As bonfire night approaches, we put away our holiday photos and start to draw up our Christmas card lists. But if you store these things on your computer, beware! Unless you have a backup, your precious files might not be as safe as you think.
Thousands of computers suffer data loss every year. Viruses, lightning strikes, fire, theft, laptops left on trains, accidental deletion and the lightning-fast, destructive fingers of a toddler are just some of the data-destroying situations that have us tearing out our hair when it happens to us. Businesses can forfeit vast sums of money in lost time and sales, and individuals can also lose precious photographs and documents.
Adam Piggott of Petersfield-based computer firm Proactive Services is an expert in backup systems and, sadly, also spends a lot of time rescuing data from damaged computers. 'At the moment I'm trying to drag a customer's wedding photos from one dead laptop and precious emails from another,' he explains. 'But ideally I want to help people look after their files in the first place. It's really not difficult, time-consuming or expensive – and provides peace of mind about the files entrusted to the computer.
Adam, whose company also provides a range of other computer services, always makes sure his customers know about the importance of backups. 'People often don't realise how all of their documents, emails, favourite web sites and photos rely on one piece of equipment which spins over 5000 times a minute,' he says. 'It's more fragile than they think!'
'I've got a stack of dead hard disk drives in my office that illustrates the number of times I've had to try and rescue customers after their equipment has failed without a backup. I'd much rather spend my time proactively instead of having to pick up pieces afterwards, and I wouldn't mind if I never made another penny doing data recovery! Some of the photos, for instance, are irreplaceable, and customers are sometimes very distressed at the thought of losing them. Similarly, a business can be seriously damaged if sales information or customer details are lost.'
Proactive Services can typically provide a backup system for between £50 and £150. At the click of a button all the files are stored safely and are easily recoverable should any accident occur. The system can even be set to work automatically when the computer is shut down, so once it is installed, the computer user need not give the backing up of files a second thought, or spend valuable time on this important task. If the worst subsequently happens to your computer or its files, there will be no need for fireworks!
Proactive Services provides professional, friendly computer support, comprising a wide range of services. These include troubleshooting, backup, security, tutoring and advice. The company provides support for desktop and laptop computers, servers and networks to customers in business or at home.
Press release in PDF, 11KB
17th October 2007.
