A business should not use online backup services!

Many small businesses have been enticed to dump their pain-in-the-neck tape backup system for a no-hassle online backup service. Though the internet based system may appear better, the tape backup actually provides a better, cheaper backup solution.

First let me define what I mean by "internet based backup service." That is any backup system that installs on your network and automatically uploads your data to an offsite location. These systems have several faults which should eliminate them from consideration by all but the smallest companies. Consider the following weaknesses:

It takes too long to get your data: When you have a data loss its helpful to recover from that loss quickly. Many internet based systems can take up to 48 hours for large data recoveries. The internet is just not fast enough to move large amounts of data (25GB+). They are much slower than a restore from a tape.

A single lost email can take 12 hours to recover: If a user erases a folder or an email from Outlook it is a nightmare to get back with most online backup services. Their recovery process would take a skilled technician 10-12 hours and require extra software and hardware to complete. it takes only minutes with the typical system configured by GCS using an external drive and tapes!

Internet based services are too expensive: The cost of an internet based service is usually much higher than GCS' typical system. A robust "normal" backup system with an LTO2 tape drive, 10 tapes, a cleaning tape, an external hard drive and Symantec Backup Exec would be cheaper than a comparable internet-based service in as few as 18 months. The expected lifetime of GCS' typical system is about 3 years!

Annual Archival: Everyone has a set of files they need rarely. What if they weren't there? If you use an online backup service and these files were lost more than a few weeks ago they are lost forever. You can prevent this with an annual archival. At the end of each year make a full backup to tape and NEVER reuse those tapes. A tape can last 30 years!

When it comes to backup systems you're much better off with a typical tape-based system. It is the lowest cost, fastest to restore, and most reliable system available. It is also a BIG PAIN IN THE NECK! As soon as a better solution is invented I'll be the first to post it here.

Settling For Less - The Off-the-shelf Solution

You've been searching the internet for months. "There must be some software for this," you think. Time after time the product you find fails to meet your needs. It lacks the right feature, costs too much, or requires a major network upgrade. When you finally give up hope a friendly stranger shows up. He can build that for you. He used to do that at Dell, Microsoft, or Oracle. "Nothing to it" he tells you.

After several months and tens of thousands of dollars you've start referring to the project as "the train wreck." Why did you think you should build it from scratch? Where did it all go wrong?

The greatest technology mistake a small business can make is to build anything from scratch. The last business you want to be in is software development. It's extremely expensive, high risk, and requires a skill set you don't have. Every year thousands of business owners make the same bad decision. A forensic analysis of each project would show the following basic mistakes:

You don't really know what you want. In software development there is an expression - "build the first one to throw it away." Until you've built the product you won't have thought through all the details. It might take several versions before you've figured out what you really wanted to build. In the meantime you've spent more than you can afford on the entire project and have nothing to show for it.

He doesn't know how to build it anyway. Many developers from large software teams have a skewed understanding of software development. They are isolated from 70% of the development process including design, testing, and implementation. They assume you will provide all of these services to them.

You can't afford a quality solution. You, your employees, and you clients are used to products like Microsoft Word and Quickbooks. These products function well 99.99% of the time and are fairly easy to use. These products also took dozens of versions and millions of dollars to produce. Though you may be able to overlook some deficiences in your custom product, your clients and employees will not.

The temptation to build what you need can be too great for many businesses. Unfortunately the technology service market, with its low barriers to entry, will always have new providers willing to take any job. If you settle for an off-the-shelf product you'll be much better off. Learn to live with its deficiencies and wait for the next version. By doing so you will save yourself tens of thousands of dollars and more than a few grey hairs.

Is Your Wireless Network Out of Date?

If you offer wireless network services to clients, you may have already been asked about Wireless N. Could it be that your investment in a wireless network is already worthless? Luckily that is not the case. You still have plenty of life left in your “old“ 802.11G wireless network. Though some early adopters may be asking for N based networks, there are few benefits that a Wireless N network will provide.

Wireless N is the latest and greatest wireless technology. It’s faster and further reaching. It is also not ready yet. The international standards committee in charge of such matters doesn’t anticipate approving Wireless N until late 2008. That hasn’t stopped numerous manufacturers from offering “Pre-N” products. This happens because a standard like Wireless N is reviewed for years before final approval. At this late stage it is unlikely to change significantly before final approval is granted. However it is possible that if you buy “Pre-N” equipment today it will not work with Wireless N cards released next year.

The new wireless will be several times faster and reach about twice as far. That is good news for owners of wireless networks. Your next network should require fewer access points. Don’t be fooled by claims of faster speeds. Though the claims are accurate the bottleneck in speed is not your wireless network. Existing wireless networks are between 5 and 25 times faster than their internet connection. Unless you upgrade your internet connection, your users will probably not see a significant speed increase from Wireless N.

For wireless sensitive consumers like business travelers, Wireless N offers attractive benefits. The improved wireless experience they are expecting will require a complete network upgrade and a significant internet connection upgrade.

The End of Passwords

Are you still requiring passwords on your wireless network? Why? They frustrate users and provide only limited security benefits to you. There are alternatives. Cisco, Sonicwall, and other wireless vendors make it easy to provide alternate login methods. Instead of requesting a password you should be directing all traffic to a secure website. At this website you can collect valuable user information such as email addresses or payment information. Once the user completes the information form they are granted access to the web.

Wireless Cell Phones

Many cell phones are now equipped with the same wireless network cards used in full sized computers. When in range of a wireless network the phone will use the wireless internet connection for all data traffic. This is a much faster connection than even the best cellular internet connections. Microsoft and others are promoting the use of wireless networks to send the call in addition to internet traffic. This can provide the user with many more call features at a lower cost. It will also provide the wireless network owner with yet another set of reasons to upset the user. Most wireless networks are not able to transmit calls without serious loss of quality.

It should come as no surprise that the traffic on your wireless is constantly increasing. Year after year your wireless network will have to support more devices using more bandwidth with increasing quality. Your wireless network investment will require constant upkeep to attract high value clients.