Online data backup using cloud computing technology

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In the past I have written about cloud computing and how cloud data storage is the future, and at the moment it is playing a key part in backup technologies, as it is now easier than ever before to backup your data online.

One firm that offer online backup services are the Glasgow based Bulldog Backup, they were founded in 2010 and offer backup solutions for both domestic and business users.

I read a statistic the other day that almost 50% of businesses reported a loss of important data in the last two years, probably why more and more firms are investing in online data backup systems!

The good thing is, online backup solutions are getting easier and easier to use, another reason why more and more people are using them. For example, with Bulldog Backup, all you need to is select the package you want to buy, you will then be emailed with your login credentials, then all you need do is login and download the relevant backup client – either Windows or Mac.

When you install your backup software you are asked what you want to backed up, you can choose your entire hard disk, or just a few files – say pictures and music for instance.

Now you may be thinking that online backup storage is a great idea for most people, but you are on a connection which has a limited monthly allowance – say 40 gigabytes, you can’t afford to run the backup system, in fear of going over your allowance.

There is a solution to this too. With most good backup systems nowadays, you can configure how much bandwidth is used for backups, therefore you never go over your limit. You can also choose which files the software should prioritise the backing up of – e.g. give pictures and documents high priority, whilst don’t worry so much about music.

Select how much bandwidth online backup can use

Select how much of your bandwidth Bulldog Backup can use

The best thing is, once you have backed up your files, you can easily access them from anywhere, using your own personal web portal. Bulldog Backup’s portal has a clean layout and is designed to make listening to audio files and viewing images as easy as possible, all as standard. Therefore you can access all your albums whilst out and about, how cool is that! You can also install mobile apps for both iOS and Android, making it even easier for you to access your files on the move.

If you want to go up a level Bulldog Backup offer a ‘Pro’ account which has all of the standard features, with the addition of a ‘SmartDrive’ allowing you to sync files across multiple computers. A SmartDrive is basically a drive that appears like any other hard disk on your computer, only anything you store in it is automatically uploaded to the cloud – a pretty cool bit of tech don’t you think?

A screenshot of a SmartDrive

A screenshot of what the Bulldog Backup SmartDrive looks like – just another hard disk

Okay, so you like the idea of online backup, you can see the potential and benefits, but, what about the costs? Well you may be pleasantly surprised, you can start backing up online with Bulldog Backup from only £2.95 a month ($4.63) with a 1 Terabyte Protect account.

Think that is a good price? I have managed to get a discount promo code which makes the same account cost just £1.25 ($1.96) a month, and that price is fixed for 5 years! Visit the site bulldogbackup.com and use the promo code ‘bullbonanza00’ at the checkout before the 29th of February (this year) to take get started at that rock bottom price 🙂

What do you think about online backup? Will you be investing in it in the near future?

10 thoughts on “Online data backup using cloud computing technology

  1. Well Christopher, first of all would like to thank you for sharing the great deal here. I think spending less than $2 is worth it having all of my data (I can say almost all) backed up at that price.

    However, due to reason where Megaupload was recently shutdown by FBI without giving the users any chance to retrieve back their data, committing all your backup data to the cloud is still some risk of losing it.

    If I were to really backup everything on the cloud, I will also ensure that I have another backup copy on my local hard drive.

    • Hi Alan

      When putting data on the cloud you must make sure that the company providing the service is both solvent and reliable of which we are both.

      I think drawing comparisons between legitimate cloud storage companies and those who allow allegedly allow illegal fire sharing services is somewhat wide of the mark though.

      Your advice of keeping files locally as well as on the cloud is somewhat more prudent and although I am a huge advocate of the cloud I think this hybrid approach offers maximum protection and flexibility.

      Thanks for considering our services and if I can be of further assistance please let me know.

      Dougie Fisher

  2. I’ve used cloud backup services for a while now, and I agree with all the points in there. As far as losing the data goes, that of course depends on your choice of providers. I doubt that space from Amazon S3 will be gone anytime soon! But I also agree that it’s still important to keep hard copies.

  3. The biggest barrier to online backup and cloud computing is Upstream speeds, especially in the non-business environment.

    We all read of great download speeds (like Virgin Media offering 100Mb) but upstream (uploading) is still appalling. A typical Virgin Cable customer will only get about 2Mb upstream and 30Mb downstream. ADSL customers on 8/16Mb might get about 800Kb upload.

    This is just no use for serious backups. It would take days to upload data. I blogged last year on it and there are some calculations in the post… 23 days for 100Gb (http://www.theonlycog.com/post/is-cloud-computing-really-possible/)

    Let’s hope the ISP’s increase upstream speeds, although current ADSL technology has physical limitations which are another issue.

    • Christopher (admin team)

      I see what you mean David, but with internet speeds getting faster and faster I would say I have to disagree.

      I would agree if you are still in the ages of dial up or seriously slow broadband, then maybe it cannot benefit you as much, however if you have a 2mbps upload speed, it would only take you 4 minutes to upload a half gig file – 500mb in 4 mins, that’s reasonable!

      I have worked out that on my connection it would take me around 10 hours to upload my entire collection of pictures, dating back six years – almost 20,000 images! I think that is very reasonable, they would then be safe and accessible from anywhere. As I take new photographs, I would upload them, but it would only take a few minutes each time.

      I see your point David, but for the growing number of people in the world with broadband, I think cloud computing is 100% viable, and the future.

      • Christopher,

        I never mentioned dial-up in my note — it’s not worth considering!

        Perhaps you are mixing your Megabits and Megabytes. Broadband speeds are always quoted in Mb (Megabits) and file sizes are referred to in MB (MegaBytes)

        A typical ADSL Broadband upload speed is 448 Kbps (Kilo bits per second) if you have an 8Mb download connection. Uploading 500 MBytes on this connection will yield a typical upload speed of 52KBytes/s meaning it will take around 2 hours 45 minutes to upload.

        If you have a 2Mb upstream speed (which is unusual) your 500MB upload would still take about 35 minutes

        If you are on ADSL2+ the physical maximum speed of the technology for upstream is 1.3Mb/s. If you are lucky enough to be on ADSL2+M it is 3.3Mb/s upstream, but I think that is rare.

  4. I’ve always read articles about cloud computing and all. It looks complicated thought it really helps a lot. I’m thinking of having a back-up but I’m not yet sure how and what to use. Great insights, I’ll keep the thoughts.

  5. Sounds like a good offer for sure. Cloud computing is definitely the way of the future. The security and reliability advantages are numerous and the prices of such services are continuously coming down too as it increases in popularity.

    -Jean

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