Vox Telecom has launched\u00a0CloudBackup, a service that offers unlimited online file storage for R69 per month, or R720 per year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBacking up data just isn’t second nature for us, but the results of losing everything is undeniably catastrophic,\u201dsaid Justin Elms, senior product manager of infrastructure services at Vox.<\/p>\n
CloudBackup differentiates itself from services such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive, and OneDrive as\u00a0there is a difference between file storage services and backups.<\/p>\n
\u201cFile storage services\u2026 store your content off-site and enable sharing of that content across devices and with others. Its main purpose is not for disaster recovery but rather for storage and access.\u201d<\/p>\n
Backups are physical copies of files that are saved and stored locally, on a disk or hard drive, or in the cloud. It has built-in backup times, version control, encryption, data management features, and enables users to restore files that become corrupted or have been deleted from a\u00a0device.<\/p>\n
Understanding the difference between backup and file storage services \u201cmay mean the difference between starting from scratch, or just restoring your content,\u201d Elms said.<\/p>\n
CloudBackup is hosted in South Africa, which Vox said guarantees security and data protection, and for small businesses it meets local regulatory compliance requirements.<\/p>\n
Those who sign up for Vox\u2019s CloudBackup service can choose to do their first backup via a 1TB USB drive delivered and fetched by courier.<\/p>\n
Although the service offers unlimited storage, users are \u201csoft capped\u201d at 99GB at first, and will have to phone Vox to request incremental increases to their storage space as they need it.<\/p>\n
Vox said the only reason for the soft cap is to give it\u00a0the opportunity to communicate with the customer and ensure they are aware of the data implications and their\u00a0USB option should the user\u00a0need it.<\/p>\n
“The customer\u2019s account can be adjusted with as much data that is needed. E.g. 100GB, 500GB, or 1TB. It is up to the customer.”<\/p>\n
Vox said subscribers can also select\u00a0whether they want to encrypt their data or not.<\/p>\n
All data (if selected as encrypted) is encrypted at the source and remains in this state in flight and at rest.\u00a0“We are only able to view the file names, but we cannot view any other information and we cannot access the file.”<\/p>\n
When restoring data to a device that is not linked to the account, the encryption password is required.<\/p>\n
Vox warned<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that encryption keys cannot be recovered, and subscribers must ensure they keep copies of their encryption key safe.<\/p>\n The CloudBackup app runs on the Java platform, with apps available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and is capable of backing up open files.<\/p>\n Vox said mobile access to files is not a feature they plan to offer with CloudBackup.<\/p>\n “You can view what files are being backed up via the online portal. However, this is not cloud storage, which means you won\u2019t be able to view the file as you would with storage applications such as Dropbox.”<\/p>\n Files can only be restored to the original machine or new machine that has the software installed on it.<\/p>\n Web Africa CloudFlare CDN packages launched<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n MyBroadband Cloud and Hosting conference<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Inside Vodacom\u2019s impressive new data centre<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore hosting and storage news<\/h3>\n