Digital Workflow - Backup online (forget CD-ROMs)

As you transition to a digital workflow you'll begin to appreciate the value of having all of your data in an easily transportable and easily accessible form.  The first question I usually get when I explain to people the benefits of converting all of their paper to digital form is: "what happens if my digital data gets destroyed?"

First, paper is a lot easier to destroy than digital data but that's a topic for another post. You obviously do want to take steps to protect your digital data. For a long time backup systems were hard to use.  The proper protocol always calls for the backup to be stored 'offsite,' somewhere far from the original.  It doesn't do any good to have a backup in the office when it catches fire, right?

Online backup promises to solve the 'offsite' issue, but for years it was too expensive, or too hard to pull off.  But now, it's gotten to the point where it's very affordable and --frankly-- it's the best choice.  A company called Mozy offers a great solution that I highly recommend.  You can store up to 2 GBs on their system for FREE!  Their system works with Macs and PCs.  If you want to store more than 2 GBs (and most people will) then you can get the basic system for only $4.95 per month.

I don't know about you, but I think that $60 per year for unlimited online backup is ridiculously cheap.  If you are going to scan your documents and throw away the original paper then you'll need a backup system.