Our last article “Which stacks up better for RELIABILITY. Online Backup …or Tape?” discussed the pros and cons of online backup vs tape as it relates to reliability. Today we expand this discussion to consider the economics of online vs tape backup and restore.
Generally, tape drives of a reasonable quality and capacity typically cost thousands of dollars. Tapes start from US$35, depending on capacity and most businesses will back up to several tapes each week. With traditional tape backups, the tapes have to be physically transferred to a secure vault. The cost of transporting and housing the tapes can escalate the expenses of most IT budgets.
Another cost associated with portable media is employee training and support. Training is typically necessary in order for employees to operate the hardware, software or both depending on the media. If customer support is needed, additional costs may apply. Training and support can be both expensive and time-consuming. Online backup eliminates the cost for tapes, disks and drives, employee training, transportation to and from facilities, and customer support. Premier provider, Info Exchange, charges a set price per month for their service, depending upon the amount of storage space the organization needs. The service also includes free 24/7 customer support.
Companies must also consider potential financial loss in the event they experience a data loss. Downtime can wreak financial havoc on a business. Since recovery rates for online backup are significantly higher in terms of file restoration success and time spent to restore those files, this method could save an organization a considerable amount of money when disaster strikes. With Jamaica’s annual bouts of tropical storms and threats of a major hurricane striking, you want to be sure that you can restore and be back up running within the shortest space of time. With online backup, a business can recover their data in a matter of a few minutes and have their business operational within a day or two after the disaster.
So cost wise, it’s clear that online data backup is superior to portable media backup. If you are looking to upgrade your backup you many want to consider Info Exchange’s Worry-Free online DataVAULT Backup +Restore. It’s secure, fast, and easy on the Budget. With DataVAULT Backup & Recovery you can preserve and restore all of your files in a secure, offsite environment without a major capital investment. Plus we manage the setup and the maintenance for you, so you can concentrate on your business.
