Guide to Storing and Protecting Your Business Data

Quick and easy backup online

To avoid selecting, buying and installing your own on-site backup solutions, consider an online service that lets you backup your data via the Internet.

I recommend: Compare remote data backup services at BuyerZone. AmeriVault offers reliable online Internet backup solutions for business.

Review your other storage options

You have many storage options depending on your needs. New types of storage products and increasing storage needs can quickly make old recommendations dangerously misleading so make sure that any information you read is up-to-date.

I recommend: The Small Business Computing Special Report on Storage Basics will get you started. Seagate has tutorials to help you understand buying considerations.

Check reviews and choose your products

Check out the leading technology Web sites to help you determine the best, most affordable and most appropriate product(s) for your needs.

I recommend: PC World has buying guides and reviews for DVD burners, networked-attached storage devices, external hard drives, and backup software. PC Magazine has product information and editor and customer ratings for storage devices. CNET provides product reviews and a forum. AnandTech updates its price guides weekly and recommends specific products.

Back-up to removable media

You can back-up small-to-moderate amounts of data to removable media, such as CD, DVD, or tape.

I recommend: For the best selection and prices, buy discs, tape cartridges, or flash drives from Newegg.com, buy.com, or Amazon.com.

Buy an external hard drive

If you need to preserve a large amount of data, you may need to back-up to an external hard drive. Hard drives are practical if you have one computer or several computers in close proximity. External hard drives are usually bundled with back-up software, and most have a one-touch back-up button. That feature makes them the most convenient back-up option.

I recommend: Buy a product made by one of the leading manufacturers: Seagate, Western Digital, or Maxtor.

Buy a NAS server

If you need to preserve a very large amount of data, you may need to back-up to a network-attached storage device (NAS). A NAS is a server, a dedicated computer that can store software to be used by multiple computers on a network and back-up files from those machines. Look for a unit with two or more SATA, SATA II, or SCSI RAID-configured hard drives. It should have room to add additional drives.

I recommend: STORAGEsearch and Small Business Computing have articles to help you understand buying considerations. Shop for NAS servers at buy.com or Fry's Electronics, or directly from major manufacturers, such as Dell or HP.