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Data gets lost; it’s not an “if” but more “when”, followed by “now what do I do”. If you’re like most businesses, you have a backup plan in place, and it’s similar to one of these:

1. Your server(s) backup your data. If it isn’t on the server, it doesn’t get backed up. Your users are instructed to save their files to the server.
2. Your server(s) back up, and your client machines are also backed up by the server via a backup client running on each machine.
3. Your client machines automatically store their information on the server (via Remote Home Synchronization, or similar)

Now these are all fine methods for achieving a backup (some better than others), but it leaves out a possible group of individuals: mobile users. If you have employees which are highly mobile–or any that work remotely–you have a real potential for data loss. A backup may have occurred of that users data, perhaps the last time they visited the office. Maybe there’s no backup at all, and your data is a bump, drop, or spill away from a complete loss (or, a very expensive trip to data recovery).

Tried and true methods

Most often, a mobile user would be put in charge of their own backup plan. You could achieve this though a backup device of their own. Apple’s Time Machine makes this dead simple for anyone with a Mac. Windows Backup and Restore isn’t quite as simple, but will still get the job done. and that’s all well and good…

..but there’s a problem

That’s all fine, but it requires users to plug in an external hard disk to their computers. I’ve tried for ages to get friends and family to do this one simple task, even once a week. You can set up the backups, and you can get them to run, but there’s still a human component here, and it never gets done. Worse yet, if your employee is carrying around their backup drive with them, and it gets dropped in a creek then it’s off to data recovery again. Stolen? Never mind…

Good thing there’s a solution…

…and all that it requires is an internet connection. Online backup solutions are recently becoming more popular, both for business and home users. In this backup model, your users send their files to a backup provider over the internet where it is stored securely on their servers. The user’s files quietly synchronized to the cloud when there’s an internet connection present. No drives to plug in, no intervention required on the side of the user. They’re backing up while they’re checking email, and none the wiser about it.

My system, backing up over Backblaze

There’s an obvious lot of benefits here:

• no user intervention
• happens automatically with something they use constantly (the internet)
• near-unlimited storage space
• no way for the user to damage/destroy/lose/spill drinks on the backup
• very low cost per user

Providers

There’s absolutely no shortage of providers in this space, which can be worrisome to a degree. Here’s a few that I’ve used successfully:

• Jungle Disk Provided by the venerable web host Rackspace, this solution is backed by a company that shouldn’t be going anywhere soon. They provide multiple storage options (either via their own servers, or to Amazon S3), and it works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. However, it tends to be more expensive than other solutions.

• Backblaze A California based startup that is very transparent about their methods, and even released the design for their Backblaze Pod storage device free to the world. They provide unlimited storage for a low monthly price, but (bewilderingly) the largest file size they allow to be uploaded is 4000 Megabytes. All said, they’re still the solution I use on my MacBook. Works on Mac and Windows (no Linux).

• CrashPlan One of the earlier providers in this market, but also one of the least transparent. Their backup software works well, and is supported on Mac, Windows, and Linux. They offer an ad supported version for free to home users, giving you something to install for mom and dad without needing a credit card. I wouldn’t use them for business (their encryption is the weakest of the three listed here), but they provide a good offering for home users.

If you’re interested in seeing some other providers, in a convenient table, head on over to Wikipedia.

What it’s not

Online backups are great, but there’s definitely things that you should think about when looking at online backups.

• Backup Speeds
  Obviously, backup speeds are highly dependent on the bandwidth that you have available. Your initial backup might take weeks (mine took 14 days) depending on how much data you have and what you choose to back up. For a user that connects to the internet as often as I do, and has a connection of high quality, this will be of little issue. Once the initial backup is made, average users only change/add hundreds of megabytes worth of files per day, and backups require little bandwidth at that point.

• Restore Speeds
  You’ve backed up 100 Gigabytes and your hard disk crashes. You’re not getting that 100GB back today, are you? With most of these services you can spend the time downloading your data, or you can choose to have a hard disk FedEx’d/UPS’d/Horse and Carriage’d to you for a fee. This can take some time, obviously.

• Bandwidth Usage
  For someone with little bandwidth (such as a customer relying on cellular for internet), the bandwidth required to achieve a realistic backup speed could be impossible. Or even if the bandwidth is there, using too much may be a hinderance on the user’s connection. For someone that uses unreliable connections consistently (such as hotel wireless), this could be a deal breaker.

• Someone else is responsible for your data
  If the Danger/Microsoft debacle has taught anyone, data loss can happen, even to very big business. You can’t necessarily count on your data being safe. It probably is, but they don’t have the same stake in your data that you do. If they lose it, they might lose a customer. You might lose your business, remember that.

• Someone else has your data
  This may be a fear for customers with proprietary/sensitive data. However, most online backup providers give you the option to encrypt your data at your end, before it is sent to their servers. That way, it cannot be read by them without your key. Usually, this is an optional configuration since it decreases the flexibility that they have in dealing with or restoring your data. So if you require this, make sure you configure it!

• They don’t replace an enterprise backup solution
  I can’t stress this enough. Really, I can’t. If there are users out there who aren’t getting regularly backed up because they’re highly mobile or remote, then an online backup is a good compromise. They should still be using something local as well, for the reasons listed above. That way, if everything fails at once (as luck would have it) there’s still that weeks old backup that Time Machine grabbed. You absolutely shouldn’t be relying on them as your only backup for your business, but they make a wonderful supplement for very cheap.

Overall, still a good solution

In my spare time, I like to play photographer. My pictures mean an awful lot to me, and that’s just some of the important data I keep. At home, I back up using Time Machine, and hopefully that’s all that I’ll ever need. Still, in the event of a disaster, it’s worth it to know my information is covered, and that’s why I choose to supplement with an online backup. Think about the data that you have out there, and make sure it’s covered, because you could be one drive crash away from losing a lot of memories, or losing a whole business.