Protect mobile computer data with cloud backup services

For many organizations, data backup of mobile PCs is a tricky problem. Through the introduction of this article, we can understand that for this kind of problem, cloud backup service is a very good solution.

As a shareholder in an IT security consulting firm, I admit I feel a bit dazed when asked to write an article on mobile computer data backup. After all, the common security specifications of an enterprise require that critical data should never be stored on a mobile computer. Because once the mobile computer is lost, it will cause irreparable damage.

If your organization allows individuals to store important data on mobile computers, then we have to look at the user's habit of saving data. My experience is that most users will rely on their own local hard drives, which often accumulate large amounts of data in one place without any offsite storage. If this is the case, it becomes critical to analyze what backup technology users are using to protect the data on their mobile computers. Otherwise, if the mobile computer appears damaged or lost, the user's data can not be recovered.

As you can imagine, backing up data on a mobile computer is a hassle, because it takes us a lot of time. In this regard, it would be impractical to install a backup agent on a mobile user's computer, as a server would do to back up the network. If you use a backup agent, you must ensure that you have enough time to connect to the network to ensure that the backup work is complete. But generally, this premise is difficult to guarantee.

Mobile Computer Data backup solution: Cloud Backup

At present, there are many kinds of data backup schemes for mobile computers to choose from. However, only two methods are more practical. We assume that most of the user's working time is to use mobile computers at locations away from the office. The first approach is to let users do their own data backups. To train users to use Windows Backup tools, or Low-cost third-party backup products, such as backupassist, let users personally assume the responsibility of protecting data.

Although I have seen organizations that have successfully trained their mobile users for data backup, this approach has a prerequisite for the need to use some form of backup media, usually the hard drive of a USB interface. The problem is that when the user is on the road, they may temporarily place the backup hard disk in the mobile computer package. However, if the computer bag is damaged, lost, or stolen, the backed-up data will be gone.

Another better solution is to use automated cloud backup services. You can use the cloud backup service as long as you install a small agent on the user's hard disk. Any time, no matter what the user is doing, as long as their computer is connected to the Internet, the agent will automatically check whether there is a file need to be backed up, if any, it will be copied to the remote cloud backup space. Most cloud backup services are run seamlessly in the background, and users may not even realize that backup work is being performed.

There are, however, significant differences between different cloud service providers. For example, some services automatically perform backup operations at any time, which is ideal for mobile users as long as the Internet connection is in a normal state of use. Some service providers adopt a time cycle based backup strategy. At the same time, the cloud backup services they provide differ in their technical features. Some services save multiple versions of backup files, provide detailed backup reports, and others provide only summary information.

However, prices may be the biggest difference between the service providers, and the price difference is very large. Most service providers charge monthly fees, including basic fixed costs, plus additional costs calculated on the basis of traffic or storage space consumption. In this pricing system, it is possible to produce very high cost of use, especially when users have a lot of data or a large number of multimedia files need to be backed up.

For many organizations, data backup of mobile computers is a big problem. But there are some viable solutions, in which cloud backup services are a better one, especially for businesses that have many mobile users and have many important data stored on mobile computers.