as Ambassador and member of several key committees.

Backup Review Reflects Online Backup Market Explosion

2009-06-01T14:03:00.013-06:00

Backup Review (www.BackupReview.info) has been reporting on the online backup and storage market since 2004, the same time as DataPreserve launched its services. Over the years, they have maintained a steady focus on one topic - online backup and storage. As the market continues to heat up and new providers flood the Internet, Backup Review is the one rock solid piece of web-real estate that has unbiased reviews and connections to the CEOs of all the major players in the online backup game.

Backup Review was founded by Mamush Heayie over in 2004 as a portal for updated information on the then nascent online backup business. Back then, names like Carbonite and Mozy did not exist, and the biggest competitors in the market were tape backup systems and overall lack of awareness of the capabilities and benefits of online backup. Backup Review featured a then unique top 25 list of online backup companies, a mix on backup software and online backup service providers that has since emerged as a standard indicator of top players in the market.

When I spoke to Mamush via phone last week, I could tell his passion for the online backup market was undiminished with time, in spite of keeping up with growth. Explains Mamush, “We started as a home for online backup and data storage information on the web. With small dedicated staff, we have managed to create and maintain a single location where market news, blogs and other social media, and press releases can be accessed quickly. Our website also features directory, reviews and exclusive CEO interviews with many of the major players and influencers.”

Backup Review has expert editorial oversight – still important in the age of social media. This gives BackupReview.info more credibility than many blogs that may be less professional. Mamush says, "We are in business to promote online backup and data storage companies. Period."

The result of this effort is a well trafficked portal, visited by a targeted audience that allows backup companies to advertise to their audience in a cost effective manner. Mamush explains, “We offer a location for banner ads for branding as an alternative to expensive Google key word advertising. Today’s consumers are educated and most will search for reviews of interest before they purchase any product or service. Those searching for “Online Backup Review " will find our site on page one, line one in all search engines."

Indeed, prime online backup keywords such as “online backup”, “remote backup”, and a host of similar terms have a Goggle cost-per-click (CPC) of over $10, making advertising a pricy proposition. Backup Review offers a sensible marketing alternative to Goggle advertising for online backup companies needing to brand themselves in this space.

The site retains its non-biased format, allowing people to see reviews and other content but not supporting any affiliate programs or Goggle ads. As such, it is referenced by other publications, such as USA Today, when they need the in-depth understanding of the market. The detailed reviews can reach ten pages with screen shots, giving solid data to the online backup purchasing decision maker.

According to Mamush, there are close to five hundred online backup companies. This growth necessitated the expansion in June 2009 of the Backup Review Top 25 List to the new Backup Review Top 75 List of online backup companies. The new list is segmented into three markets - Consumer - for the general consumers, Small Medium Business (SMB) - for small and medium businesses, and Enterprise - for large enterprise corporations. DataPreserve appears in the top SMB companies.

With the current buzz about cloud storage, we can expect that the staff at Backup Review will be busy keeping abreast of the new players as they continue to provide a forum for intelligent discussion on online backup and storage.

DataPreserve Pro Launches Today

2009-05-19T10:17:00.012-06:00

We are proud to announce the formal launch of DataPreserve® Pro, powered by ROBOBAK™ software. Our agents in the field have asked for a quality solution for block-level backup and Exchange mailbox level restores. With DataPreseve Pro we have found not only a top-notch Enterprise level solution, but also one with ease of use and affordable pricing.
DataPreserve Pro continues the legacy of providing secure, reliable backup with data stored in "private clouds", specific Tier 4 data centers. With the ROBOBAK powered software, DataPreserve offers quick, block-level backups of Exchange, SQL and other databases as well as Mac, Linux and other operating systems and file types.
Several of our MSP resellers who have been beta-testing the solutions tell us that it is simple to deploy and performs smoothly.

2nd Law Organization Saved by DataPreserve

2009-05-04T13:31:00.007-06:00

DataPreserve online data storage has helped save another law firm from disaster recently. Last month a San Diego based law firm moved their office network to a new server. This fairly routine task was scheduled for 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM one evening by IT consultant Jeff David of IT TechPros. Once the data transfer to the new server was initiated, Jeff left the site. Soon afterward he was alerted on his mobile device that the synchronization had stopped. For some reason the transfer had failed and the Exchange server had locked up. The company was unable to send and receive emails.

After several attempts they were unable to mount the Exchange and a get the new server running. Fortunately, all of the data was backed up and stored online with DataPreserve. The 4 GB Exchange store, with four years worth of data, was quickly restored to the new server.

“The DataPreserve solution clearly saved the law firm from a disruptive data loss.” stated Jeff David. “This situation is one of the many unexpected events for which we recommend online data backup and storage for our clients. We like the DataPreserve solution in particular because of its simplicity of deployment.”

Online data backup and storage is becoming the accepted standard for data protection for many small and medium sized businesses. Leveraging faster and more reliable internet connections, online backup allows an organizations’ critical digital data to be automatically encrypted and stored off-site. This protects the organization from the risk of data loss due to myriad factors, including fire, theft and technology issues.

3 Tips and 3 Cautions for Spring Cleaning Your Computer

2009-04-09T14:47:00.018-06:00

Use the spring cleaning spirit to dust off your computer. You can improve its performance and reduce the risks of trouble for your information technology. Sal D’Ascoli, Customer Service Manager at DataPreserve, has these three tips and three cautions for spring cleaning your computer.

Tip 1 – Archive old emails from Outlook – Use the File/Archive function on Microsoft Outlook to reduce the size of the .PST files where emails are stored. This can improve the operation of Outlook and reduce the size of your data backups.

Tip 2 – Uninstall applications that you haven’t used. Using the Add and Remove Programs feature in Control Panel, look for rarely used programs that may be taking up hard drive space or running in the background unnecessarily. This may also improve performance.

Tip 3 – Organize your unused desktop icons. They say that a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind. While the jury is still out about that, it does make sense to clean up the clutter on your desktop. Take the time to file or delete this mess to improve your personal performance. Use this link to get the details.

Before you get started, however, here are a few cautions:

Caution 1 – Before doing any changes to your system, make sure to set a System Restore point and a backup. This way you can protect yourself from unintended data loss.

Caution 2 – If you come across a splash screen or error warning that you don’t understand during your cleanup, get help. Those warnings are there for a reason.

Caution 3 – Make sure your antivirus programs are up to date. Run each and check for updates.

Sal D’Ascoli has over 25 years of experience as a technology professional. As Customer Service Manager at DataPreserve he hears of PC problems when people lose their computer data.

DataPreserve Restores Data after Maricopa County Bar Association Fire

2009-03-23T15:23:00.025-06:00

Last month a fire ravaged the offices of the Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA) in downtown Phoenix. Yet within a month the organization is almost fully operational in nearby offices. One reason for the smooth transition? They use an online data backup and storage service.

The twelve person staff of the MCBA is no stranger to fires. In 2006 an electrical fire destroyed much of their office space. Wiser from that experience, they incorporated several aspects of business continuity into their operational plans. They were better prepared for the recent devastation that included destruction of the building, servers, communications lines and more.

“We understand very well the importance of backing up our critical data online.” explains Executive Director Allen Kimbrough. “After the last fire it cost us close to $75,000 to get our data back. After this fire, the first question I got from board members and others was, “Did you lose any data?” Fortunately, our critical files were backed up online so the loss was minimal. If we had kept only local backups on CDs, tapes or a server in our office, we would have lost everything.”

The MCBA services its members, the legal profession, the judicial system, and the public. Since its founding in 1914, it has been the largest voluntary bar association in Arizona. Yet even an organization of its size doesn’t have an on-staff information technology professional.

In addition to her duties as the Lawyer Referral Service Director, Linda Pena is called upon to oversee the computer technology. “I know the value of backups, and of getting them off-site. My responsibilities don't permit me to correctly support the technology that is so important to our operations. So we outsource technology support to Scottsdale Technology Solutions. They in turn connect us with DataPreserve, an online backup company based in Scottsdale.”

A recent article in the National Law Journal titled,“Data Security -- A Must Have,” strongly endorsed online data backup for all sizes of law a firms. Through online backup and storage provided by DataPreserve, the MCBA has been able to resume operations in a relatively short period of time.

Backing up QuickBooks® 2008 without losing a day of work.

2009-03-11T17:27:00.011-06:00

Backing up QuickBooks® shouldn’t be difficult. When QuickBooks programs are newly installed all of the files in the default folder. Set an automatic backup for those files and you are done. But complications can arise.

Over time users may relocate the key files needed to backup and restore QuickBooks 2008 to full functionality. However they don’t adjust their automatic backups to include those files. Result – no backup of current QuickBooks.

DataPreserve recommends periodically reviewing your QuickBooks online backups to be sure the correct version of the .QBB file is included in regular online backups.

What is a .QBB file?

QuickBooks 2008 allows you to create a single file with everything you need for backing up your QuickBooks. The file extension is .QBB.

How to Backup QuickBooks

For the basic daily backup up of your QuickBooks files, be sure to include the QuickBooks Backup file, ending in .QBB in your daily backups. By default, this file is stored here: C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks 2008\Data\.

Most people recommend that you set QuickBooks to create a new version of your .QBB file every time you close QuickBooks. Once created, backup up this .QBB with DataPreserve or other backup solution to get the file safely off-site.

What a difference a day makes

What happens to the changes made in your QuickBooks over the course of a day, before the .QBB file is made? In order to protect those changes you have two options.

The first option is to manually backup your QuickBooks throughout the day. That means creating the .QBB file and then setting DataPreserve online backup to backup the .QBB file several times a day.

The second option is to set the DataPreserve online backup to backup all of your QuickBook files several times during the day. To do this use the enable the Open Files feature and create a separate backup set to protect just this folder. This would include:

.QBW = QuickBooks Primary Data File
.QBB = QuickBooks Backup File

And these files if present:
.QBA = QuickBooks Accountant's Copy File (May also be a .AIF [Accountant's Import File])
.QBA.TLG = Transaction log file (for accountant's review copy)
.QBM = QuickBooks Portable Company File (for version 2006 and above).
.QBI = QuickBooks Crash Roll Back File
.QBX = QuickBooks Accountant Transfer File
.TDB – QuickBooks Pro timer file

As always, we recommend the a technology professional reviews your systems and backup sets to be sure the right data is being protected

Related links

Nice tutorial of how to create a backup copy of your QuickBooks with screen shots

http://www.clearlybusiness.com/help/backing-up-and-restoring-data/backing-up-and-restoring-data/backup-quickbooks-data/

QuickBooks/Intuit copyright notices

Law Offices have fires - Some have online storage

2009-02-27T11:50:00.006-07:00

Several legal offices have been victims of fires recently. How they recover may depend on how their computer data is backed up.

The National Law Journal (NLJ) recently profiled the story of Dan Hurst. This criminal lawyer lost everything in his law office when a Feb. 2 fire ravaged a row of historic buildings located behind Texas' Smith County Courthouse. In addition to losing all paper documents, his computer data was destroyed. Yes, he had performed a backup. His words, as quoted by the NLJ, "Everything I had on my computer is lost," he says. "I backed [the data] up like you're supposed to, but I left the backup disk in my office. I was thinking computer crash, not fire."

Another fire occurred recently at the Maricopa County Bar Association in Phoenix. According to The Arizona Republic, "The county Bar's computer server was also destroyed, but the company has a Web-based database (DataPreserve) that stores all of their important information regarding members."

All Gigabytes (GB) are not created equal

2009-02-24T12:23:00.004-07:00

A review of the competitive landscape for online backup and storage continues to reveal the 'wild west' atmosphere first mentioned by IDC over a year ago. In this atmosphere, there is a misconception that 1 GB on your hard drive is the same as 1 GB stored with an online backup and storage solution. The correct answer to that misconception is. "it depends on the solution."

Some online backup solution providers boast that they will store a GB of data for as little as $0.50/GB or less. In this case, the amount of data is calculated based on the native data size on your computer or server. Fair enough.

What is not commonly known is that professional online backup and storage companies use technology to reduce the size of the data they actually have to store. The data size can be reduced in several ways, the most common being compression and de-duplication.

The Benefits of Compresson
For common Microsoft Office files the compression can average 50% or more. For some database files the compression can reach 80% of the native file size. A compressed file will backup more quickly and take up less storage space. A business paying for data by the GB benefit by using a solution that compresses that data first.

The Benefits of De-Duplication
Many offices store redundant files on the server or among various computers. Organizations that bakcup up multiple computers may see a huge benefit to deduplication. Operating systems, programs, other common files take time and power to send to remote locations for backup and storage. Through de-duplication the total data transfered and stored is reduced, often dramatically. Therefore the cost to store that data is reduced.
Click here for a demonstration of the effect of de-duplication on data storage.