Crashplan VS Backblaze VS Carbonite: Which Is The Best Online Backup Service?

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Crashplan Versus BackBlaze Intro

Small business owners we have something special today! We have two online services that will allow you to protect your data! These two companies are known as Crashplan and Backblaze. Essentially, they allow you to store your data in multiple places while keeping it encrypted from prying eyes! Pretty cool, so let’s start our comparison!


Crashplan Pros and Cons

Crashplan wants to help you protect that valuable business data by always encrypting your files before they do the actual backup, and they allow you to restore any files through their desktop application, or through website application, and you can even choose to restore the selected files through their mobile application. That is great added convenience. Crashplan offers top secret security encryption with unlimited storage capacity and a cloud system that will never go offline for your data. They also state their price is just a miniscule ten dollars a month for each device, so this is actually relatively cheap! All this functionality for nothing, great idea! Crashplan will also let you monitor your data anytime, anywhere from the above mentioned application platforms. If we take a look at their features page they also insist that their software will automatically install any newer security updates when they are needed. This software even allows access through cellular data plans, so no need to worry if you aren’t connected to an actual ISP provider, and that is making it beyond accessible. There doesn’t seem to be many stipulations on where, or how you can use this software, but we want to know more about the pros right? Crashplan will also offer you, the small business owner, an unlimited amount of virtual I/O channels and high performance non blocking I/O features.

Moreover, if you are worried about installing this software yourself, Crashplan has you covered there too! They will offer to remotely setup your client, and help you with your web management remotely. This seems like a painless process so far! One of the biggest pros they have listed here as that this software can be installed within minutes of downloading, and we always love saving time right? Alright, we’ve talked these guys up enough already, haven’t we? Do you think this company has any cons, well here is what I have found out. As of right now I don’t see many cons to this product because not only are the system requirements very minimal, but they also allow for the trio of operating systems to use the software itself.

For instance, if you have a Windows operating system, no problem! What if you have a OS X Mac operating system? Well then, that is okay too! What if you are really computer savvy and decide to run the monster operating system Linux? Crashplan has you covered there as well. Also, the system requirements will be listed on the next additional sentences for those of you that are interested. If you are running a Windows operating system you need to at least have Windows 7 installed, but you can have newer versions of Windows as well, and you need to have a computer that has at least one gigahertz cpu speed in combination with at least a gig of memory, and four hundred megabytes of storage space. Even a computer from the stone age can run this software guys. This makes the product very accessible to those small business owners on a major budget. We also found out that Crashplan will throttle your bandwidth, and this is a very bad con! Now shall we discuss the OS X Mac operating systems and their requirements? I think we shall! For Mac users you need to own a one gigabyte sixty four bit Intel CPU, one gigabyte of memory, and the same storage space as Windows users which is four hundred and fifty megabytes. However, the earliest version of OS X you can have would have to be 10.9. Still not bad recommended specs for such cool software! For Linux users, the memory and the storage space required is the same as the two other operating systems, but Linux users need to have a one gigahertz x86-64 CPU to efficiently run this software. After reviewing this product extensively, the only three cons I did find was with their support system, their billing method and the throttling of your bandwidth. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term bandwidth throttling, it means that someone can intentionally slow down your network. That is something I know I definitely don’t approve of.

If you add additional devices you will be billed automatically for them, and when I clicked their support webpage it didn’t take me elsewhere in the Crashplan website, but it took me to their corporate website Code42 where I could submit a virtual ticket. I would ask Crashplan to provide a phone number directly to their technical support in case you prefer talking over the phone. Other than that, it seems like a piece of software I would recommend if you have valuable data sitting around on your business computers. Every business owner knows there are some secrets that need to be kept secret and I think Crashplan has what it takes to make that happen for you guys.


Backblaze Pros and Cons

Backblaze is one of Crashplan’s major competitors and they too offer some very interesting features for your safe storing your data. Let’s start with the good stuff and then we will list their negative features afterwards. The first progressive step Backblaze takes on trying to corner their market is offering unlimited data backup without any bandwidth throttling, and easy pricing. Their pricing comes to be about fifty dollars a year per computer, which actually is cheaper than Crashplan’s ten dollar a month plan per computer. So we have that to look forward to if you decide to become a Backblaze consumer.

Next, if you have been using their service and your data somehow becomes corrupted they will send you a hard drive with all of your most recent data available for a small fee; however, you can get that money back by just sending them their hard drive back once you have installed it on the device that was previously corrupted. Good form Backblaze, good form. Their platform can be accessed via the web and if you need help admins can help you with your different features. Backblaze also uses something called AES-128 bit keys which is a form of military security grade encryption, and this is definitely something that one should take interest in, especially when it comes to protecting intellectual property. When transferring your files Backblaze also wants its consumers to know the data being transferred will be done by using what is known as SSL, or Secure Socket Layers right into their home database. In regards to their database, did you know Backblaze has security that is working around the clock at their home storage center which is protected by biometric security, ID checks, and is SSAE016/SOC-2 compliant? That is a lot of security guys! You get very high quality security for a very low price here. This is definitely something worth checking out! I am also very impressed at the fact that they offer both personal protection, and business protection, so we can assume prices will be matched appropriately depending on your needs.

Moving forward, let’s get into the negatives of this company. First, unfortunately it doesn’t look like they offer Linux users the ability to use their services, but it does say on their website that Windows and Mac users both have access. The next gripe I have is with their support and it is similar to Crashplan, which means there really isn’t a phone number to call if you have a problem, but you can opt to make an online ticket in order to request the help that you need. Given their track record this might not be too much of a con because they claim to have a ten year track of award winning strategies and solutions. Let’s try to be fair and keep that point in mind.


Carbonite Pros and Cons

The third online data backup company I would like to introduce all you small business owners to is a company known as Carbonite. What is fascinating about carbonite is that every plan they offer supports HIPAA, FERPA, and GLBA compliance. This will keep your information confidential, and make sure you are not breaking any privacy laws. That is definitely a plus in my book everyone.

Furthermore, they offer easy backup via web browser like the other two companies, and they offer a user friendly dashboard that can be installed on multiple machines if needed, and they also offer unlimited storage as well. However, I will say this is one of the more expensive services to use, because for their office use it will run you about two hundred and sixty nine dollars per year; but, you get to have unlimited computers in this select service plan. This is a company that would be better geared towards a larger business rather than fitting small business needs. None the less, it is quite an amazing price for unlimited devices. Another great feature that is mentioned through their website is that you never have to manually backup your data because Carbonite will do that for you. That is more added convenience to this package if I may say so my self! Carbonite also wants the customer to know that everything is available for backup, and what they mean by that is it doesn’t matter if you are backing up photos, documents, or videos. They will take care of every filetype available!

Here comes the negatives guys. On their initial website I did see a phone number you can call to purchase the service, but I am unaware if they also virtual support, or actual phone support. This phone number might just be for sales. Also, other than the descriptions I provided you they don’t elaborate on what else you can do with their specific software, but I guess they have most of the bases covered. We want security, we need data backed up, and they offer this so technically, they are doing the job that we want.


What Is Perfect For Your Personal Or Small Business Computer Backup Needs?

The final decision I have made rests on two companies. These two companies believe it or not remain on the lowest price plan available and the highest price plan available. Yes, the companies I am referring to is Crashplan and Carbonite. This is because if you have a small business that has relatively few devices, as in maybe one or two, then I suggest you go with Crashplan. However, if you are a small business who has six, seven, or eight devices, then go with Carbonite. You can be sure you will be compliant with any privacy laws, and you won’t have to pay eight hundred and forty dollars a year for using Crashplan. If you only had seven separate devices you would be almost spending a thousand dollars a year to consistently backup data from those seven devices. The reason I didn’t select Backblaze as a top contender is mainly for their price as well, much like you wouldn’t use RingCentral for a cheap 800 number, when something like Grasshopper would work just as well for 1/3 of the price. Fifty dollars per device per year. Most small businesses have a couple computers and if you decide to have over six devices then you will still be paying a higher price than Carbonite.

In conclusion, Carbonite offers great security and compliance. They made this very clear on their webpage and it really is affordable for both small businesses and large corporations. So, I believe you are truly getting the best of both worlds with Carbonite, no questions asked. All three companies offer great data backup services, but prices mean a lot to the small business owner and sometimes companies can’t market for our specific niche. Have a great day everyone and keep your files, and your intellectual property as safe as possible!

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