Protect Your Outlook Data With SugarSync
If you use Outlook for your email client you will want to know how to backup Outlook files with SugarSync online backup if that is your backup vendor of choice.
The new SugarSync for Outlook Plugin is NOT for backing up Outlook. Rather it is a handy tool for dealing with the sending (sharing) of attachments.
SugarSync does NOT recommend attempting to sync your Outlook data files (.pst, .ost). Note, .ost files are a sync file themselves of the data on an Exchange Server in a corporate environment.
However, you can backup your Outlook information and then sync that data backup file. Some of you may know how to “export” data from Outlook to a .pst file, but that is not what SugarSync directs.
Instead they give instructions to using Microsoft’s Personal Folders Backup tool as a quick and easy way to extract Outlook information. The tool is designed for use in Outlook 2002 through Outlook 2007; don’t know about Outlook 2010.
Here are the instructions on SugarSync’s website. Since it took us a few minutes to find that information on their site, we figured a link here might be convenient.
Essentially you will make a manual backup of your Outlook Data in a folder that you have specified to SugarSync to backup automatically for you. Keep in mind that this is a MANUAL process each and every time! If you don’t perform the backup with the Microsoft Personal Folders Backup Tool, SugarSync will just keep sync’ing the old backup file from whenever!
In our own opinion, untested at this point, is that if you have EXITED Outlook COMPLETELY then there is no reason that SugarSync could not back it up through a normal sync process; but even that would require knowing when the backup was taking place and ensuring you have Outlook closed.
Backup Versus Syncing Data
Actually this highlights a key difference in the way different online backup services operate, or focus. With SugarSync, they want to protect your data in the cloud, but it’s all about syncing with other devices and making your data available from anywhere. They offer Web Archive as a means of just raw backup (data does NOT have to exist on your PC in order to get preserved in the Web Archive).
With other services you will hear them talk about “open file support” and usually make specific mention of Outlook Data Files without having to hunt for it. SugarSync really makes no mention of open files at all. What they do go into is the undesirability of syncing any type of database file, whether it be Outlook, Access, Quicken or QuickBooks.
But you certainly want these files backed up!
We feel that SugarSync is the number one choice for users who put synchronizing data as a top priority. Strictly data backup, however, maybe is better left to another service, maybe MyPCBackup which offers unlimited online storage.
If synchronizing data between different devices, even with different operating systems – like PC and Mac – or you want to stream media to a smartphone or edit a file online, then SugarSync is a FANTASTIC choice.