Online File Storage and Automated Backup
Why It’s Not Just “Optional”, It’s Critical
In reviewing what the most important assets are for an appraisal business, other than clients, hardware and software, the most important element is the appraisal report itself and the associated component files used to complete it.
With that said, I would like to stress the importance of having real-time backup and storage of all those files in an offsite facility where they are safe and sound. You may feel secure in having an external tape or drive you backup to every day, week or month.
But, the reality is, if something happens to the location where you have your files stored, or that device or media fails, they might be lost forever. Try explaining to your client that you can’t deliver the report. Your business, along with the clients waiting impatiently for them, would take a severe hit.
Here are the Main Reasons for Using Online Offsite Storage:
The Data is Stored Off-Site: The data is stored on disk, not tape, and is encrypted with redundancy. Tape has a history of failure and it typically occurs at the most inopportune moment. In addition, most tapes are not encrypted. And normally, users backing up to external drives do not encrypt them either. One can only imagine the potential ramifications to your business if customer records were accessed by someone using one of your unencrypted tapes or drives.
The story is not much better if you are unable to recover critical data at a vital point in time. Online backup services can offer end-to-end encryption algorithms that are used both in transit as well as storage. This further ensures the security of your sensitive data. With the online backup service, your sensitive data is also automatically stored offsite in a secured data center.
Efficient Use of Internet: After your initial back-up, some of the better online backup services back up only the data blocks in new or changed files, resulting in significantly faster backup times and minimal slow down of your network or Internet access. Data is also compressed before transmission. Some online storage providers do not use this advanced technology; and a full file upload is require for every change.
Your Data is Accessible and Managed from Anywhere: The online storage system allows you to manage your entire backup and recovery requirements regardless of where they or you are located. This is a huge advantage for you. This is particularly true if you should encounter a catastrophic disaster at your place of business or for companies with multiple locations or users.
File Versioning: This is a critical aspect of a good backup system. Many backup services do not offer this. If multiple users have access to a file, or you are working on a file that perhaps becomes corrupted by a power surge or erroneous write to your drive, the last save wins or that file is gone. File versioning ensures you have that file in the state it was saved in previously; and up to 10 versions of it are available so you can determine which you wish to restore and use. Thus, you can get that report to your client on time, as if nothing abnormal had happened.
Folder Synchronization: Some online services also provide the ability to simply elect to synchronize a folder to be watched. Any changes taking place in that local folder will be automatically mirrored to the online storage in real-time. This is a powerful and important feature. It ensures that you do not need to remember to backup or upload changes you have made that minute, hour or day. It just happens in the background, making your life much easier. You are safe and secure knowing your files are covered - no matter what.
Safely Share or Send Your Online Files: If you are a multiple-user company or just want to send your finished report to the client safely, securely and without size limitations of email attachments, there are a select few online storage providers that offer this. You should have the ability to share one file or an entire folder by simply and securely sharing that file with a password and encryption to just one person or multiple persons. You should be able to simply send them an email with the link and password to the online folder. Only they will have access to that file or folder. You should also be able to set permissions, such as Read Only, View Only or Full Permissions as you are familiar with setting on your local files.
I hope you all have found this article timely and helpful in making good business decisions in protecting yourself and your data. There are online storage providers out there that offer the features and solutions I have listed above for you to consider, but only a few. Bradford Technologies also released an online storage solution named FileCenter with every feature listed above a little over a year ago. The idea behind that was to provide the best online storage solution for your data. I hope you will look at FileCenter seriously as you consider seeking a safe and secure place for your files.
But most importantly, I hope you do take the important step of protecting your most valuable asset, your files!
Dan McQuilliams
Director of Customer Services
Bradford Technologies, Inc.
dan@bradfordsoftware.com |
