In-the-cloud data backup solutions such as Carbonite, Dropbox.com and others can help prevent data loss in the event your computer hard drive goes bad or your computer system fails. These data services typically charge a monthly fee based on factors like the amount of data stored or the number of computers being backed up, and put your files safely “in-the-cloud” for retrieval in case your hard drive fails or your computer system crashes.

Many choices in data back-up services exist, including:

– Carbonite

– Mozy

– Keepit.com

– DropBox

– KeepVault.com

– SugarSync

Rumors in 2009 suggested that many customers lost data stored on Carbonite, but these rumors remained unfounded. More recently, though, the Amazon EC2 crash, which caused the loss of data for many companies, large and small, proves data loss can happen to anyone, at any time.

Backing up your data to a cloud-based storage solution is a good first step to protecting your mission critical data or even home files with significant financial or sentimental value. It’s even better if your back-up solution provider stores backed up files on a remote server in a separate location, not in a different file on the same server or even a different server in the same room. Remote data back-up provides protection against natural disasters, fires, floods and even power surges that may occur at one site.

But even if your data is backed up, in triplicate, at a remote location (following data back-up best practices), it’s not 100 percent safe. There may be gaps between the time of your last back-up and a system crash that results in data loss.

For a business, this lost data could mean thousands of dollars in lost sales. For a family, it could mean lost school papers, family photos, journal entries, and more. This data is important — and irreplaceable.

Needing data recovery is nothing to be ashamed of. Even with back-ups in place, data loss can happen. You need a company you can trust to restore your data files from your Mac, PC, laptop, netbook or other electronic storage media. Protect yourself with cloud-based back-up systems along with local back-ups, but remember to call 24 Hour Data if you need emergency data recovery. We won’t lecture you on your choice of back-up. We’re here to help you recover the data you need when your back-ups fail.