Relief from the Heat

Set up backups for Windows 7 machines now.

Getting relief from the summer heat is tough. Restoring data after your hard drive is fried can be tougher. That's why DataPreserve Pro is so important.

We have learned from years of experience that the intense heat of an Arizona summer can have the unintended consequences of destroying the hard drives of

• laptops left in car trunks
• computers running in building when the A/C breaks down
• servers kicked by overheated personnel

Fortunately, DataPreserve Pro is equipped to backup and store the data from Windows 7 computers as well as from computers running Microsoft Exchange Server, SQL and other database programs and files.

DataPreserve Pro includes a complete software suite of enterprise level, cloud-based data protection software and storage designed to help you keep data from multiple locations safe with minimal effort and cost and maximum reliability. DataPreserve Pro allows you to access an enterprise solution at affordable pricing.

If you are still using DataPreserve Remote Backup 3.0 to protect Windows 7, Vista, Exchange and SQL, give us a call to find out about DataPreserve Pro before things get too hot.

Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition - Outlook Files Restored

The Denver-based Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) has a membership that consists of over 110 diverse organizations and faith communities and over 6,500 individuals from across the state. Their job is to actively influence policies and to serve as a resource for people in prison and their families. Pam Clifton, CCJRC’s Membership and Outreach Coordinator, keeps much of the contact data for these members in Microsoft Outlook files. Pam’s Outlook contains the most current information for these many organizations and people that CCJRC communicates with daily and weekly. Without that data, work would come to a standstill. So when Pamela recently upgraded computers she wanted to be sure no files were lost in the transition. Fortunately, she is a customer of DataPreserve.

Using the DataPreserve web restore capability, Pam was able to download a recent backup of her Outlook files to the desktop of her new computer. From there, importing the data to the new Outlook program was a smooth process.

“Having a daily backup with DataPreserve gives me tremendous peace of mind. And being able to simply restore the data files I needed reassures me that the DataPreserve is keeping my data safe from disaster.” explained Pamela.

Thanks to the CCJRC for their great work and to Pamela for being a loyal DataPreserve customer.

Nothing Static About Backup

There's nothing static about backup. Among the talk of simplified backup, easy backup and set-it-and-forget-it backup, the reality is that our data changes often and in many ways. Even the best automated backup solutions require intelligent oversight to stay on top of the changes.

How does data change?
Sure, data on our computers changes daily with new and changed information added to our data sets: a new proposal, updated data bases, changed graphics or diagrams. Most of these changes are covered by an automated backup that backs up common folders. The concern arises is when other changes happen. Here are a few examples:

Software application updates - Many of our customers rely on industry specific applications such as MISys for manufacturing, DentiMax for dental offices, Amicus for attorneys, etc. Once the backup for these applications is set up, people assume that the data files remain in the same folder and are backed up on schedule. The challenge comes when users install updates to the software. We recently were called to help restore data for a medical office that had installed such an update. The new software changed the location of the data files for that software. The new location was not included in the original backup set. So when the computer crashed and we restored the data, none of the data since the update were available. Ugh!

Operating system updates - Depending your backup configuration, you may or may not backup operating system files. In either case the way the operating system works with your backup solution is important to understand. As we mentioned earlier this month, backup with Windows Vista and 7 can be much different that those with XP. So whenever you change or upgrade your operating system review the backup sets to be certain critical data is protected.

Changing computers or networks configurations - Of course changing computers or changing the network location for critical data should prompt a review of the backup set. And be sure the backup set includes that actual data files, not just a shortcut to the file.

We recommend a test of your backup, including restoring a test file, once a month. A full review of backup sets should be done quarterly and whenever one of the events listed above occurs. The best backup solution in the world doesn't replace common sense and familiarity with the working environment.

What is Thin Backup?

Thin Backup Option™ Speeds Exchange Backups

Face it. Exchange databases become more valuable and more bulky by the day. They must be backed up, but the time it takes just to scan for changed files daily can take hours. Then backup begins.

DataPreserve partner, ROBOBAK™, allows us to offer a valuable feature called the Thin Backup Option ™. Using Exchange database delta differentials that are available through Microsoft's ESE API, the Thin Backup Option™ for Exchange (TBO-E) cuts the time needed to complete Exchange backups by 90% or more, even for very large Exchange databases. This results in faster backups and greener backups that require less processor power to accomplish the backup.

In a report issued at the end of last year, Taneja Group analyst Eric Burgener offers the opinion that TBO-E "offers significant advantages in dealing specifically with backup window, recovery point objective (RPO), and bandwidth issues. In particular, Burgener states, "The TBO is well matched to deal with large Exchange data stores while minimizing the time and bandwidth required to consistently maintain a solid data protection regimen."

TBO-E represents a vast advantage over anything that's on the market today. DataPreserve projects that our customers will be able to cut the time needed to perform the backup and restore operations. Further, they can automate the process, depending on the size of their data load, which means that existing IT resources can be more efficiently deployed to handle other tasks. IT administrators can once again get a handle on email data protection requirements that have been increasingly spiraling out of control. They also have the assurance that their email databases, containing multiple gigabytes or terabytes of corporate-critical information, can be easily and reliably backed up offsite.

Combined with other ROBOBAK features, such as "instant backup" technology that discovers changes on the host or networked machine within second, TBO makes subsequent backups extremely fast. The technology also includes an "instant restore" feature that adds a search engine index to its server software, making it possible to locate specific files in a fraction of the time required by competing products.

American Quality Foods Chooses DataPreserve

DataPreserve is honored to add American Quality Foods as a customer. We recently received this comment from Jason McKay, the Manager of Operations there:

"As the one responsible for the company's data, I became more and more frustrated with failing tape backups and the responsibility of taking them off-site. The decision was made to pursue an online solution. I did look at and demo'ed a few companies and made the choice to DataPreserve after just few days of running the demo. The interface used to manage backup profiles is great. Very easy to use and contains "wizards" for backing up SQL, Exchange and flat file servers. Talking to support during setup was a plus as well. Sal walked me through every screen on the interface and things were running in just a few minutes."

DataPreserve Pro Launches Today

We are proud to announce the formal launch of DataPreserve® Pro, powered by ROBOBAK™ software. Our agents in the field have asked for a quality solution for block-level backup and Exchange mailbox level restores. With DataPreseve Pro we have found not only a top-notch Enterprise level solution, but also one with ease of use and affordable pricing.
DataPreserve Pro continues the legacy of providing secure, reliable backup with data stored in "private clouds", specific Tier 4 data centers. With the ROBOBAK powered software, DataPreserve offers quick, block-level backups of Exchange, SQL and other databases as well as Mac, Linux and other operating systems and file types.
Several of our MSP resellers who have been beta-testing the solutions tell us that it is simple to deploy and performs smoothly.