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The best online backup small business software is quite possibly the one that best approximates the offline backup software you (hopefully) have been using.
Small business backup software is a mission critical component of any going concern that relies upon in house data, so the feature set we are looking for is more likely to be clear and easy to use include/exclude filters and top notch reporting, rather than, say, drag and drop capability.
Businesses SHOULD have all of their data carefully segregated onto drive systems protected by RAID and clearly delineated from program files and operating system components. This not only helps protect the data but makes it much easier to determine exactly what needs to be backed up and how much space it will take.
Further, small business data is likely to be stored on a dedicated server or NAS device that is often not supported by run-of-the-mill online backup software.
What Differentiates Small Business Online Backup Software
There are several key components that allow a company to get away with selling its service as true online backup for small business, here are some of the most important ones:
- Server support
- Mapped drive support
- NAS (Network Attached Storage) support
- Unlimited device backup, with optional quotas
- Multi platform backup including both Windows and Mac
- Centralized management
- Unlimited data archiving
- Expedited backup/recovery with physical media
Server Runs Backup Software
One key element of the small business backup regimen online or offline is that the Server(s) should be running the backup software itself, not a workstation. If the business data resides on a NAS device then that may well not be possible.
The reason we want to do this if possible is because the server SHOULD be operating 24/7 with battery backup; thus, never missing a backup simply because the power went off overnight. Servers also typically have some level of access control to prevent a novice computer user from doing something that would interfere with the backup running as scheduled.
This makes reporting all the more important as there is not going to be reliance on some message on the screen to alert the responsible employee of a backup failure, or the mention of success. Quality online backup business grade software will send emails to multiple recipients ensure backup success or failure is noticed in a timely fashion.
Workstation Online Backup
While all business data should reside on a centralized server, workstations may have configuration data and productivity tools that benefit the business to have backed up in the event of hard drive failure on that workstation. The online backup service, centrally managed, should allow for that but also provide the quota protection needed so that a large video file or other data block does not cause the company lost bandwidth during backup (to a degree) but also prevent the company from incurring additional cloud storage costs from inadvertently backing up unnecessary large files.
Have basic backups of both Windows and Mac workstations can speed re-deployment of replacement hard drives or entire workstations. Not having to pay extra for this feature is all the better.
What Is Data Archiving?
Data Archiving is storing data in the cloud that no longer resides on physical servers or workstations in the business enterprise. Some companies may generate lots of PDF files, for instance, and either be required to keep them for X number of years or simply want to for potential future reference.
Archiving is the process of uploading them to the business online backup account and then deleting them from the local data drive, typically to free up space and possibly improve server performance marginally. Naturally you would only want to do this with the best online backup vendors who have been around a long time and are expected to stay in business!
Since this data can be quite large, you don’t want to have to pay excessively for that storage allocation.
Expedited Backup and Recovery
Since time is money and bandwidth is limited, an initial backup with physical media – typically a USB drive – is a nice feature. Having the ability to restore data this way via a USB drive overnighted to you could be critical in recovering your business from some type of disaster.
Having your online backup software run constantly for 10 days for the initial backup may be tolerable, but waiting 10 days to get it all back probably is NOT!
Best Online Backup Small Business Software
While we continue to evaluate new business grade cloud backup solutions, our testing has show so far that SOS online backup small business plans offer the qualities we are looking for as described above.
SOS has been the choice of many IT professionals, consultants and backup contractors for a long time. The software is solid, the company reputable, the feature list expansive.
Don’t let your company’s data be at risk any longer.