Further to my previous post, one user asked me what is the difference between online backup and online storage services? I am sure there are others who have this question on their mind, and I thought its best to share it here.

Online storage service offers space on a per-gigabyte basis, and sometimes includes a bandwidth cost component as well. Some companies do offer the service for free, relying on advertising revenue, but they are soon realizing that this doesn’t work.

Some of the distinguishable features of true Online Backup from Online Storage are the following:

Automation: Files are automatically transmitted, without user interruption to the online server.
In Vaulten Online Backup’s case, CDP – Continuous Data Protection technology ensures your data is backed the moment it is created or changed.

Encryption: Data is stored highly encrypted on the online server.
When you use Vaulten, data is not only stored encrypted on the online server, but encrypted before and during transmission to the online server as well.

File Versioning: Multiple versions of file are stored based on its change history.
For e.g. with Vaulten, whenever you change an office document, the changed files are stored separately. This way users not only cover compliance requirements, but also can go back and retrieve any version of the file (remember this does not increase your storage requirement proportionately).

To sum it up, online storage can be treated as an extension to your local drive and you just use it like that. On the other hand, online backup is designed for securing data automatically for retrieval and compliance purposes.