Remote Backup Agent – Supplemental

As a supplemental to my posting about Remote Backup for Home and Small Business, I wanted to cover two additional Remote Backup Agent (or Online Backup) options.

Mozy: This option is somewhat of a hybrid of the two options (iDrive and BackBlaze) mentioned in my previous post. Their core offering is $5/month unlimited remote backup for home users (like BackBlaze), but they also offer a 2GB “FREE” account similar to iDrive. I’m not personally familiar with this software, but I’ve read a number of blog posts about its ease of use and reliability. Mozy has clients for Windows and Mac, and encrypts everything it backs up! No more worrying about the security of your backups, eh? As a side note, they also have a “Pro” offering geared towards small business (desktops and servers). The “Pro” version also has the ability to perform backups of Exchange and SQL. The downside to the “Pro” version – a different pricing structure. Mozy Pro starts at $4 plus $0.50/GB for desktops, and slightly more for servers.

SugarSync: If you’re looking for “something more” than Remote Backup, then SugarSync is your solution. While all the options I’ve given you so far simply provide a space for your remote backup agent to dump files, SugarSync provides Internet synchronization among additional PC’s and/or mobile devices (such as a Blackberry or iPhone). In other words, when you back up your “My Documents” folder on your laptop, SugarSync’s Internet synchronization will automatically download any or all of those files to another machine, such as your desktop, media center, or work PC (for you Small Business owners). You can also view any of your files via their website – it even allows you to stream your music collection from the backup. Unfortunately, a SugarSync subscription does not include unlimited space for Internet synchronization (unlike BackBlaze and Mozy), so you’ll possibly need to be selective about what you backup/sync. SugarSync pricing starts around $5/month for 30GB of space.

UPDATE:   SugarSync just announced “SugarSync for Business.”  This new offering allows you to group users of SugarSync under one account, with the ability to set access and storage limits on each user.  Try SugarSync for Business – your first 30 days are free! Seriously, you can’t go wrong to just give it a try!

I know there are plenty of options when it comes to a Remote Backup Agent (i.e. Online Backups). As always, remember that Online Backups require a broadband Internet connection (like Cable or DSL). If you are having trouble deciding which option is best for your needs, feel free to Contact Me.

Related posts:

1. Remote Backup Agent for Home and Small Business
2. Remote Backup Supplemental: DropBox
3. How to Backup Computer with External USB Drive and iDrive Portable Software (eHow)
4. How to Choose Between Online Backup Service Providers (eHow)
5. SugarSync Announces Data Sharing & Backup for Business