What good are thousands of files, documents, pictures or songs when they're stored back at the small or home office?
After all, with so many execs doing business from a client's office, a cafe or other remote location, having a much-needed computer file, document or spreadsheet back in the office is of little help.
Whether it's a road warrior traveling across the country or a consultant making a local client visit, carrying a laptop can be a burden. The problem is, there's often no easy way to travel with important files without either carrying the computer or a diskette of selected files. And if other needed files are back in the corporate office, you're out of luck.
That's where online document back-up, storage and retrieval systems save the day. Services like MyDocsOnline, Connected.com and xdrive Technologies allow customers to upload select documents or the entire contents of their hard drives to a host server and access it from any Web enabled computer. For a monthly fee starting at less than $5, users can upload select files or entire contents of a hard drive and access them from almost any Web enabled computer or device. With MyDocsOnline, upward of 300 megabytes of content can be uploaded. You can even access the service from a Kinkos or other print production service and print on the fly.
Providers include xdrive Technologies, FreeDrive Inc, SkyDesk Inc's @Back-Up services, Managed Storage, Pro Softnet Corporation's IBackup, and BigVault Storage Technologies Inc. Most are part back-up and part remote access. The technology allows users to upload select content from their hard drives to the services, and then access them from any remote location.
Named for the "My Documents" directory on computers with the Windows operating system, MyDocsOnline creates a similar folder system that allows users to post and access any files or documents on the company's servers. Users must have Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator to use the service. A broadband connection like a T-1, DSL line or cable modem will speed up transfer of large files.
In a recent customer survey, MyDocsOnline found that 30 percent of its users were backing up data to the service and then accessing them remotely. Another 28 percent use the service for file sharing among partners or teams. Others use it to move large files, and others use it to access via wireless tools.
The services can even be used as security and back-up tools. Planned back-uyp to remote sites copy important data to off-site locations and protect it against damage or theft. Instead of recording to tape drive or Zip disks, users can set the software to conduct automatic, timed back-ups of select directories.
To learn more, visit Services like MyDocsOnline, Connected.com and xdrive Technologies (
www.xdrive.com
), FreeDrive Inc. (
www.freedrive.com
), SkyDesk Inc.'s @Back-Up (
www.@backup.com
), Managed Storage (
www.managedstorage.com
), Pro Softnet Corporation's Ibackup (
www.ibackup.com
), and BigVault Storage Technologies Inc (
www.bigvault.com
).
