Where would your small business be without your valuable business data – your customer records, accounting information, documents, invoices, inventory, and emails? Would replacing all the information you’ve accumulated be possible in the event of a disaster?
The truth is if you don’t have a reliable backup system in place, you risk losing your valuable business data every day. All it takes is one computer virus, an errant keystroke by a well-meaning employee, or a simple hardware failure and you could lose valuable data that isn’t easy to replace.
Maybe you already have a backup system in place. However, if you’re using unreliable tape drives or external hard drives, you might want to re-think your backup plan. If your building burned down, someone broke into your office and stole your computer equipment, or some other disaster occurred, you’d be out of luck.
Large corporations and government agencies have been using offsite backup solutions to handle their data backup needs for years – securely saving their data in the “cloud.” Yet, until recently, cloud technology was just too complicated and expensive to be practical for small business networks.
Backup solutions for small businesses have recently become a whole lot easier and more affordable. One of the most popular services out there is called Carbonite, which we often recommend to businesses with one to five workstations.
Carbonite Safeguards Your Data Offsite
We’ve already mentioned the importance of safeguarding your data offsite to prevent data loss if fire, theft, or vandalism claims your computer systems. However, many business owners who aren’t tech-savvy worry about the difficulty of backing up their data. Fortunately, Carbonite is relatively straightforward. When you sign up for the service, you simply install the app on all of your computers and the software backs up your files to their cloud-based servers for safekeeping.
Carbonite Works Automatically
It’s not difficult to lose valuable data because someone forgot to run a system backup. Carbonite takes the human element out of the equation and works automatically. You install the app on your computer and Carbonite takes it from there, continually backing up your files in the background. As long as your computer is connected to the internet, Carbonite keeps working.
Access Your Data Anytime, Anywhere
When you want to continue working on a report on your laptop at the coffee shop, in a hotel room, or from the comfort of your home, Carbonite gives you access to all of your files, as long as you have an internet connection. It also allows you to share, sync files across all your devices, and share changes with co-workers quickly and simply.
Your Data Is Secure
One of the biggest reasons many business owners are reluctant to move their important files to the cloud is concern about security. Carbonite eliminates that concern by providing several safeguards that ensure the security of your data.
- Data Encryption
Every time your data is transmitted to Carbonite’s servers it’s encrypted before it leaves your computer and remains encrypted while on their servers. That means no one has access to your data except you. - Secure Data Centers
Your data is housed on servers located in an access-controlled building with security guards posted 24 hours a day. Access to the building is tightly restricted using biometric scanners. The facility is also temperature-controlled and is equipped with uninterruptible power supplies and onsite emergency generators in the event of a power outage. - Redundant Data Storage
Data is stored on a redundant array of independent discs, or RAID. This means that your data is backed up to multiple drives simultaneously. In the event of a drive failure, another drive simply takes its place and you keep working as if nothing happened.
Know Your Backups Are Working
A backup system is only beneficial if you know its working. Carbonite’s administrative dashboard lets you check the status of any of your backups at any time. You can see every user’s computer, and every current and pending backup file. This allows you to audit the system periodically to ensure your backups are working, as they should be.
Affordable Solutions for Small Businesses
Carbonite offers affordable plans perfect for small businesses. You can start with what you need and add storage capacity and devices as your needs grow. If you’ve been considering moving your backups to the cloud or are still relying on outdated backup tapes or external hard drives to safeguard your critical data, look at Carbonite and see if it’s the best fit for your business.
EZSolution has partnered with Carbonite to bring robust and affordable backup technologies to small business customers, and we’re happy to answer any questions you have. We can even help you get started with a free trial of Carbonite. Just contact us for details or visit our Carbonite information page for more information and pricing details.