The Business of Broadband

The family reunion trip to Sea World was an awesome experience. Seeing ‘Shamu,’ although not the original, was a bit frightening considering the widely televised trainer attacks but exciting nonetheless. Pictures were in abundance, and after what seemed like weeks, you were finally about to get them transferred to the computer and deleted from your camera’s memory card. You marveled at your meticulously named folders and couldn’t wait to share them with everyone.

Days go by, and after a long day at work, you decide you want to catch up on the latest Oprah health tips, and the ‘blue screen of death’ suddenly surfaces. You have a whack session with the computer and endlessly reboot it, but nothing happens. You’ve lost everything…pictures, documents, music, videos…everything. This scenario probably happens on many occasions, and your technical support team will be in the trenches to take the frantic calls. Avoiding this mishap is an easy feat by providing your customers with information on easy external data back-up storage alternatives.

Rewrite the Disc

Many of your customers want a reliable means of being able to store data that is not too complex and is something familiar to them. Almost everyone has at some point ‘burned’ a file to a CD or DVD, so using discs continues to be one of the ‘tried and true’ back-up storage methods. Computers generally have media or productivity software available that makes placing the data onto the discs a fairly user-friendly task; however, your customers will need to understand the type of drive (CD-RW/DVD-RW) that is installed on their computer so that they can purchase the correct type of discs. A few clicks and listening to the disc drive grind, and all of the content is saved. Having the discs on hand can fill up space in that new media library in a home office, so the discs are serving a dual purpose!

Driving Flashy

USB flash drives come in various sizes, shapes, and storage capacities and are compatible with most computers. There are even flash drives covered in rhinestones, which I couldn’t believe until I saw them with my own eyes! Many flash drives are ‘plug and play’ and are arguably one of the simplest forms of back-up storage in terms of feasibility. Data can be deleted and re-written many times over making them cost effective and ‘recyclable.’ While many flash drives are small and can be easily lost, the storage tasks that can be performed are invaluable thus making them one of the most widely used methods of back-up storage. Your customers will need to ensure that the USB flash drive is parallel with the specifications of the USB ports on their computers prior to purchasing, but this will probably not be an issue for those with newer systems.

External Hard Drives

For what I like to term ‘computer data hoarders,’ larger and more drastic measures of back-up storage are a necessity, and external hard drives can provide similar storage capacities as do the hard drives that are embedded within a computer. External hard drives typically connect to a computer via a high-speed interface cable with USB being the most common. Again, this can allow for a ‘plug and play’ environment making installation less time consuming; Adding the data…not so much. External hard drives have the portability of a USB flash drive, but stuffing one into your pocket will be something that only Criss Angel will probably be able to do. The funny thing that always comes to mind is how cool would I be pulling an external hard drive out of my purse and setting it on the counter while I scrounge for spare change at Starbucks?

Your customers will need to understand the importance of back-up storage methods to prevent the loss of data that they would like to enjoy for many years.   You may provide them with suggestions on places to buy and direct them to manufacturers’ websites if they have questions about pricing, product specifications, usage, and other user-related topics.    In the end, they should realize that not backing up their data is just like pouring money in a gas tank with a hole…useless.  References and/or additional information can be provided by leaving a comment.