Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Provider
Nine questions you should ask before choosing a provider:
- Will they support all your systems?
Almost all online backup services support Windows workstations and, except for pure consumer players, Windows servers. Even if you only have a few Macs, they need to be protected too. If you have NAS servers, you should also ask if they can backup your NAS via a file share. - Will they support you applications properly?
Files are easy to backup and restore. Applications like SQL Server (including MSDE) and Exchange should be backed up with their backup APIs rather than as files. - Will you need/want the faster restore capability that a caching appliance will give you? Is it worth the extra cost?
- Do you want to have your VAR, consultant or MSP manage your online backup system?
- How sure are you that the vendor will still be around when you need your data?
- How many versions of your data will they keep?
- How long will they keep your data?
- Where is the data center where your data will be stored?
- Will your data be duplicated in multiple places?
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