What is the Cost for Data Backup?

While there are many options that you can choose to backup your data, which method you choose depends on a number of factors. In this post I'll concentrate on the financial aspect of data backup. This is always a concern, especially since you will need to finance your chosen backup method. Let's look at the media that you can use to backup your data.

The first option is to use CDS or DVDs. It is probably more practical to use DVDs since they are a few cents per disc and can hold much more data. You can buy DVDs in batches of up to 100 or more, so you should always have enough. The reason you will need so many is because you can't reuse them, at least you shouldn't use the re-writable types. I would, however, look for the quality makes of DVDs to ensure you will be able to read your backups for years into the future.

The most popular option is to backup to an external hard drive. While they can cost several hundred dollars, they can store much more data than a DVD. If you have a lot of data, I'm talking about over 20 GB, then you should probably invest in a hard drive. You can find external hard drives that are over 1TB today and some can even store 4TB.

If you have between $400 to $1000 dollars available, you can always look into purchasing a NAS device. These devices are basically a box with several hard drives, a motherboard, CPU and operating system. You connect the device to your home network, such as your router, and you can access the storage space from any computer connected to the network. This are more expensive than external hard drives, but then again, they are more than just a hard drive.

Flash drives have been increasing substantially in speed and size in recent years. They are now up to 64GB in size and look to increase probably to 128GB and beyond very soon. Depending on the size, you can pay up to a few hundred dollars for one. The good news is that you can easily carry it with you to move you data offsite, which makes it a good choice if you have a lot of data to protect.

Probably the backup solution that is increasing in popularity is that of online backups. All online backups provide different packages that you can choose for backing up your data. Some offer several gigabytes of storage, while others offer unlimited storage space. Many charge a flat rate per month, while others may charge per gigabyte. Before determining the price for an online solution, determine how much storage space you will need, take into account growth as well, and then research to see online backup provider gives you the best deal. Keep in mind that there are other factors to consider before going with an online provider.

While there are many backup solutions available to you, you should weigh the cost of your backup into your decisions. Obviously, cost shouldn't be the only factor, but it can help choose between two equal backup solutions.