Most small to medium-sized businesses don’t effectively backup all their business-critical data – some not at all. Many employ a manual process that involves CDs, removable hard drives or tape and subsequently, backups are only done once in awhile. Furthermore, any backups made must be taken off-site; if your office building burns down, those backups are rendered useless.

Online backup provides budget-strapped businesses an affordable, easy-to-use backup alternative. On the hunt for the perfect online backup provider for your small business? Here are the online backup five features your business shouldn’t go without…

Encryption

Not all backup providers are created equal, especially when it comes to encryption. Move right on past the services that don’t offer encryption, especially if your business handles high volumes of extremely sensitive information such as medical records. The service should also provide a unique encryption key so only customers can access their data; using one supplied by the provider means they have access to the data as well.

Archiving

Does the provider allow you to store multiple past versions instead of just the latest one? Let’s say your business has a text document or spreadsheet that is updated regularly. If a virus wiped out information or someone accidently deleted the latest updates, you should be able to go back and recover an earlier version.

Comprehensive Customer Service

As should be the case with any business service provider, be wary of an internet storage provider that offers customer help and support via email only. In the event of an emergency and your data needs to be restored quickly, you want a provider you can contact directly and get help from immediately. Look for providers that offer a handful of methods to contact the company including a direct telephone number.

Multiple Sites

Since data centers are susceptible to damage and disasters as well, any backup service provider you are considering should store backups in at least two locations, preferably hundreds of miles apart (simply across town doesn’t suffice).

Automation

Part of the appeal of online file storage is the automation of the process. Users simply select the files or documents to be backed up and determine a schedule of frequency: hourly, daily, weekly, etc. The number of providers that don’t offer automated backups may be slim but they do exist so make sure automation is part of the package.