What do you consider valuable? Your diamond wedding ring, a prized art collection, that set of china you inherited from your beloved grandmother? What about the “valuables” stored on your computer? Isn’t it critical that we ensure our information (files, documents, contacts, emails, calendar) is safe should our computer malfunction, get stolen, or not survive a natural disaster (or that cup of coffee you accidentally spill on it!)
Recently, I had the misfortune of having my hard drive crash. This put me largely out of commission for a week while it was being replaced and all the data was restored. In an effort to learn from this experience I did some research that I thought might be helpful in keeping others from going through a similar scenario.
I work primarily from my home office, so after learning that my computer was officially out of commission, I decided immediately that we needed to get our house networked; this would allow me to log in from any computer and access all files and data on my work computer. When I consulted with a few professionals about this need, I got the impression it was probably not cost effective. Not wanting to give up, I decided to take my research online and there I found a few viable options for the small business.
1. Online Backup Software – while whining to my parents about my computer disaster, my apparently very tech-savvy, hip, 73 year old Dad told me about Carbonite.com. For just $49.95/year you can “install a small application on your computer that works quietly in the background looking for new and changed files that need to be backed up. It looks and feels just like part of your computer, and is integrated with your desktop – there’s no new interface for you to learn.” The New York Times says, “It’s the easiest online backup software to use – in fact, to not use, since it’s completely automatic.” Only you have access to your files, they are secure and encrypted. In fact, the Wall Street Journal assures “you’ll sleep better at night.” Of course, Carbonite.com isn’t the only company out there providing this service, but from what I read it gets my vote for #1. Looks like “Father knows best” after all.
2. Data Phone “Partners” – It seems like just about everyone has a Blackberry, iPhone, or other fancy phone that allows them to access emails, calendar and the internet at all times. So, of course they have also come up with convenient ways to backup and sync data between your computer and phone. Having recently purchased an iPhone, I quickly signed up for my MobileMe account. For $99/year I can keep “everything up to date, anywhere [I am].” Whether I’m on my phone, home computer or using someone else’s computer, “everything is in sync” and I “can manage it all from anywhere using rich web applications at me.com” because all of my “information is kept on their online server.” For the Blackberry users, I also found a similar resource for you, IBackup. If you visit IBackup.com you can learn about different pricing plans and features for this company that offers online storage, sharing and streaming for PocketPC, Blackberry and Palm devices.
3. Online Document Storage & Sharing – At Gibson Design Management we are big fans of just about everything Google. One online resource that we utilize for sharing corporate documents that multiple team members need to access and update is Google Docs. We also utilize Google Calendar for keeping track of each other and Google Chat for quick and easy communication with one another. With much of our team in Virginia and a few of us in Portland, Oregon, this allows everyone to keep track of each other and feel connected. Google Docs proved to be very helpful last week because I had access to many of the documents that I had been working on for various projects. Although it definitely would have made for a much less hectic week to have had some of the safeguards in place mentioned above, this did allow me to survive the week and not completely lose my mind. Best of all, the cost for this one is absolutely free.
I know I am not the only person on the planet who didn’t have a back-up system in place so I felt compelled to share my experience and my research. I’m sure there are many other resources out there; if you know any good ones please feel free to share so that we can all sleep better at night.
Success comes in many sizes and forms, sometimes when you least expect it; and those successes are particularly sweet. Recently, I was explaining the benefits of project sourcing to a potential client, a very talented, well known and respected designer, how we could assist by pulling fabrics or supplying tear sheets within the parameters that she would specify for us, staying true to her design vision. She didn’t feel she would ever use that service, as she wanted to make those design decisions, she loved that process, and didn’t want to let that go.
