There’s nothing more crucial than having a top notch backup assistant program and the right backup hardware when it comes to saving data and information from all your electronic devices. In this technological age, information has become a powerful currency and we have come to rely heavily on the machines we use to store and process it.

But what happens when these machines break down and our information is lost? Most of us have experienced the loss of a project we were working on – some people have even lost years of work to a corrupted hard drive. It is therefore necessary to take precautions every time we work with our electronic devices and be sure that the information on them is stored in at least one other secure location.

Most people seek backup assistance for phones or PDA’s, computers and laptops, and gaming systems. There are two primary ways to backup your information and each has its pros and cons. Let’s take a look at them.

Backup Assistant – External Storage Disk or USB Drive

For many home computer users and gamers, an external hard drive or USB is a good way to backup data from desktops, laptops and gaming consoles. External drives are fairly affordable and can now hold up to several terabytes. The pros of using a local storage disk unit in your home include convenience and ease of use. The major con in this scenario is that if you have your backup assistant storage unit in the same location as your computer or game console, then if there is a fire or a theft, it can be damaged or stolen at the same time the main unit is.

Backup Assistant – Cloud Backup

Most PDA and cellphone service providers will provide some kind of data backup to their own servers. For computer users there are more and more companies that now offer cloud backup services, also referred to as online backup. A “cloud” in electronic and computing terms is a connected group of servers that can handled large volumes of data. The advantages of using a cloud backup service are great, particularly if you have business or work that needs to be stored securely. Even if your home computer is damaged or stolen, your information is safely stored elsewhere. One of the greatest advantages of cloud backup is that most companies that provide this service will also provide encryption services and disaster recovery. Disadvantages include the fact that cloud storage can be more expensive over the long-term. A unit for home use is a one-time payment, whereas cloud storage is a monthly payment. Many cloud backup service companies will also charge higher rates for larger amounts of data. However, there does seem to be a growing number of companies that will charge a flat monthly fee of as low as $5.00. One other issue with online backup is that you need a fairly major amount of bandwidth, otherwise the process of backing up your data, especially if it includes photos or videos, can take too long, and recovery becomes quite inconvenient.

At Backup Assistant Guide, we recommend that you use a combination of local and cloud backup. This will maximize your security and convenience. The data on your local disk will be easier to recover quickly, but keeping your most important data in the “cloud” will insure that in the event of damage to or theft of your local device, your information is secure.