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Online Back Up Services benchmarking research

• I’d like some help in doing some research and analysis of online back up services. If it helps, I'm primarily interested in using services to back up web site data via the internet. More specifically I’d like the following: 1. 9 Online back up services to be reviewed 2. 3 should be free-low cost, 3 should be mid-market, 3 should be high end 3. You will need to define the pricing brackets for these 3 groups – ‘free-low cost’, ‘mid-market’ and ‘high end’ 4. You will need to pick the 3 in each bracket which you feel are best of breed for that market bracket 5. For each online back up service I need the following: - Company name - Product name - Pricing information - Contact information (URL, telephone, address) - Summary of pros / cons - Product features - Technical information - Support / Customer Service information - Links to relevant reviews (industry and consumer) Much of the above information should be available on the vendor’s web sites. I would expect you to add value as follows: - knowing which back up services to select - including some intelligent analysis in the “Summary of pros/cons” section though this should be brief - leaving no blanks and keeping the structure/quantity/quality of your review of each consistent 6. Your recommended top resources for the research you do for this 7. Your criteria for selecting the 9 online back up services 8. A list of other firewalls + URLs that you looked at but rejected

• Answer:

  <I identified the various companies operating in this market by looking at general articles about online backup and following up their recommendations. My criteria for selecting the companies was influenced by the level of security, the reputation of the company, how long they had been operating, professionalism and reviews of their services. Due to lack of revenue from advertising, free services have dramatically declined in number. A number of these services were rejected due to poor security. I have separated the companies into the three requested groups. To give an accurate comparison of prices, I compared the price for one gigabyte storage per month. The prices for each group are as follows: Low- free under $19.95. Mid-market is $19.95 - $49.99 High end $50 - $100. 1. Low price/free 1a. Company name - Connected Corp Product – Connected TLM Data Back Up Service Pricing information - $1.60 per gigabyte per month. Connected offers three types of subscriptions: individual, small-business, and enterprise. An individual account costs $6.95 per month for 200MB or $14.95 per month for 4GB. Small businesses can purchase 5 to 200 accounts, at about $16 per month for each 10GB account. http://storage.ziffdavis.com/article2/0,3973,906289,00.asp Contact information http://www.connected.com/ Connected Corporation Corporate Headquarters 100 Pennsylvania Ave. Framingham, MA 01701 Telephone (toll free U.S.) 800-934-0956 Telephone 508-808-7300 Product features Fully automated back ups and restoration for all Windows operating systems. Compressed data transfer. Secure system. Supports low and high speed lines. Technical information Uses 112-bit Triple DES encryption. Line speeds as low as 28.8 Kbps or high speed internet access. Secure sockets layer technology (SSL) used. http://www.connected.com/downloads/Connected_Service_Benefits.pdf Support / Customer Service information Web, email and phone support systems. Live phone support available weekdays 08.00 - 21.00. Calls charged per minute with a minimum charge of $1.95. http://www.connected.com/support/individual/index.htm Pros – Comprehensive and easy to use. Cons - Software contains bugs and customer support is poor. Can take a long time to transfer data. PC World for example found it took almost 9 hours to transfer 600MB. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,29314,00.asp http://pcworld.shopping.yahoo.com/yahoo/article/0,aid,101767,pg,8,00.asp Reviews Customer testimonials http://www.connected.com/customers/quotes.htm Review in PC Magazine 5 stars http://www.connected.com/news/articles/2002_Articles/PC_Mag_5_stars_for_TLM.pdf http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,889902,00.asp Review by Mike Avery http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?97btc.nets.htm Review in Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2002/tc20020621_7510.htm Review by Helen Johnson http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1998/0101/featu102.htm#connected Customer review http://www.cnet.com/internet/0-3762-8-20593868-1.html 1b. Company name - Data Vault Corporation Product name - Data Vault System Pricing information From $6.65 per gigabyte per month. Contact information http://www.datavaultcorp.com/ Telephone (301) 352-9449 Data Vault Corporation 3540 Crain Hwy #210 Bowie, MD 20716 Product features: Getting started Wizard. Automatic online upgrades. Choice of automatic or on-demand backup. Offline or online restoration. Back up logs. http://www.datavaultcorp.com/data/features.shtml Technical Support - [email protected] Pros: Can back up open files and databases. Cons: Website link to technical support does not work. Technical information DataVault supports Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 or XP computers. The Client software communicates to the Data Vault's Server using the TCP/IP protocol. http://www.datavaultcorp.com/data/network.shtml It offers a choice of encryption algorithms including DES, Triple-DES and Blowfish. Support / Customer Service information Links to relevant reviews (industry and consumer) 1c. Company name – Pro Softnet Corporation Product name – Ibackup Pricing - Various plans starting at $3 per month for 50MB rising to $800 for 100GB. https://www.ibackup.com/regtermsssl.htm Contact information - http://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/newibackup/press.htm Pro Softnet Corp. IBackup Division 21300 Victory Blvd Suite 1230 Woodland Hills CA 91367 Telephone (818) 594 5972 # 104 [email protected] Product features Drag and drop selection of files. Full and incremental backups. https://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/ibwin.htm Technical information System requirements: Windows 95/98, ME, NT/2000, XP Internet Explorer 5.0 64 MB RAM 10 MB Free Hard Disk space for installed program, 20MB or more recommended for local caching Uses 128 bit SSL encryption https://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/ibwin.htm https://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/newibackup/faq.htm https://www.ibackup.com/security.htm Support /customer service information 1-800-594-0655 (Monday thru Friday, 6-00 AM to 6-00 PM PST) https://www.ibackup.com/feedback.htm Pros – Easy to use wizards. Easy transfer of files. Con - The IBackup automatic backup software and QManager file-sharing application are available only for Windows. Reviews Recommended by Consumer Guide http://auto.consumerguide.com/cp/electronics/review/index.cfm/id/24455 CNET review http://www.cnet.com/software/0-5421322-7-2153955.html Ibackup is judged best in a comparison of storage systems. http://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/newibackup/press.htm 2. Mid range $15 - $39.99 per gigabyte per month 2.a. Company name - Amerivault Corp Product name Amerivault Pricing information For 100GB $44,000 per year. Approx $37 per gigabyte per month. http://www.naspa.com/PDF/2002/1202%20PDF/T0212003.pdf Cost of retrieval $9 Contact information (URL, telephone, address) http://www.amerivault.com/ Corporate Office: 60 Hickory Drive 4th Floor Waltham, MA 02451 800.774.0235 Product features Amerivault offers regular, automated backup. Uses leading software. Compresses data to reduce transmission times. Data is stored in highly-secure offsite storage vaults. Technical information Data is in SIDF format. Uses TCP/IP as the base protocol. White paper http://www.amerivault.com/publications/amerivault_Technical_White_Paper_02-2002.pdf Support / Customer Service information. Free support from 09.00 – 18.00 at 888-AMV-TECH. Outside these hours a fee is charged. http://www.amerivault.com/support.html Pros - Secure storage systems, fast delivery of data. Can store up to 100GB. No reported problems. Reviews PC magazine 5 stars for the software used. http://www.backuphelp.com/ http://www.amerivault.com/publications/amerivault.pdf Network storage forums http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/outsourcing/news/article.php/918861 http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/outsourcing/news/article.php/942191 http://www.itsecurity.com/tecsnews/feb2002/feb206.htm http://www.astrumsoftware.com/docs/Press_Releases/2003_Mar_AmeriVault.asp http://www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,101767,00.asp http://archive.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/09/24/010924hntestcenter.xml http://www.amerivault.com/publications/November_5_NY_Times.doc Awards http://www.amerivault.com/press_060402.html Customer testimonials http://www.amerivault.com/AmeriBrochure%201-14.pdf 2.b. Company name – Novastor Corporation Product name - Novastor Online Backup http://services.online-backup.com/index.asp Pricing – Free 15 day trial. $17.95 per month for a 500MB base account and an extra $9.95 per month for an additional 250MB. $37.85 per month per gigabyte. http://services.online-backup.com/store/deptmain_ols.asp Contact information (URL, telephone, address) NovaStor Corporation 80B West Cochran Simi Valley, CA 93065 Telephone 8-5, Mon-Fri at 1.805.579.6700 Product features. 24 hour access to data. Off-site encrypted data storage. Automated, background backups. Multiple storage of most valuable files. Getting started wizard. Silent mode runs backup in background. Fastbit binary incremental backups. Automatic online upgrades. http://services.online-backup.com/software.asp Technical information Uses a 448-bit blowfish encryption key. White paper http://www.online-backup.com/datasheets/whitepaper.html Backup software http://www.online-backup.com/datasheets/product.html Support / Customer Service information Support via email, website and telephone from 06.00 to 19.00 Pacific time. (805) 579-6700 http://www.novastor.com/techsupt.html Pros; Reliable and easy to use. Free technical support. Free trial. Cons: Not able to start file restoration from administrator console. Reviews Review http://storage.ziffdavis.com/article2/0,3973,906289,00.asp Novastor rated 2.93 out of a possible 5. http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2002/0422rev.html 2.c. Company name - NetMass Inc Product name – System Safe Online Backup Pricing - Various plans. $19.95 per GB per month. http://www.netmass.com/olb_pricing.html Contact information http://www.netmass.com/index.html NetMass Incorporated 112 E. Louisiana St. Suite C McKinney, TX 75069 Telephone 800.731.2737 Product features Automatic backups. Customised configuration. Secure transfer of data. Offsite secure data storage. Easy transfer of data to new systems. http://www.netmass.com/olb_features.html Technical information Bank grade encryption. Block differential file comparison. Common file technology. Data compression. http://www.netmass.com/olb_features.html Support / Customer Service information Summary of pros / cons Links to relevant reviews (industry and consumer) http://www.netmass.com/ Review http://morebusiness.buyerzone.com/computers/backup-remote/brochures/systemsafe.pdf ZD net http://www.zdnet.com.au/downloads/pc/swinfo/0,2000036746,10166760,00.htm NetMass http://www.computeruser.com/articles/daily/10,56,1,0201,03.html NetMass Backup http://www.networkcomputing.com/1023/1023ni.html?ls=NCJS_1101rt 3. High end $50 – 100 per gigabyte per month. 3.a Company name LiveVault Corporation Product name LiveVault Pricing information $100 per gigabyte reducing with greater volume. Contact information (URL, telephone, address) LiveVault Corporation 201 Boston Post Road West Marlborough, MA 01752 USA Phone: 508-460-6670 Fax: 508-460-6771 Email [email protected] Product features Immediate off site electronic vaulting at Iron Mountain facilities. Continuous back up. Fast, reliable data recovery. State of the art security. Technical information Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection. Secure connection to the LiveVault internet gateway via a VPN tunnel. AES encryption of data. Users need a browser capable of supporting 128-bit encryption. http://www.livevault.com/pdf/Secure_Transmission_Over_the_Internet.pdf http://www.livevault.com/pdf/Introduction_to_LiveVault_Security.pdf http://www.livevault.com/pdf/IronMtn_DataCenter.pdf Support / Customer Service information 24/7 service operation center. [email protected] 508-460-6670 Pros - Highly secure data transfer and storage. Continuous transfer of data. Cons - There are restrictions to the type of files that can be backed up. Files not backed up include open files, databases, access control lists and device files. Reviews http://www.storageadmin.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=16004 http://www.storageadmin.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=21888 http://www.livevault.com/news/press_releases/02_04_03.asp Customer testimonials http://www.usdatatrust.com/service/stories/new_castle_hotels.asp http://www.livevault.com/customers/PDFs/AnnalyCaseStudy_101502.pdf http://www.livevault.com/customers/PDFs/GoodwillCaseStudy_101502.pdf http://www.livevault.com/solutions/information_kit.asp White paper http://www.livevault.com/pdf/Whitepaper_LV_WEB.pdf 3.b. Company name - Evault Product name - Evault Pricing information - $40 - $60 per gigabyte per month Contact information - http://www.evault.com/default.asp 1600 South Main Street Suite 295 Walnut Creek, California 94596 Telephone 925.944.2422 Product features Stores, retrieves and migrates data throughout a company’s data lifecycle. Keeps data encrypted throughout the entire data migration process. Provides disk-to-disk backup, coupled with EVault DeltaPro™ technology, to reduce restore times. Compresses data. Technical information Uses BRTP protocol. Encryption used is 56 bit DES, 56 bit Blowfish, Triple DES and Blowfish 128-bit. http://support.evault.com/EVSupport1/ Support / Customer Service information Support via telephone and email. Telephone 866-855-9555 [email protected] http://support.evault.com/EVSupport1/ Pros – The company has a good track record with a wide client base protecting over 700 businesses including companies like Cisco, Hitachi and HP. Cons – no reported problems. Reviews http://www.storagesearch.com/evault.html http://www.internap.com/partners/evault.html http://www.storageadmin.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=26285 http://www.serverwatch.com/news/article.php/1498831 3.c. Company name – SwapDrive Product name - @backup Pricing information - 1GB $50 per month. Free 30 day trial. Prices start from $4.25 per month. http://www.backup.com/learnmore_price.html Contact information http://www.backup.com/ http://www.swapdrive.com/ 1313 F Street NW Washington DC 20004 Telephone 202.393.9900 Product features Automatic backup of files. Easy to use. Data encrypted at bank level security. Round the clock restoration of files. Access from anywhere. http://www.backup.com/learnmore_intro.html Technical information http://www.backup.com/learnmore_secure.html http://www.swapdrive.com/sdbackup.asp Support / Customer Service information Telephone support is available weekdays 06.00 – 17.00 Pacific time. Telephone 858-320-4800 Email support is available weekdays 06.00 – 15.00 Pacific time. All support is closed at weekends. http://www.backup.com/support.html Pros – Fast transfer of files. Con – Fails to notify you when you exceed your storage limit. Reviews 5 star rating at epinions http://www.epinions.com/cmsw-SwapDrive/display_~reviews http://www.hp.com/sbso/services/online_backup.html http://products.consumerguide.com/cp/office/review/index.cfm/id/23715 http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,67653,00.asp Swap Drive – poor review http://www.cnet.com/internet/0-3762-8-20593868-1.html The following companies were looked at and rejected: InfoSure - this was also a contender for the high end price bracket. The reason it was rejected was there very little information about the service on independant websites. 1GB $50 per month http://www.infosure.com/unibac/ http://www.stepforth.com/search-engine-news/2003-news/Feb12-03.html http://www.netpac.com/provenance/vol1/no1/features/proact/protest1.htm Atacomm - No information given about the level of security http://backup.atacomm.com/ Precision backup – no recommendations, no corporate info, no customer testimonials, no press details. http://www.precisionbackup.com/default.htm Ibackup.com http://www.ibackup.com/ibwin/newibackup/press.htm U.S.DataTrust – very expensive compared to other services. Prices started at $199 per month. http://www.usdatatrust.com/ Online back up – only uses 64 bit encryption technology whereas other systems are using more sophisticated encryption. http://www.onlinebackup.org/free_backup.html> <Additional links:> <Outsourcing backup> <http://storagemagazine.techtarget.com/strgPrintFriendly/0,293813,sid35_gci815233,00.html> <Storage networks> <http://www.snwonline.com/implement/growing_role_04-07-03.asp?article_id=225> <Understanding online backup> <http://www.techsupportalert.com/pdf/r1833.pdf> <Back up systems> <http://www.mhhe.com/cit/uit3e/pages/chap6/prev6.html> <Ultimate backup guide> <http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,101767,pg,8,00.asp> <Protecting distributed data> <http://www.entmag.com/archives/article.asp?EditorialsID=6368> <Back ups> <http://www.finishwell.net/Articles/Backups.pdf> <Search strategy:> <"backup solutions" reviews> <://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22backup+solutions%22&as_q=reviews> <"online backup"> <://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22online+backup%22> <"backup solutions"> <://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22backup+solutions%22> <"online backup" providers> <://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22online+backup%22++providers&spell=1> <Hope this helps.>