A few months ago I wrote Backing Up: Protect Your Business Data. There’s a new kid on the block and this new kid’s pretty terrrific. So it’s time for an update.

Just last week I learned about Massachusetts-based Carbonite and decided to take it for a spin. Carbonite is an online backup service. It encrypts your files and stores them on its protected servers so that you always have an off-site copy of your files available anytime and from any PC. All of this is pretty typical, but there are a few features that make Carbonite different and better than all of the other backup services I’ve used:

• It’s only $5 per month. Period. Unlimited storage capacity for your backups and no cost increases for higher storage needs. There aren’t too many $60/year insurance policies out there.
• It’s always on. This is the feature that made me a convert because I don’t have to schedule backups anymore or remember to do them at a time most convenient to my schedule and computer usage. Once Carbonite knows what folders and files you want to protect, it automatically backs them up anytime you’ve made a change or addition. It knows when you’re connected to the Internet and goes to work quietly in the background.
• Carbonite won’t slow down your Internet connection because it detects when you’re doing other work and gets out of the way. I didn’t really believe that until I tried it.

Gee, I sound like a Carbonite evangelist. And I think, so far, I am.

You can try Carbonite for free. The 15-day trial doesn’t even require a credit card and the setup is quick and simple, with a very low geek factor.

It’s for PCs only at the moment and you’ll need a broadband connection (DSL or cable). The initial backup can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week or more, depending on the number of files involved. Mine took a couple of days via DSL, with Carbonite working in the background while I conducted normal business.

I’ve been happily using IBackup for quite a while and wasn’t looking to switch. But Carbonite’s convinced me.

Making Mediation Your Day Job by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at MakingMediationYourDayJob.Lenski.com.