Your data is important to you. As we rely more on our computers to create, store and manipulate documents, pictures, music, financial information and health records, the more vulnerable we become to data loss as a result of fire, theft, storms and other disasters. Not only are there external hazards threatening your data, but data is vulnerable to internal threats as well including viruses, hardware failure and human error.

In order to minimize those threats, I recommend that our clients consider an off site storage solution. For those with a broadband connection there are many paid and free options. After trying several of solutions, I have chosen Mozy from Berkeley Data Systems, Inc.Mozy offers several options from free to a Professional solution. Those with a light data load, Mozy will find the 2GB of storage available with the free solution to be an excellent off site storage option. For clients who have a greater need for storage, I recommend the unlimited plan. For $4.95 per month per computer you can storage as much data as you want. Finally, for clients with a more enterprise level need, Mozy’s Professional solution will likely fit the bill.

Besides generous encrypted storage with a secure transfer tunnel, I have found the Mozy set-it-and-forget-it software a breezy to setup and manage. The default options will meet most users needs, including the selection of email, favorites and My Documents automatically and a centrally managed encryption key. However, for those who wish to have more control, you can create and manage your own key and select individual files and folders for differential backups either during system/network idle time or on a set schedule.

Update (3/1/2008): I have been using Mozy as my primary off-site backup solution since writing this post. I have to say I’ve not been let down yet. The Mozy software runs quietly, in the background on my home server and at a predetermined time every night grabs, encrypts and uploads my documents with out as much as a grunt. The only time it failed was when I missed the request to update the Mozy application because it resides on my headless home server and had no way to tell me it needed to be updated. Once I did that, we were back in business!