Mozy on over... Online Backup

A few weeks ago I was called to do some Computer and Network consulting for a local engineering firm. After meeting and greeting and getting a tour of the office one of my first questions was, "what are you doing for backups?" He replied "every once in a while we copy data to an external hard drive". My next question was "When was it done last and are you taking this device off site in case something happens to building?" The answer was "uhhhh... hmmmm, I think the backup is a few months old. " And "We keep the device in a closet near the server." I said "So what happens if the building catches fire and the device is destroyed?" A light came on and he said "lets make that a priority"

I spent the next half hour backing up the server to his external hard drive. I then began researching some online backup solutions. These have become pretty popular lately and I can understand why now.
1. The backup is typically scheduled at night when the network is relatively inactive. After the initial backup it's like "set it and forget".
2. In a small office where "Tech People" are scares it's pretty easy to install and configure.
3. The backup is off site, safe from natural disasters, fires and lots of other bad things that can happen to an office building.
4. It's very cost effective. For a small office with one or two servers Online Backups are well worth the money.
5. Should anything happen to your physical building most online backup sites offer a way or a service to put your data on media like DVD's or CD's and will send them to you via snail mail.

So I did the reserch and found that Mozy.com had some pretty good reviews. The price was acceptable and I felt fairly confident they would be a good fit with my client. I wasn't wrong. After downloading and purchasing the software the install was pretty quick. The configuration was easy and strait forward as well. The service has been running now for a few weeks. The history log is helpful and easy to ready. I have not yet tried to restore a file but I intend to do so in the next day or so. (just in case) It's always good to verify that your backup are good and in case of an emergency so you'll have a usable backup. My client also likes knowing his data is protected and he doesn't have to remember to change tapes or make backup copies daily. I'm not sure all online backups are created equally but I'm pretty happy with Mozy so far and I give them a solid "WOW that's Good!"

Oh btw, Mozy also has a personal backup option for the home user. If your not backing up your home pc's you should be! ;) price starts at just about $5 (us) I think it's unlimited data. They also have a free service that allows you to back up 2 gb for free. Hope this review helps someone out there!