backupdirect.net free trial Review

Overall Rating

Install process is simple and quick. No complex configurations. Registration is automatic backing up is hassle free. Free trial. Does what it says it does.

First backup can take a while as it transfers encrypted copies of your files to the data-centres (guess this depends on broadband or not).

Review Text:

I run a small business with an main office, but also a home office where I work one or two days a week. I have my data on my home-office PC as well as at work. I was using a combination of CDs and ZIP drives to backup (or not backup in my case) my home-office files. In the main office we use tapes, but its no one's job to ensure it happens everyday - I think it gets done, but I'm not sure. I decided to try the free trial of an online backup service. I chose Backup Direct www.backupdirect.net as they focused on UK small businesses - although I am sure there are others.

The install is using a setup file downloaded from the website at www.backupdirect.net/online_solutions_risk_free_tr ial.php. There is a reasonably clear set of install instructions you can print-off, but the process was intuitive enough. The system gives you the option of choosing automatic or manual file selection for backup. I was not quite sure of the difference, so I chose automatic. It seemed to work. It asks you to print off your account details during the setup - for safekeeping. You must do this if you want to be able to recover you data after a complete machine loss or crash.

I had to backup about 3.5GB of data (my limit for the free trial was 4GB). I set it going over night (no cost to do this as I have broadband) - and it was still going in the morning! It had finished when I got back from work that day, so I cannot be sure how long it actually took. At this point, I was a bit worried about whether or not the system is practical for such an amount of data. I decided to continue anyway. I told the system to backup each night after midnight - and the next few mornings the backup had only taken about 10 minutes! It was clearly doing a good job at sending up incremental changes only.

But what about restoring files? It was so simple and quick that I was sold. I had made a mistake on proposal and overwritten a good chunk of the contents. No problem - a quick look at the restore view showed me the last 10 versions of the backed up file. I simply downloaded the last three and within a few minutes I was going again. I could easily see how it would save my life if I lost a lot of data.

After the free trial I decided to subscribe - 4GB was a fixed fee of £20 per month. On the one hand it looked quite a lot of money, but on the other it was nothing compared with the value of the data I had (potentially all my business). I thought of it as a type of insurance I guess - I felt better having it and knowing that I no longer had to worry about the hassle of CDs and ZIP drives!

I'm now talking to Backup Direct about using the service in the office too. Apparently I can share files between my home PC and the office and also get to see via a web browser when travelling. Sounds good, but not yet used in practise.