Online Backup Easier than Ever
There is nothing worse than data loss. You come to the office, and for whatever reason, your data is not available.
Some reasons could be:
-Natural Disaster
-Fire
-Server Crash
-Laptop or Computer Theft
-Hard Drive Crash
If you’ve ever have had an experience like any of these, you understand the sinking feeling in your stomach when you realize what you may have lost. The computer is an incidental, but the DATA that is lost, *THAT* is the lifeblood of your business.
Online backup, http://www.CoolBackupTool.com
Now if you are diligent, you have backed up your system at least 1x a week, you know you should do it once every 24 hours, but life is just too busy. Many have started off with similar noble intentions, but became lax. In fact, permit me to ask a daring question…. if your computer system evaporated right now, how soon could you be back up and running with your data restored?
Backup is one of those things you don’t want to go cheap on, you need to pay for automating the process. Well, I have recently reviewed a solution for this. It is an online backup solution which will backup data you select on a scheduled basis, OVER THE INTERNET. Making restoring from a distaster as simple as logging in, requesting the files, and saving them to your computer.
A few things I like about the solution.
1.) It integrates with windows explorer, so you can right click on the drive, and see your files that you have recently backed up, and even restore them from their servers.
2.) Price. It is free for up to 2GB. Wow. AND if you have more than 2GB, you can pay for their unlimited plan for $4.95 a month (less if you pay for a 1 or 2 year plan upfront).
3.) While the first backup is the slowest (backing up all the files), subsequent backups only backs up new or changed files. No need to worry about switching media (tape backup), or taking backups to offsite storage. Oh and it has a ‘throttling’ feature, so if you are working on the computer and it is running in the background, it doesn’t hog your system…nice.
A couple things I don’t like:
1.) The first backup takes a while, and depends on the speed of your internet connection. Example, 8GB took 3.5 days. In truth, you could start Friday at noon, and it should be finished by Monday morning. However, this is MUCH less time it would take to recover if there were no backup at all.
2.) It doesn’t let you download directly from your web profile. It actually takes your request, compiles and email, and sends you a link in email. You then need to click that link to download the files. The effect is just the same (you get your restored file), just not as instant as I would have thought.
If you don’t have a reliable backup solution in place, you need to do something, FAST! Make it a priority. Perhaps you’ll find this one useful, as I did.
Daylight Savings Time Update for ACT! Software
As I read up more this weekend on the issue of Daylight Savings changes (found here) which go into effect in less than a week, I realized that the potential exists for many ACT! by Sage customers to have significant issues if they do not take action. I decided the best way to inform my clients, was to create a video.
BUT… then I realized how many people this would impact, and while it wasn’t an easy decision, ultimately felt it would be best to make it available on a LIMITED BASIS…to those who ACT QUICKLY (no pun intended
.
Claim access to this video I originally made for clients
only…
> > > http://www.ACTCoachingClub.com/dst2007
Warmest Regards,
Travis Campbell
P.S. – If you are someone who
doesn’t use the ACT! Calendar
(or other electronic calendars
like Outlook), you should be
fine.
Why you could be an hour late in March…
Are you aware of the *NEW* Daylight Savings time changes going on in March? For those of us in the US, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time starting in 2007, and is arriving a bit earlier, and leaving us a bit later.
Why is this important? Well, it impacts computers…for one, scheduling software. You may find your electronic calendars off by one hour. That is, making you one hour late…
Here’s the skinny: There is a patch that Microsoft is issuing via Windows Update for computers to comply with this new Energy Policy, however it results in calendar items showing up an hour later than originally scheduled.
ACT! will be releasing a utility on their website March 4th designed to correct this issue in their products (more on that in a later post). The reality is, it doesn’t matter
if you are using ACT! or another scheduling tool, all will have to deal with this issue (initial reports show even Outlook is incorrect after the patch is applied! Microsoft
also has a patch (see links below).
I cannot say definitively what the impact will be to your system, but I felt I should let you all know what the potential impact is. Don’t be passive with this information, apply the patch, and see what it does to your appointment times, and make corrections proactively. Perhaps your IT department is already on the ball with this, touch bases with them, and find out what impact the patch will have to your applications, and the best way to prepare for it.
How bad would it be for a range of appointments to shift to an hour later than originally scheduled? Imagine this for yourself, then imagine it for a whole workgroup or department! The only saving grace is that those same appointments shifted on the calendars of those you are set to meet with…but let’s not bank on that
So if you show up to an appointment and your party is late by say, one hour… think of me.
Can I ask you a favor? Have look at your calendar appointments for March 11, 2007-April 1, 2007, and see if some of them are one hour later than they should be. Then post a comment to this blog (below), and let me know your findings.
Here are some resources to assist you…
CalConnect.org Explains this Pretty well (Thanks Pat Egen)
http://www.calconnect.org/dstlinks.html
DST 2007 Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst
Office Products
http://www.microsoft.com/office/timezone.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931667/en-us
Windows Operating Systems
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388
Windows Mobile
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/daylightsaving/default.mspx
Referrals aren't *THAT* important, right?
. . . Salespeople, sales managers and small business owners . . .
The Top 5% of Salespeople Earn Over $250,000 A Year
What do they know that you don’t????
The times and markets have changed. Have your sales processes changed with them?
If not, or if you’re not sure, then join me on February 20th at 6:00pm EST when I interview (actually it’s more like grill!) Laura Posey, author of Six Secrets of Sales Magnets.
Limited spots, register here.
You’ll learn how selling has changed in the last five years and how you can tailor to your sales process to take advantage of the changes. Check out her book, “Six Secrets of Sales Magnets”.
Laura has agreed to share:
>>What the top salespeople in every industry do that you don’t
>>How to get unlimited referrals without asking
>>How to stop cold calling forever
>>The 6 things you can do RIGHT AWAY to increase your sales
>>The number one mistake salespeople make and how it kills deals everyday
Register here as there are a limited number of spots for this call.
Laura is paid thousands of dollars to speak about selling but because of our relationship she has agreed to do this call just for my subscribers and their personal guests. You can submit questions during the live call via email.
The call will be recorded, with a LIVE-REPLAY page available sometime after, BUT those on the live call will be given a *special offer* Laura’s never made to any other group, and will not be repeating.
Invest in your continuing education with me, and I’ll speak with you on the call.
