DrivePop.com Online Backup

[GEGeek]

Looking for some feedback on this product I was just reading about. http://www.drivepop.com/
Maybe some of you have used/heard about it before. Read some reviews online and it seems legit.
Pricing is the best I've seen so far. Maybe a new start-up company just trying to make a splash. Dunno
79.99/yr - Unlimited data - Unlimited PCs.
49.99/yr - unlimited data - 5 PCs.
Definitely very affordable pricing to work into any existing/new contract with a site. Hell, it would be worth it just
to backup all my family's PCs. Anyone seen better prices than this?
Maybe something to include in your/our businesses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqvX5lGI8b0
Oh btw, they also offer a free account with 512gig
Thanks in advance for any feedback
Mike

[Xander]

Oh btw, they also offer a free account with 512gig

Well, yes and no.....

http://www.drivepop.com/plans-pricing/

FREE*
512GB Cloud Backup Space


* Free Trial for 14 Days

[GEGeek]

Xander, you're correct. I misinformed in my haste. It's a trial period. But is that all you have to say about this? What did you think of the prices in comparison to what you already use? No other thoughts about this?

[Xander]

Prices are fantastic. I don't see any reseller options, though. It's great for customers.

[GEGeek]

hmm well I have never dealt with reselling of any products actually. I understand the concept of course, but to just include it in whatever package you present to a potential customer has to be another pro vs con on the list of services.
Outside of my normal job at GE, I just do consulting work and various IT projects for a few places nights and weekends. One site I installed an ftp server and automatic backups and images for all their desktops. For 80 bucks extra per yr, every PC in the building could have a redundant backup or even replace the ftp server all together. Less upfront overhead and troubleshooting when a client claims there backup isn't working.
I'm obviously just thinking out loud here, but I think for 80 bucks it's worth it to take a look at it. Keep the ftp server in place for a while. Hey, someone still has to install and set it all up for them
I have read here in the forum about others using a reseller program for their backups. I guess those are customized and branded in some way. It's just good to see hdd prices coming down so much as to allow such an affordable service.
Maybe one day soon when I retire I can look more into a remote support type of business and services like these will surely be on my list.
Mike

[Nick]

prices are great! but how reliable is the service and reputable is the company -- won't go out of biz in the next year or so I'd hope. It is getting to the point that, aside from MS and Google, I don't really get how companies can offer storage like that for so cheap.

Not sure about your setup just skimming and saw FTP server and (egads!) desire for redundancy... just reminded me of why I decided to go with CrashPlan for myself. The CrashPlan software allows for simultaneous backup to external drives, and to other PCs over the internet (even the FREE edition which doesn't come with their actual cloud backup - but who needs their cloud when you can use their free software to make your own cloud backup.) Also the backup sets seems to be a very powerful feature.

The only thing I don't see that I would like are multiple file revisions for the cloud backup, though I can largely rely on Windows "Previous Versions" for that - I'm disappointed in Windows 8 that feature is limited to the folders within the user directory so I have a few battles there.... perhaps using a junction is a fix? just thinking out loud myself - need a new thread for this.

[Merit]

I noticed in a comment from the company on Bits de jour site that the "backup" is for files only and not to restore a system. They also have a very strange requirement to visit their site every 30 days. If your pc is off for 30 days, there go your backups. That is the poison pill in their offering. Just kills it for me.

[GEGeek]

Merit

I noticed in a comment from the company on Bits de jour site that the "backup" is for files only and not to restore a system

I believe all these online backup systems are not designed for system recovery, but for file data backup only. Still very handy when you have
tons of data needed to be backed up somewhere. The big thing concerning these new online backup strategies is their recent change to unlimited
backup size. It wasn't too long ago we were paying per gig for the backup. So that, combined with the very fair prices, still makes this a very
attractive offer, in my opinion. And new ones are popping up every week. Not sure about that 30 day rule. I will have to look into that.

[Merit]

Here is my post from the sharewareonsale site concerning the requirement for each computer to connect to the company's server at least every 30 days or lose all data on the server. I really believe most of the customers do not realize this limitation exists. It makes sense for a free service but not for a paid subscription. Based upon this revelation, I would never recommend this product to one of my customers.

the company rep said:
"The account will remain open it's just that the backup client will need to 'sync' up with the cloud server to make sure the backup is 'mirrored'. If a file is not found in 30 days then it will be deleted from the server thinking that you no longer want that file backed up. If this does happen then the next time it connects it will have that file uploaded again and it starts over."

My reply:
This could be a big problem. A computer fails (motherboard, disk drive) or is stolen or destroyed in fire. The owner finally has money to buy another computer 45 days later. The owner attempts to restore the data but discovers that it is missing because the data in the "cloud" was purged for not updating in the last 30 days. Am I misunderstanding something?
I am very interested in this product but do have some reservations.

the company rep said:
This is true and probably the only 'limitation' about an online backup service. This is pretty typical for online backup, Carbonite does the same thing.

[omegatino]

Looks like they are livedrive resellers. I know because I am one as well. Decent service. Been getting better through the years. I CANNOT recommend it for business as it is not HIPAA compliant as of yet. But for home users it's fine.