Why Such a Wide Range of Online Backup Prices?

Online backup services come in all shapes and sizes. And prices can range in price from a few pennies per GB, all the way up to $7 per GB in some extreme cases.

Often, for someone who’s new to online backup, it can be difficult to tell which solution is right for them.

The price of an online backup solution is largely dependent on several factors which can include:

• Service
• Technology
• Security
• Systems Compatibility

Service:
When you need help with your backup system, will you be able to pick up the phone and speak to a real person, or will you need to send an email and wait 24 hours for an answer? This can be an important question to answer in case there’s an emergency.

Technology:
If your online backup provider stores your data using a slow, inexpensive infrastructure, you may need to wait while they “compile” your backups before allowing you to download. Also, an inexpensive online backup provider might give you a slower download/upload speed.

With some of the more expensive solutions, your data is often stored to fast RAID disks that allow you instant access to your critical files (without having to compile) with rapid download speeds. Of course, this comes at a higher price that might not be appropriate for every user.

Security:
If you handle lots of sensitive information, you’ll want to pick a provider that encrypts your data using strong protocols such as SSL and AES. More importantly, you’ll want to pick a provider that allows you to encrypt your data using a private encryption password that’s only known by you. This way, no third party will ever have access to an unencrypted copy of your data.

Compatibility:
Sometimes we tend to forget that not everyone is using a Windows computer. There are other operating systems out there such as Mac, Linux, Unix, Solaris, AS400, etc…

Also, these systems might be running different types of “enterprise applications” such as Oracle, SQL, Exchange, Lotus Notes, etc…

If you want an online backup system that’s compatible with all of these different configurations, you might be looking at a slightly higher price tag.

Of course, the best way to pick the right online backup solution is to educate yourself first, and to gain lots of first-hand personal experience. Make sure you test everything, including the recovery process and customer service.

Before you make your final decision, do your research and try out many different online backup products in order to find out which is best for your particular requirements.

This should help you pick the best software at the best price point.