One of my jobs in my past life was Senior Systems Programmer/Analyst. I had to perform the nightly, weekly and monthly backups for different companies and store that information offsite. In those days, ugh just 10-15 years ago, we used Mag tapes and cartridge tapes. Nowadays, users can fit as much on a little stick!

There were numerous times that I had to restore partial or complete systems. When you have so many different end users and operators in a company, much less, the money and time invested in your data sets, backing your data up and making sure it can be restored as quickly as possible, becomes as much a priority as Accounts Receivables or having an in-house accountant.

Now, there is a company that is offering Online Backup. This is a great option for smaller companies. Larger companies generally pay a service to come and pick up the backups who in turn, store them off-site - generally in a fire-proof secured location. Smaller companies don’t have that option. Online backing up is a great alternative for owner/operators who are too busy to deal with mundane tasks like backing up. It will provide the same big advantages of having your data stored off site. If there is a flood, as during Katrina, the small business owner won’t have to worry about the backup that was at their home when the office flooded too.

I routinely back up all of my critcial information, not only for Buttercup Mercantile, but also for the kids’ school records, online to another web server in another state. In addition, I have backups in a fire proof safe and just nearby at my desk. It is true, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY BACKUPS! I know. I was the one who got all those panicked phone calls at all hours of the day and night. Trust me - you don’t want to NOT have it off site!