"Do you know the feeling of having the file you worked on all day yesterday disappear?" This is the first line of text you'll read on SoSure's website. Unfortunately, yes I know that feeling, and it certainly is not pleasant! SoSure can help you avoid such situations.
Data backup is essential to the survival of a business. In today's world, there are many backup solutions, both offline and online. An argument can be made for both methods but SoSure is convinced that online is the way to go. Why? Well for one, they have partnered with IBM (the name speaks for itself) which manages the SoSure hosting center and uses tried and tested IBM backup technologies. It goes without saying (but I'm going to anyway) that an online backup solution is consequently off-site meaning your data is safely stored in a remote location. However, given the online nature of this system, your data is easily accessible via an internet connection. So let's take a more detailed look at what SoSure has to offer.
SoSure boasts a three-click installation on their "tour" which can be found at http://www.sosure.com/business/tour. The installation was very simple. The initial step is to download the installation file. I simply ran it straight from the SoSure website. I was then asked if I was an existing user or a new user. I of course chose New User which took me to an activation page where I filled out some basic information such as my email address and created an account password. The client installation then finished as quickly as it began and I was taken to the data backup selection screen (covered in more detail under Features). The trial installation is good for 30 days and includes 3GB of server space.
The SoSure user interface is surprisingly basic and wonderfully intuitive. There are four categories to choose from and a single settings option. The categories are sectioned off as follows:
Overview
- The Overview section shows details of current activity (whether that be backup or restore), Quick Start options, and your account information.
Backup
- The Backup section is where all the action happens. This is where different data categories can be selected for backup (i.e. Microsoft Office Files, My Documents, Pictures and videos, Music, and so on). Specific files and folders can be selected and customer file types can be added as well.
Restore
- The Restore section is where restoration happens (thank you Captain Obvious!). The neat thing about this section is the Timeline Browser which allows you to select a specific restore point in the past for specific files or folders, enabling you to restore previous versions.
Event Log
- The Event Log section gives a detailed account of each file that was backed up or restored along with a corresponding timestamp.