We’ve all heard the 20 reasons why we need an online backup solution. Why? Because by the time you think about needing it, it’s too late. Which is why it’s smart to think ahead, plan for the future, and get started backing up your data now!
The main question is, which service is best? The easy answer is to go with one of the big companies, such as Carbonite. I’ve spent the past 3 months testing out a few different services, including Carbonite, Mozy, Keepit, and ElephantDrive. I’ve come to learn a lot about the levels of customer service, ease of software use, and features provided. My two favorites are Carbonite and Keepit - but that’s mostly because I’m a big fan of an easy to use solution that you never think about.
Here are my scores for Carbonite vs. Keepit:
Ease of use — winner: Carbonite
Carbonite is the easiest backup solution I’ve ever used. It takes just seconds to install, and once you go through the easy setup process, you never really think about it, until you need it. I simulated a data loss and went through the recovery process to get my data back onto another local drive. To my surprise, the process was very easy and all my data was completely backed up. The data recovery was complete and painless. Keepit is also very easy to use, but you do have to interact with it more than you do with Carbonite.
Security — winner: tie
Both Keepit and Carbonite encrypt your data with 128-bit security before transferring it. This is important to give you peace of mind that no one is sniffing your data during a backup over the Internet. I see no fault with either solution - the encryption technology used by both is strong and secure.
Recovery process — winner: Keepit
When I simulated the loss of a full hard drive, both services did well in recovering all of my data. The green light goes to Keepit for the efficiency of the process. Keepit uses a compression technology to transfer and store files so it took about 30% less time to transmit my files back to me, a big difference when you’re talking about hundreds of gigabytes.
Compatibility — winner: Carbonite
The only determining factor with compatibility is Mac support with Carbonite. Keepit? PC only. Fine if you only use PCs, but I use a combination of PCs and Macs, making this a big factor for me.
Price and service — winner: tie
Both services bost $5 per month, and both companies provide great customer service. Carbonite provides weekend customer service - which is nice, but Keepit has longer weekday hours for tech support. So overall, its a wash here.
Overall — winner: Carbonite
At the same price and comparable on so many fronts - ease of use comes to the top of my list as the deciding factor. While Keepit is a solid solution and is a great value, Carbonite is just so easy to use and you never think about it, and in all respects it performs very well. I give it the thumbs up. Hope this was helpful. Please contact me in the comments section if you have any questions or comments!
