Acronis Backup and Recovery is one of the older backup utilities on the market. The company offers a suite of applications that are designed for everyone from home users to large businesses, and the system can grow with your business. The company offers full, incremental and differential backups, so you can find the method that works best for you. You can also make your own disk images if you prefer to keep a copy at home or in a safe location, and you can recover files and folders that are lost or damaged. The system offers users the ability to fine tune it to their exact needs, which is ideal for companies that have specific requirements or who want to control all aspects of their backup system. Acronis Backup and Recovery is requires you to purchase a copy of the software, but there are different versions available that can be tailored to your company's needs.
Genie Timeline works much the same as Apple's Time Machine backup function. The tool lets you open previous versions of files, which can be very useful if your company works with archived or document controlled files or if you have a tendency to need older versions of files that often get lost. The company offers a free version of the utility that lets you set up a basic backup system that includes scheduled backups and an easy to use interface. If you find that you like the way the service works, consider upgrading to Genie's paid version which includes full disaster recovery, support for servers, and a number of other tools that make it perfect for businesses of virtually any size.
SyncBack Freeware is, as the name suggests, a completely free backup utility. The system has been around for a number of years, and it is popular among small business owners who are familiar with the workings of their computer. The system is fairly basic, but it remains highly popular because it works well. There is no fancy interface, but the tool will backup files to an external hard drive, send copies to a designated FTP server, or backup information to your network easily and at a price that is hard to beat.
No matter which solution you choose, remember that redundancy is key. Make more than one copy of information, and store the copies in different places. While services that backup to a secure online location are great, they may be susceptible to the same forces that would damage your original data, so creating a backup that you keep on an external hard drive or similar device is vital. Once you have backed up your data, you can rest easy knowing that your data is safe.
