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What options are available for Offsite Storage?

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Offsite storage options can be as simple as burning CD�s and/or DVD�s to be held at a remote location. They can also be as complex as preprogrammed daily backups to a network or to the web that are done automatically by the company computer system.

Some of the options for offsite storage include:

Floppy disks and/or CD�s prepared by individuals of their personal work data. This system is the most cumbersome for individuals, but can be cost effective if conducted at regular intervals without interruption.
USB drives of various sizes. Tiny USB drives are sometimes called thumb drives since they are about the size of a man�s thumb. Portability is their major asset, but because of their size is easily lost.
Supersized email accounts in which data is emailed to that email address for remote storage. The upside of these are that they are available to you no matter what terminal you sign in from, but the downside is that they can be extremely vulnerable to hackers.
Web space designed to securely store data. Secure web space is one step better than the giant email accounts, but still must be maintained consistently. These also offer the benefit of being available from any computer with internet access.
Zip drives. Zip drives are great for small to mid-sized businesses as long as the backup is not created only to be left in the same office as the main computer system. In the event of flood, storm, or other catastrophe, the zip drive would suffer the same fate as the office computers.
External hard drives. External hard drives offer the benefit of storing larger amounts of data, but are often stored in the office with other computers, just as zip drives are, and thus are vulnerable to the same problems as other computers in the office.
LAN backups. Anyone who has had experience with LAN backups knows that these are only as reliable as the network in which they are stored. They are also subject to human error and lack of consistency.
Tape drives. Tape drives are among the most expensive alternatives to offsite storage, and are usually only maintained by the largest companies.

The need for ever increasing technical expertise grows depending on the complexity of the system you choose to incorporate, but each type of system is manageable once a regular system of backups is in place.

Next Page: What is the difference in Offsite Storage, Digital Archiving, and Remote Backups?

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