Online Backup: Does Size Matter?
When it comes to backup, can small vendors compete with the big-name players? The
short answer is yes, but be sure to do your homework on a potential service vendor before recommending it to a client.
Stephanie Balaouras, a principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc., says that some smaller companies could offer an advantage because they tend to specialize. “For example, I think AmeriVault does a great job of offering online services for small and medium businesses,” she says. “They’re a company that not only offers online backup, but additional disaster recovery services such as standby servers.” Those add-ons could be attractive to some SMBs.
It should go without saying, but any company you recommend should have what your customer needs, says Laura DuBois, program director for software storage at IDC. “You want to understand what the [company’s] processes are for destruction of your [client’s] data that might be resident on obsolete technology,” she says. “A lesser-known company, assuming they have the infrastructure and capital, can address the issue.” DuBois adds that you should look for online backup companies with business longevity, technical credibility, and process/services experience as well.
Questions to consider: How does the service perform its backups and how long do they actually take? And, if disaster strikes, how will your customers get to their data? How long is the recovery process and what does it entail? Good features to look for include multiple recovery methods as well as open file support. DuBois says that a service should also include data encryption, not only for privacy purposes, but for de-duplication. Finally, be sure the terms of the service contract are clear-cut, and find out what’s involved if a client wants to terminate service.
DuBois adds that backup can be a difficult business. Even a well-oiled machine can get a little squeaky, and many backups are prone to failures. So look beyond the marketing. “You need to evaluate [companies] that are invested in due diligence on the back end,” she says. If your clients think it’s hard to get through their typical to-do lists, imagine how difficult work would be if their data became lost, corrupted, or unavailable?
— Rachel Cericola
