I’m writing this post from a local hotel. Free refreshments are laid on, along with free wifi internet access. My laptop and paperwork are spread out before me on a large table and I’m sitting in a comfy armchair propped up with a stack of pillows overlooking a country garden view and…rain. Well, it is August in the UK, after all!

Why am I telling you this? Not only because it describes one of the benefits of virtual working, I have set up mybusiness so I can work from anywhere as long as I have a computer and internet access (it doesn’t even have to be my computer) as many (but not all) of the programmes I use are internet based. However, it is also a cautionary tale: I would be having a very different day had it not been for a programme called Carbonite – an online data back up system.

Yesterday, my shiny new desktop stopped working. Damage caused by corrupt software created a heap of problems which, in the end, meant a system rebuild. So here I am, fairly stress free while my desktop PC is being brought back to life by my IT guy. My relaxed mood is all because of Carbonite. An automated online back up system that is simple to use, cost effective and backs up your files in such a way that you wouldn’t even know it, until you really need them, like I do now.

Had I not had a back up system in place, I would have lost all of my files. Everything to do with my business and personal files including a 5 year historical documentation of my life in photos and music. It would have been very hard for me to continue my business without the biggest of headaches, practically having to start from scratch. It doesn’t bare thinking about. In the past I had the opinion that ‘it wouldn’t happen to me’, but with a business to run and being responsible for information regarding my clients’ businesses, I needed a back up solution that suited my requirements. Carbonite matched them all:

Easy of use
One you have installed a small Carbonite application on your computer and it’s backed up all the data in the first instance, you don’t even know it’s there until you need it. It runs automatically in the background. No need to remember to manually back up or initiate the process. Retrieving your backed up files is easy and convenient too: there is Carbonite’s simple website interface or you can access your files with the iPhone or Blackberry smartphone application.

Online
Being online means it can be accessed at any time from any computer. If your computer is out of action or stolen, you can still access your files. It makes perfect sense to store your backed up data away from where your computer equipment is kept. That would be akin to keeping your pin number with your credit card. As Carbonite is online, you don’t need to worry about an external hard drive or discs to keep safely.  Also, your data is encrypted before being stored at their data centre so your files are completely safe.

Value for Money
Many online back up systems restrict how much data you can store which can make them expensive. Carbonite allows you unlimited storage at a fixed, low cost fee of £41.95 a year ($54.95). It also has a 14 day free trial so you can test it out before you buy.

Most of the time, you don’t get to really test a backup system until you face a problem. Carbonite stood up to that test. Carbonite is the reason I’m not hiding from the world under my duvet right now.

If you don’t back up the data you have on your computer, I strongly urge you to put a system in place and can recommend Carbonite as a starting point.