Online Backups
You Need Two Kinds of Backup
Disasters happen, files get deleted, people screw up. It happens all the time and we hear about these events and help out regularly. The question is, what kind of backups should a person who cares about their data be keeping. There are really two basic kinds:
- Onsite Backups – This usually takes the form of an external hard drive with some basic backup software, or even a USB flash drive that is manually managed.
- Online Backups – If a fire happens at your desk or a pipe bursts and spills into your office, that external hard drive is toast (or mush). That’s where online backups come in. You can use your internet connection to back up your data to a server in a data center.
Who Provides Online Backups?
Lots of companies do – even us! You are probably familiar with the big multi-million dollar companies provide these services. Without directly naming them, they are similar to the words “Cozy Snow” and “Kryptonite”.
What Makes Big Fish Different?
Only a few points make us different when you compare us to “Cozy Snow” and “Kryptonite”, but we think they are no-brainer differences:
- Ours is Free – All of our computer-based IT support subscriptions come with a few complimentary software solutions, and one of them is our online backup.
- We are Local – Local business is good business! Having a secure local Atlanta cloud backup ensures quick response in emergencies. We can even drive a large restore over to you if needed.
How Does It Work?
There are two pieces – The Computer and the Server. We get the software installed on your computer and make sure it has a connection to our backup servers, then we hold your computer’s hand until it gets its first full backup. This can sometimes take a while, especially if you have a slow internet connection with a bunch of data to backup.
After that first backup, we make sure the backup server is up and running, ready to receive a backup from your computer.
Guaranteed Backups, Sweet!
Not so fast! There is a portion of end-user responsibility here!
Since we can’t control your office environment or your network, it is actually up to you to make sure your computer is up and running, connected to the internet, and problem-free. These aren’t managed online backups, they are simply online backups – the same thing that “Cozy Snow” and “Kryptonite” provide. If you are looking for managed online backups, you can call our sales department and they’ll work something out
Of course, as you check the status of your backups, if you notice your computer hasn’t run a backup in a while, or you’ve seen a series of failed backups, give us a call and we will help identify the problem free of charge – just like the big guys will.
When do the Backups Run?
By default, after the first full Backup set, we have the software inspect for changes in your data every twenty minutes. If the software detects a change in a file targeted for backup, it runs – only backing up the changes instead of the entire file (This is called a block-level backup). This can be changed to run whenever you need it to.
What Data gets Backed Up?
We will backup up to 250 GB of data per computer. We target the user profile by default, but we can target anything on the hard drive (or even an external drive). Just make sure you let us know what else to target – another user responsibility!
Keep It Together Man!
Good organization of data is the first good step in backing it up! Having to restore a file because it is simply lost in the crypts of poor file management can be worse that no backup at all. With a subscription to one of our support plans, we can help establish good file retention policies, maybe even one that doesn’t rely on your hard drive.
Give us a call with any questions! 678-528-7713 option 3