World Online, the Internet communication company, has announced World Back-up, an online data backup and recovery service, which now broadens its range of online services and adds to its competitive advantage over premium and non-premium Internet service providers (ISPs).
This new online service is available to all Internet users, not just World Online subscribers, and is aimed at the small and mid-sized business market. World Back-up uses backup and recovery software from Stellenbosch-based development company Attix5.
"Companies can be severely affected due to lost data and if they can`t manage to recreate it, they lose productivity, revenue and potential customers," says Michelle Branco, product and marketing manager, business-to-consumer division at World Online. "This service is aimed at meeting requirements for a complete data backup solution in the event of a virus attack, lost data due to natural disasters, theft or equipment failure."
A report titled: "Online Backup Keeps Mobile and Remote Users Online" by research firm Gartner states that remote-aware backup/restore strategies can dramatically reduce user downtime if a mobile/remote user`s system is lost, stolen or damaged. The research firm also states that two out of five enterprises that experience a disaster never recover.
World Back-up is a secure, automated backup and recovery system that makes use of proprietary software to maintain an encrypted remote backup of critical business data.
Security related to this service is a priority at World Online. 128-bit secure socket layer (SSL) encryption, similar to that used for online banking, is used in the transfer of information across the Internet to the Internet Solutions` server where it is stored in 448-bit Blowfish encryption.
"The service operates using a username and password, just like the standard login procedure to your Internet and e-mail account at World Online but, in addition, it uses an encryption key of up to 56 characters," says Branco.
"The encryption key operates in much the same manner as the two keys needed to open a safety deposit box at the bank," says Roy Davies, chief of corporate affairs at Attix5. "Without the user encryption key the box cannot be opened by anyone, including World Online and Attix5."
Attix5 commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct stringent tests and reviews to ensure that the quality, security and functionality of the World Back-up solution are in line with international best practices. PwC has investigated all security concerns relating to the remote data storage using Attix5`s proprietary technology and has confirmed its trust by outsourcing its own critical data storage to Attix5.
Once a user has backed up his files, they can be accessed from anywhere in the world by that user, using a standard Web browser. This means that if a user is travelling he can access his backed-up files on the World Back-up server and e-mail a particular file to a third-party, for instance. Or he can download a file to the machine he is using, such as in an Internet caf'e, modify it and then back it up to the server again.
"Because Java technology was used to create the Attix5 client software, the service is not restricted to PCs using Windows, but is open even to Unix and Mac operating systems," says Davies. Java is a high-level programming language that allows developers to write more advanced applications for the Web.
Backing up only the changes to a file reduces the time spent online and allows the user to revert back to a previously backed-up version of a particular file. The user simply logs in and selects the version file he wants through the Windows Explorer-style interface.
"The feature is called archiving and it is active for 30 days. That means a file modified today will be available for a full month after modification," says Davies. "The most recent version of the file will be kept as long as the account is active."
World Back-up pricing is geared toward the SME market and four packages are offered and are based on the total size a user has for backup. These are 40MB at R45, 100MB, 250MB and 500MB at R250 per month. For a limited period the service will be on offer free of charge for the first 30 days.
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