So what are the other data backup options?
1. Recordable and removable media. There was a time, very long ago, when you could backup your entire computer to a few floppy disks. That time is long past. But if your need is to simply save a few word documents or spreadsheets that may be all you need. If you want to do a complete system restore this is not the strategy to take.
You can also backup to CD-R or DVD-R media. Depending on your requirements it may take several disks to protect all of your data. Most good backup utility programs have the ability to send your backups to CD-R or DVD-R media.
The old standby is tape. Today tape backup drives are fast, reliable and expensive. Not just for the drive but for the tapes, also. And not all backup utility programs can support a tape drive.
2. A second hard drive or network drive. A second hard drive can be installed and all of your data mirrored, copied, to it. Hard drives are reasonably inexpensive and a mirrored drive makes it easy to replace lost data. The big drawback is that having your backup data in the same system makes it vulnerable to any problems you might have in that system. In other words if your main drive becomes infected with a virus so will your mirrored drive in most cases. Power outages, theft, etc all play into this scenario.
3. An online backup service. Since the inception of the Internet it's been possible to send files to other users. A logical extension of this is to send data to a secure online repository. There are several benefits to using an online backup service:
Ease of use
Inexpensive
Reliability
You will have to have a high speed Internet connection in order to utilize these services. As with all things you get what you pay for when outsourcing and it pays to look at different offerings, what comes with the packages and how stable the company is. But overall I like using an online backup service because I can access my files from anywhere I have Internet connectivity. At the bottom of this page is a link to my review of the online backup service I both use and recommend to friends and clients.
Each one of these options have their pros and cons. What you pick to use is going be strictly dependent on your needs and requirements. For you business owners you now also have the challenge of meeting legal requirements imposed by various state and federal law.
Make sure to come back later for the Part 3 and find out what the steps are needed to ensure you have a good backup of your data. Stay tuned!