Copyright © 1997 Steve Friedberg. All rights reserved.
Richard Knapp of Redondo Beach doesn’t have to be convinced of the worth of backing up his data over the Internet.
Knapp is based in Los Angeles, but his job has him frequently traveling around the country. He recently found himself on the road with his trusty laptop computer. Problem is, his computer suddenly became untrustworthy, corrupting his customer/prospect database beyond recovery. Away from his home office, Knapp faced the loss of crucial information, worth literally thousands of dollars.
Luckily for him, Knapp had a solution already installed on his laptop. He was using netTape from SafeGuard Interactive, one of a new breed of online, Internet-based storage and retrieval services. With netTape, Knapp was able to quickly log in to SafeGuard’s secure server, and restore the data he had previously backed up.
The promise of Net-based backup and restore has quickly become reality in the last year. Companies such as SafeGuard, Xactlabs and Connected have set up shop online, allowing users to back up their data with a minimum of hassle. It’s something virtually all computer users know they should do, but it’s a task which frequently gets ignored.
"An overwhelming number of our customers tell us they already have tape drives, but hate the idea of shuttling tapes back and forth," says SafeGuard president Bill Krewin. "In addition, they say they don’t want to deal with the hassle of lost tapes, mislabeled tapes, or tapes which can become corrupted."
Leading industry analysts agree. Gartner Group researchers say only one-third of home computer users bother to back up their files, with a mere 10% of laptop users backing up their hard drives. Sue Aldrich, of Boston-based Patricia Seybold Group recently wrote, "Even the most methodical collection of carefully labeled media is insufficient. Failed media. Missing files. Files that are incomplete. Files that are extensions of files that—oops—weren’t backed up. What can a poor nerd do?"
The answer to the dilemma, according to Aldrich, is online backup to a remote site using the Internet.
The process is surprisingly easy. In SafeGuard’s case, the netTape software (for Windows 95 and NT) can be downloaded from the company’s Web site. After you install it, you register for the service while online, and you can then begin uploading your files to the server. Xactlabs and Connected have similar setups.
You can configure your software to automatically perform your backups as well. The software will dial your ISP at a predesignated time and handle the work without your having to do a single thing.
One caveat: your initial backup should be done overnight, especially if you back up your entire hard drive (something SafeGuard recommends). Subsequent backups, however, tend to go by much more quickly, depending on the number of files on your drive. For instance, Krewin says his company recently ran a test, backing up a 1.2GB hard drive in 70 minutes. That, he says, compares favorably with the transfer rates of products like Iomega’s Zip and Jaz disk drives.
In addition, the online backup services offer something any tape- or disk-based backup solution can’t: immediate off-site storage. For example, you can back up your data every day, but if there’s a fire or other catastrophe at your home or business, your backed-up data would probably be destroyed along with your computer. Large companies routinely move their backups off-site; by contrast, small companies and individuals either ignore it, or haven’t even considered it. Online backup services solve this problem.
Security and safety of the stored data is a concern frequently expressed by both current and potential customers. "We get a number of people wondering if their data can be intercepted during transmission, or wondering what happens to it when we get it," says Krewin.
SafeGuard, Connected and Xactlabs all point to their ability to provide security for the stored data. netTape, for instance, allows users to encrypt their data before it’s transmitted to the company’s server. Only the subscriber knows the encryption key, meaning no one—not even SafeGuard’s employees—can decode what’s stored on the company’s servers. Additionally, the SafeGuard software keeps track of which files came from which computer. Files can be restored only to the computer that originally backed them up. Not to worry, though. If you really need to restore files to a different computer, you can call SafeGuard. After verifying your identity, they release the files for transfer.
The company also operates out of a former Control Data Corporation data center, located 150 feet above a flood plain. It runs dual Internet backbones from different providers, assuring constant access for customers even if one provider is down. It also has dual power supplies, even going so far as to store 127 desktop-sized batteries on site to provide up to three days’ continuous power if both power systems fail. (It’s never happened in 25 years at the site, according to Krewin.)
Incidentally, both SafeGuard and Connected have assumed that the absolute worst can happen to you: if you lose your laptop, if it’s stolen or if your hard drive suffers a total meltdown, both companies say they can create a CD with all of your backed-up files and overnight it to you. In effect, you could have your data back before you even replace your computer.
Then there’s the cost factor. The online backup services vary widely in price. Xactlabs offers subscribers 25MB blocks at $12.95 per month. Connected charges $14.95 a month for 50MB of storage, with additional storage available at 25 cents per megabyte. But SafeGuard’s netTape may provide the best deal of all: $119 a year for unlimited storage and unlimited access to your information.
These compare to traditional backup solutions, such as a Colorado tape drive, which will run well over $300, including tapes. Iomega’s popular Zip 100MB removable disk runs $150 for the drive plus $15 per disk. The 1.0MB Jaz drive will set you back $399 plus $100 per disk. These prices may initially look attractive compared to the Internet-based solutions, but it’s the off-site storage feature that tips the scales back toward the online vendors. What price do you put on your data if both your computer and your backup go up in flames?
Analyst Michael Peterson of Strategic Research Corp. says, "SafeGuard provides an excellent cost/benefit ratio to its users through its flat-rate pricing plan, which means no surprises when the bill comes due at the end of the month." Another analyst, Ezra Gottheil of Hurwitz Group, says, "SafeGuard’s orientation to customer service, combined with its flat-rate pricing, effectively allows small businesses to outsource this critical function."
"We’ve been asked whether our pricing schedule is too good to be true. It isn’t," says Krewin. He says SafeGuard’s proprietary technology allows netTape to quickly upload only those files which have been changed since a customer’s last backup. That means if you back up your computer every day, something the experts say is an excellent idea, your session could be completed in mere minutes.
What’s clear is that online backup really works. Attorney Mark Sullivan was quoted in Computerworld magazine as saying that after his hard drive crashed, he used netTape to restore his data. "The service definitely saved my butt. I got all the critical information back," he said.
And Richard Knapp? He’s run into problems more than once. For instance, he was on the road, working on a PowerPoint file, and messed up a presentation he was to give the next day. He resolved the situation by logging into SafeGuard’s server, downloading the previous version. "All in a couple of minutes. I am not sure how long it would have taken me to fix what I had done," Knapp says.
Which may well be the point of any kind of backup and storage system—to fix the damage done, regardless of how it was caused. With both hard drives and Internet access growing almost exponentially, online storage is clearly a viable option for people and small businesses who need to know their data is both safe and secure.