Your valuable data and files, and don't forget backup

Whether in spreadsheets, QuickBooks, or other, you have financial and customer data that are critical to your operation and would hurt if you lost it or it got into the wrong hands. Likewise, you have business and marketing plans, product and service documentation, and other files and data that are important to your operation. Without proper management you might not know who has the latest copy of a file, a hard disk drive could fail and lose its entire contents, including the only copies of critical data and documents, or a fire or theft could leave you without both your computer(s) and your external backup disk(s).

You have options – your own equipment, off in “The Cloud”, as Internet-based services are often called, or a mix. What's critical is not so much where, but that you have something you can rely on with suitable access and dependable backup.

On Premises Server(s)

Keeping critical files and data off in “The Cloud” makes sense for some, but not all. You might want your critical files and data on your own equipment on your own premises for regulatory reasons, for security and backup that you can manage yourself, for freedom from Internet bandwidth and reliability issues, for peace of mind, or for many other reasons.

You can. You have many options depending on what access you might need from off your premises by authorized personnel and by the general public, security and backup requirements, your E-mail, what business applications need to run from your server(s), and of course size – number of users, number and size of files, etc.

We can help you select the right configuration for your business, get it all set up, complete with reliable backup, and once in production our servers can keep an eye on your server(s), minimizing the attention required and maximizing notification of current and potential problems.

Internet-based services – “The Cloud”

Internet-based businesses come and go daily. Some deserve your business and will be here next year, some provide good service but do not have a viable business plan, some will inexplicably and permanently lose data their customers depend on, and some will surprise their customers by going under on short notice with days to retrieve their valuable data or lose it forever. With due diligence you can rely on Internet-based services in “The Cloud” to manage your business for a fixed monthly fee that shows up on your books as operating expense, without any capital expense or maintenance and upgrade responsibility on your part.

Office Applications in the Cloud – Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Zoho

More than just Internet-based file storage, Microsoft, Google, and lesser known companies like Zoho offer Internet-based office applications, which provide most of the convenience of running your own server(s) without most of the responsibility. They keep your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on their servers while you work on them over the Internet with no software on your computers other than a web browser. Microsoft and Zoho give you the choice of working with the familiar and full-featured Microsoft Office on your own computers or with a web browser.

Beyond that they include spam-resistant E-mail with storage and archiving on their servers. Collaboration and document management services make it a lot easier for all concerned to find what they need than having to wade through 10,000 files dumped on a common file repository. Some also include business applications, such as Zoho's Books, CRM, and Invoice, and all can add third party products, some better than others.

Cloud file storage – Box, etc.

Far less sophisticated than the above, services like Box, Windows Live SkyDrive, and iCloud keep duplicate copies of your files on their servers. They provide easy access to your files whether at the office or at home, and easy sharing among collaborating users. Some take security more seriously than others; at least one (not identified here) has had a class action suit brought against it. They're all fine for your kids' T-ball photos, but for sensitive information that needs restricted access and reliable backup be careful whom you trust with it. In addition to lame security, many of the consumer-focused services have data transfer limits – we know one whose disk crashed and despite a fast Internet connection it took two weeks to get all of his files back due to the service's daily transfer limit. Such services are great for backing up individual files and folders, but they will not restore a system disk if it crashes.

What to do?