FREE BACKUPS for IBW members

[Keith Shirley]

To celebrate all the excellent advice and info I have received via the IBW website – I’m going to offer 3 months of free backups to every member that expresses an interest during this Promote Yourself Unashamedly Week. That’s right – all you have to do is let me know you saw this posting (via phone, email, PM or as a reply here) and I’ll reserve those free months for you. I specifically say "express an interest" as I'm painfully aware of how backups end up slipping down your to-do list as you deal with other matters. By letting me know you are interested - I can help make sure it's done and take a load off your mind.

What’s it worth?
That depends on how much space you need. The starter account (with 1GB of space) is worth 15 Euro + VAT each month and each additional gigabyte of data is worth 8 Euro + VAT per month. I don’t want to make my bank manager cry so I’m limiting the offer to a max of 100GB.
That means the value can be anywhere between 45 Euro and almost 2500 Euro!!!

What’s the catch?
- Firstly you have to be quick – The offer ends 13 July.
- It’s only for IBW forum members.
- If you don’t cancel the account then it will continue automatically. You can cancel at any time with just 2 weeks notice and we will always confirm the cancellation. We believe in keeping our customers by having a brilliant service and not by locking them in. By the way: We have a 100% retention rate – we’ve NEVER had a customer cancel their account.
- You have to make the decision to have your backups managed for you. Isn’t it time you stopped worrying about them and concentrated on your core business?

How does it work?
There’s probably more detail than you want about online backups on Shercom’s website. Basically we provide you with some software that runs on your laptop or server and will safely and securely backup your files over the Internet. They are encrypted before they leave your office and are safely stored on our servers in Dublin. That means if your laptop is stolen or there is a fire in the office – all the work you have invested in those documents etc is safe. Your privacy is guaranteed – we have no access to the contents of the files.

What makes Shercom special?
- Our motto is "Your partner on the inside". We aim to be a trusted friend.
- We help you to make sure the correct things are included in your backup.
- We’ll do the initial setup for you for free and are always available to provide assistance later
- We monitor the backups and will proactively contact you if there are problems

What’s Shercom and who is Keith Shirley?
I understand that it’s a big issue to get someone from outside to do your backups. I formed Shercom almost 10 years ago to do project management consultancy. After witnessing numerous data disasters I realised I needed a reliable backup solution and couldn’t find a company that matched my needs. Necessity is the mother of invention – so we started doing it ourselves and offering it to our clients. You can find some more on the Shercom website. If you’re interested in knowing about me personally – then have a look at my website or my blog. The blog covers all sorts of items from IT tips and tricks to business matters.

If you still have questions then feel free to send me a mail. I’d be delighted to hear from you – [url=mailto://K.Shirley@Shercom.com]K.Shirley@Shercom.com
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Thanks

Keith

[Eileen Bennett]

This a real - as opposed to a rhetorical - question

Who needs backup?

Eileen

[Keith Shirley]

Hello Eileen,

I'm not 100% sure what you mean so I'll do my best to provide a useful answer. Please let me know if I've missed the point.

If you're asking who the backups are suitable for - then I'd say almost everyone. It's most suitable for small to medium businesses that don't produce massive amount's of changed files each day. As the backups run over the Internet there is a limit on how much can physically be transferred each day. The biggest issue is that you need a broadband connection.

The software can backup files from laptops or servers - even if they are in use. There is no license fee so you can backup as many machines as needed - perfect if multiple people in the office have laptops. If you have a server environment then we can also backup Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL server. Any special requirements are treated on a case by case basis.

It's ideal for people that don't have the resources to have someone spending the time every day to change tapes, check log files and do test restores to make sure everything is OK. As we take care of the backups for them - it leaves that extra time to concentrate on core issues.

[Eileen Bennett]

Thanks Keith

I was asking because I can see how some businesses - anybody keeping client records for instance - would need to back up because if that information was lost it would really cause a major headache and maybe even have legal implications whereas for some people, losing information would be inconvenient, but not the end of the world!

Eileen