subject: Carbonite Online Backup Review: Does It Do The Job? [print this page] Carbonite is a pretty well known name in the world of online backup. It makes use of a desktop interface that's intuitive and easy to set up and that makes backing up extremely convenient for end-users.
Carbonite divides its plans into home and business options. For the business user, the plan includes 250 gigabytes of storage for a total of $229 every year. This plan is expandable, however. There is also a server option available for business clients that need to back up their servers and which includes a considerably larger amount of storage space. The home plan costs $59 per year and allows you to backup one computer. A free trial is offered for a 14-day term for home users and a 30-day term for business users.
Carbonite has some very nice features, particularly for those who aren't the most technically advanced computer users out there and who like a system that offers them some assistance in backing up the files correctly.
Pros
Carbonite has one of the most interesting ideas in backup software around. Instead of having to go through all of your files manually and figure out which ones you want to backup, the initial installation process will backup all of your documents, photos, videos and music files for you. You can add additional files to the backup process, of course, and it's no more difficult the right clicking on them. This makes it a very convenient service and one that will most certainly appeal to users who like things to be as automatic as possible. SSL encryption is supported during transfers.
Cons
Carbonite will take a long time to complete its backup process on the first use. Because it backs up so many files automatically, it may even take a couple of days to finish uploading everything off your computer. It's a great option but expect to lose a bit of bandwidth during the first backup operation.
Analysis
Carbonite offers great business plans and great home user plans. The business plans should be enough to satisfy the needs of most companies, with a whopping 500 gigabytes of storage being available for their server backup plan. For home users, the initial backup routine may be a bit frustrating in the amount of time it is likely to take, but the security it provides will be welcome. Subsequent backup routines will not take nearly as long.
Conclusion
Carbonite has plenty of features that will appeal to the end user. Principally, the fact that this backup service allows you to have your files backed up automatically means that there is very little guesswork involved in it. Adding new files to the backup routine is simple enough that anybody will be able to understand it. This makes it a great choice for users who just want something that will automatically back up their financial files and so forth. Business users will likely appreciate many of the same features but the intuitive interface and automatic backup will likely not be of as much use to IT professionals.
by: Steven Menjivar
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