Why don’t more companies purchase online data backup?
Online storage has now been around for some time, and the facilities being offered by vendors are both mature and competitive when compared to traditional forms of backup. So why hasn’t there been the massive uptake that should have been expected given the price and ease of use? Perhaps my experience gives a clue. When I decided that it was time for my company, Merrycon, to investigate the use of online data storage as a replacement for our current portable disk solution, I was conscious of the reason that many of my clients gave to explain why the solution was not for them. The reason is that they just don’t trust anyone else to look after their data. After looking at the terms and conditions on offer, I’m not surprised. There are lots of vendors offering all sorts of options and capabilities, but there is one thing that they all seem to have in common – they do not accept any liability for losing the data that they backup beyond the price that you pay for the facility. The licence agreements offered by the suppliers of online storage usually contain a clauses such as “in no event shall XYZ be liable for damages resulting from loss of data, lost profits, business interruption, lost revenue, or lost business, in connection with the use of any licensed product or any other item or service provided under this agreement” and “XYZ’s entire liability for any and all claims … shall be limited to a maximum amount equal to the license and maintenance fees paid … you shall cause your insurers of data, if any, to waive any right of subrogation against XYZ”. The cost of online backup is quite low, which is one of the things that makes it attractive. However, the cost to an organization of losing all its data is extremely high, and getting back the small price that you pay for the service will not, in any way, come near compensating for the loss of the data. Why won’t the suppliers guarantee that the files that have been backed up can be recovered? Is there a problem? Haven’t they got any confidence in their ability to hold the data securely? As far as I’m concerned, the only reason for backing up data is so that it can be recovered if the original data is lost or corrupted in some way. In other words, unless you can be certain of being able to recover the data, there’s absolutely no point in backing it up. The immediate result is that I have decided to continue with our current backup arrangements. At least I know that the company providing the service, Merrycon, is confident that it works! Maybe if the vendors of online backup services provided a guarantee that the data backup up would be available when required, then they might get more customers. Author:
•Date: 18th August 2010 • Region:UK/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity |
