Online backup solutions for remote offices

phoeneous

So we have several remote offices that have a server that does dc, file, print, user folders, etc.. Any suggestions for online backup solutions? I considered tape and external drives but I need to do a cost comparison to online backup. Any suggestions are appreciated.

dover

Haven't had occasion to use one before but Mozy has been acquired by the EMC/RSA/VMware mega-company.

Evault is a Seagate product. I recently listened to an ISACA conference where one of their reps went into some detail about their product's effectiveness during - and after - Hurricane Sandy. Talked a very good game.

Here's a Wiki-comparison of Online backup providers features(so take with a grain of salt).

Picking the right one will take a lot of research and trust. As always, make sure they meet YOUR security requirements - encryption, right-to-audit, SLA's...you know, the usual.

I may be paranoid, I just have a hard time with the whole trust aspect....but hey, I'm not management

ptilsen

Depending on your backup goals, it may make more sense to replicate/copy data back to a central location and then backup from there. Again, that all depends on your needs and how it will be managed.

As dover said, there are a lot of providers with different features, costs, limitations. A big question to ask is whether you just want specific data, or you want full recover to bare metal. You also have to look at your bandwidth, how frequent you need backups, how backups will be tested, and so on.

I don't have any specifics to recommend, but I would recommend you look carefully at things other than cost. In particular, look at ease and speed of recovery. There are a lot of backup solutions that are a nightmare to actually use either from a software/hardware side or a provider side or both.

JasonIT

We have used Mozy Pro (Secure online business data backup | MozyPro) Seems to be very reliable so far. Pretty decent price point also.

J