Online data backup using cloud computing technology

One firm that offer online backup services are the Glasgow based Bulldog Backup, they were founded in 2010 and offer backup solutions for both domestic and business users.

I read a statistic the other day that around 50% of businesses reported a loss of important data in the last two years, probably why more and more firms are investing in online data backup systems!

The good thing is, online backup solutions are getting easier and easier to use, another reason why more and more people are using them. For example, with Bulldog Backup, all you need to is select the package you want to buy, you will then be emailed with your login credentials, then all you need do is login and download the relevant backup client - either Windows or Mac.

When you install your backup software you are asked what you want to backed up, you can choose your entire hard disk, or just a few files - say pictures and music for instance.

Now you may be thinking that online backup storage is a great idea for most people, but you are on a connection which has a limited monthly allowance - say 40 gigabytes, you can't afford to run the backup system, in fear of going over your allowance.

There is a solution to this too. With most good backup systems nowadays, you can configure how much bandwidth is used for backups, therefore you never go over your limit. You can also choose which files the software should prioritise the backing up of - e.g. give pictures and documents high priority, whilst don't worry so much about music.

The best thing is, once you have backed up your files, you can easily access them from anywhere, using your own personal web portal. Bulldog Backup's portal has a clean layout and is designed to make listening to audio files and viewing images as easy as possible, all as standard. Therefore you can access all your albums whilst out and about, how cool is that! You can also install mobile apps for both iOS and Android, making it even easier for you to access your files on the move.

If you want to really move up a level Bulldog Backup offer a 'Pro' account which has all of the standard features, with the addition of a 'SmartDrive' allowing you to sync files across multiple computers. A SmartDrive is basically a drive that appears like any other hard disk on your computer, only anything you store in it is automatically uploaded to the cloud - a pretty neat bit of tech don't you think?

Now most online backup companies will allow you to backup hard drives attached to your computer. Things get a little murkier however when looking at backing up your NAS drive online. For some reason, whether it is down to software limitations or not, finding an online backup company to backup your NAS drive to is tricky.
The good news is that Bulldog Backup's software gives you the ability to backup your NAS device to the cloud. With Bulldog Backup you can add a NAS device to any account and start backing up. Best of all you get unlimited storage and unlimited bandwith. So why not add that extra layer of protection to your data and backup your NAS online with Bulldog Backup's NAS drive online backup online backup.

Another aspect worth considering when you look at your online backup options is whether the company you are using or plan to use encrypt your data. Now, it's pretty unlikely that your cloud storage provider is going to get attacked by hackers in a way in which your data is compromised. Never the less it's a good idea to go with someone who encrypts your data on their servers.

There are three phases in the transfer of data to your provider:

At Source - On your computer
In Flight - In transfer over the internet
At Rest - On your online backup providers servers

Many providers provide encryption at all three stages although for the most part it is more than sufficient for the data to be encrypted in both the 'in flight' and 'at rest' stages. Online backup encryption will add an extra layer of protection to your data in the unlikely event that it should it be intercepted or stolen.