Last Updated on March 3, 2024
We have discussed before the importance of having a backup. This is because a disaster can easily render the business bankrupt resulting into substantial losses in money. A personal user can also lose data resulting in a substantial loss of one’s life because our lives have become digital. This would include the loss of photos taken during the last holiday, which are in digital form and residing on the computer. This also includes video taken to commemorate an important occasion such as the birth of the firstborn child.
According to the estimates given by the New York Times, an average user of the computer has at least two to three gigabytes of data that can be deemed extremely important and should never be lost at any given cost. Unfortunately taking backup of important data is not really a matter of priority for many businesses and people. Although they might consider undertaking occasional on-site backups by using tapes in the case of businesses or external hard drives; however, such backup material can get lost and worst still be destroyed.
Natural disasters, fire or theft can result in the lost of important data and information. Hard drive crash is also a common occurrence. I hope that by now this should give you enough reason to panic because there are many more things that can occur to the onsite data backups more than one can imagine. In case you are operating a business, the risks are much higher because there will be great loses of one’s life in addition to risking the notable livelihood of the business.
Therefore, offsite backup is recommended highly. The offsite backup can be undertaken anywhere with the most automatic and safest process being performed “in the cloud” or online. Many providers of this service can be deemed reliable. Therefore, you do not have to wait any longer; get in touch with one of the services so that you can secure your information. Nevertheless, the online backup companies are not all the same. Some perform a better job more than others do. It is therefore in your interest to know the difference before taking any initiative of giving all your unlimited storage plans to a single company.
[heading color=”black”]The reason for going unlimited storage[/heading]
No one has unlimited data/information. With hard drive prices coming down every year, there is more data created in hand more than ever before. However, you do not require hundreds of gigabytes of data/information to backup in order to make the “unlimited storage Backup-services” worthwhile. Actually, storage prices have declined drastically because of cheaper prices of the hard drives as well as new technologies which enable backup companies to provide the service.
You can therefore get unlimited online backup for as little as $5 per month. This is equivalent to a cup of espresso from the Starbucks which go a long way in giving you a peace of mind. You will know that your data/information is safe in some place, secured in data centers.
Offering unlimited storage
How can these companies offer unlimited storage?
Offering unlimited storage may sound absurd but nevertheless a reality. It is important to understand that the capacities are increasing of physical storage devices while the prices are decreasing every year. Therefore, the cost per gigabyte (GB) for every company is on the decline on an annual basis. Another thing that needs to be understood is that not many of the customers will take the initiative of backing up the whole of their hard drives or hundreds of gigabyte of data/information. The companies hold this assumption on the premise that the majority of the people will end up backing up only a few GBs of their important data/information while there will be a small percentage of customers who will seek to backup more or so of a terabyte.
This assumption may be valid to some degree when you consider the Internet connection speed as well as the bandwidth limits. Only entities with no data cap and a high-speed fiber-optic connection can afford to be in a position of backing up something huge. Therefore, companies will be in a position of earning more of their money from off of one client and not much from others. The premise will hold for as long as the assumption holds true making this a sustainable business.
[heading color=”black”]Overview of some good online backup companies[/heading]
Now that some of the important questions have been clarifies it is necessary to explore some favorite online backup companies available in the industry that provide unlimited storage.
1. CrashPlan
Anyone looking for a reliable and affordable backup service can always look up to CrashPlan. This is the reason why many people have had a firsthand experience working with CrashPlan and have concluded that it is an entity worth working with. Any businessperson looking for reliability can recommend CrashPlan to business partners, friends and colleague. The company is dependable to anybody looking for ease of restoration in the event of a disaster. This is light of the fact that you might not wish to restore 200GB of data through the Internet. In addition, CrashPlan offers more including storage space, cross platform availability and ease of use.
For as little as $6 every month, you can consider backing up one computer onto the CrashPLan online storage. The good thing about the offer is that it is for unlimited space. The software used is simple and readily available on several major platforms including Windows, Solaris, Mac and Linux. The service is no doubt important for you and the business. In case you seek to backup several computers, the CrashPlan+ Family Unlimited allows the backup of 2 to 10 single computers onto the unlimited storage for as little as $10 a month.
The company has a different business plan known as the CrashPlan Pro for a rate of as low as $7.95 every month per computer to cater for unlimited storage. The offer provides refined controls for the business.
CrashPlan software is simple to utilize but contains different opportunities for fine-tuning and customization features for which one would wish. It can serve as a simple automated tool for backup that works without possible tuning. Alternatively, it can offer more advanced scheduling and throttling features for anyone who may wish to have this.
2. Livedrive
Another solid offering is the Livedrive that features the support for Windows and Mac. The Livedrive has both the syncing (think Dropbox) and the online backup feature. This makes the offer a winner in many respects. The only reason that makes it loose the number one position to CrashPLan is its pricing as well as a tad lesser-than-stellar software including a less responsive customer service. Nonetheless, it is still a good service for anybody looking for unlimited storage without the hassles that go with this offer.
When you consider its features, you will be impressed. It features a syncing, mobile applications for Androids and iOS, FTP and the WebDAV access (this enables the Linux backups for those who know how to operate), a good encryption and many other features that are out to impress customers. The one main problem with the LiveDrive, on this note, is that it fails to offer more than 30 days versioning history. In case you wish to restore an old version of the files more than 30 days ago, you will not be successful.
The pricing is reasonable at $7.95 for every month per computer to access unlimited storage. If you make the decision to pay $15.95, you will be in a position to get the 2TB of Briefcase, a syncing service like the Dropbox. There are notably no device limits on synchronizing. At $24.95 every month, you can access unlimited storage for 5 computers and including 5TB Briefcase storage for the syncing.
3. Carbonite
Carbonite has been a long-term competitor of the Mozy. Mozy previously offered unlimited storage however downgraded the offer to limited storage in 2011. It was amongst the first backup companies that provide unlimited backup services. Furthermore, there is notably no free plan however; you can access their 15 days services without entering your credit card. The main reason that propels the company to the number 2 position is the lackluster software on iOS and Mac.
The majority of Carbonite’s power features have been made available on the Windows software while with the Mac, the software is basic. You only need to pay $59 every year for a single computer on unlimited storage, which accounts for the basic pan. However, for anybody looking for more advanced
features can subscribe for the HomePlus at a cost of $99 or Home Premier plans for $149- this accounts for a single computer. The turn-off about both the HomePlus and Home Premier plans is that they are supported only on Windows because they provide features that the Mac client is not in a position to support. In case you are looking for unlimited computer support, you will need to access the business plans, which do not provide unlimited storage space. In case you want to learn more about Carbonite, you can read more on our review
4. Backblaze
The Backblaze boasts more about a simple and straightforward pricing and software. Therefore, it is not recommended for persons looking out for more advanced features as well as fine tuning controls. The Backblaze is recommended for persons looking for simplicity with unlimited storage space but without the need of having to access unknown new providers who promise the world as the price of peanuts. Backblaze has been discussed several times in different posts.
Getting straight to the pricing with Backblaze, you will discover that it will cost $5 every month for every computer to access unlimited storage. Furthermore, there is absolutely no file-size limitation which means that you can readily upload a 100GB virtual-machine files as well as a 5-hours long 1080 wedding video-file. The software works and if you seek to exclude files from the backup, you can put them in the exclusion list.
5. McAfee online backup
The McAfee features an impressive antivirus as well as Internet security software. Currently, the McAfee offers an online backup that is simple and straightforward. The price has been set at $5 every month. Nonetheless, you are required to make a prepayment of 1 year in advance accounting for $59.99.
The reason for ranking McAfee fifth is that it supports only Windows platform. Furthermore, there is no notable mobile application. Nonetheless, the software is solid working perfectly well. The main surprise is that the Mozy runs it. Although Mozy removed the offer for unlimited storage, McAfee has continued to offer unlimited storage.
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