Two true stories, one simple rule, and an honest look at IDrive, the backup service I recommend to neighbors, friends and clients.
A neighbor knocked on my door holding a very old external USB hard drive. It was making a clacking noise, the kind that makes any tech person wince. I tried several times to recover it. No luck.
I pointed her to a professional recovery service. They quoted $650 and up.
She sagged. She was close to tears. "Those are pictures of my kids when they were young!"
That drive wasn't her backup. It was her only copy.
An accountant asked my advice on backup. I sent him a link to sign up for IDrive Business. His assistant installed it and tested it, and then everybody forgot about it, which is exactly how backup is supposed to work.
More than a year later he thanked me. He had erased several clients' accounting folders. IDrive had them. His trusty assistant restored everything quickly and easily. He had even forgotten the backup was there.
One had a single copy. The other had three. That's the whole difference.
Let me be fair: they're far better than nothing, and for most individuals they're fine. But they're built to sync, not to back up. Delete a folder on one computer and the deletion syncs everywhere. Sync keeps your devices matching. Backup keeps your history.
For a business, the rule is simple: three copies of your data. Yes, three.
If your business lives and dies by its data, consider a fourth method: a second offsite service, or a periodic offline copy kept somewhere safe.
IDrive's tiers are Mini, Personal, Team and Business. I'm not listing prices because promotions change; the pricing page is always current.
| You are… | Look at |
|---|---|
| Just you, one or a few devices | Personal (Mini if you only need a small amount) |
| A tiny shop or a family business | Team |
| A small business with servers, staff, or lots of data | Business |
| Regulated or data-heavy (health, legal, accounting) | Business, plus the HIPAA options. Ask support before buying. |
Set it up once, test it, and forget about it. Then be very glad you did.
Not sure which plan? Ask me. Happy to help.