Yesterday, I listened to a webinar to announce the Smart Company web awards (I’m linking to their site but a it’s been down every time I’ve tried today, I apologise in advance if their site doesn’t show up.)
I don’t know much about most of the winners, although I intend to look at them to see what I can learn about effective websites, etc. However, I did recognise the winner of the ecommerce section.
Carbonite is a back up service to keep your computer files safe if something happens (something like a fire, a computer malfunction or even theft of your computer.) I’ve been using them for about 18 months and have recommended them a few times when people have asked about backing their files up.
I love the fact that I don’t have to remember to do anything – the files are automatically backed up for me regularly and I can even tell which files have been backed up in my file manager. I also like that I can access all copies that have been backed up – so if I want to go back to an older version of a document that I didn’t keep, I can access a previous back up and get the older file.
As for them as a winning ecommerce site, well I know I had no troubles subscribing or renewing so it is user friendly! I haven’t looked at them critically to agree or disagree with them winning this award, but I like their service – so congratulations Carbonite!
How do you manage your back ups? Do you have a written procedure for back ups, even if you use a service like Carbonite (so someone else knows how to access your files if you aren’t there and they are needed)? I know if l lost my computer files, it would cause a lot of stress and my business would suffer so I consider backing up a critical measure in business. And personally – I have my digital photos backed up off site, too.
I just read some results from the Small and Mid-Sized Disaster Preparedness Survey 2009…
93% of respondants in australia/new zealand are very confident of thier disaster/back up plans
the average small/medium business has experienced 3 outages in the last 12 months (mostly due in Aust/NZ to “a disaster, a power outage, virus or hacker attacks and an employee accidentally deleting data”). And these are estimated to cost a business $30,000 a day (not so much for small businesses is my personal opinion, but the point is they cost!)
33% in Aust/nz back up daily – more than the global figrure of 23% but a scary figure none the less. The question is – how much information can you afford to refind and reenter?
the average small/medium business backs up only 60% of their business information
30% don’t have a disaster preparation plan.
How do you fit in with those stats?