Dental & Medical Offices

If you work in a dentists or medical office, then you’re very familiar with the next words; forms, paperwork, lab results, electronic medical records, doctor’s notes, etc. Managing the health needs of even a small group of people can be a daunting task. Not only is it your responsibility to organize and use that data to protect and improve a patient’s health information, by ethics and the law it’s your responsible to keep that data safe and secure.

Your office deals with confidential patient information that falls under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 (HIPAA) and according to this law, you are required to put administrative, technical and physical safeguards on that patient information. Usually, discussing that means making sure no one steals files, sells patient information or accidently transmits patient data over an unsafe line.

What about simple accidents or natural disasters or a fire in your building? These occurrences can destroy or corrupt your data just as easily and you need to plan for them. You need disaster-proof/secure hard drives and HDDfiresafe.com has a couple of great models for your office. They’re from the ioSafe, a company that pioneered disaster-proof computer equipment.

Backup and Store Electronic Medical Records on the ioSafe

The first ioSafe products we would like you to look at are the Rugged Portable line. Fireproof, shockproof, waterproof and near bulletproof. The Rugged Portable models are a wonderful option for office use. It is fit for usage in any workstation or as a mobile unit, perfect for meetings and transferring data between sites and servers. The ioSafe 250GB Rugged Portable Hard Drive with 5K RPM and USB 3.0 is an excellent model. Its fast connection speeds can go up to 5 GB/s and it includes Genie Timeline Pro backup software with a TrueCrypt encryption program. It supports both Macs and PCs and comes in either aluminum or titanium enclosures. The environmental protection package covers virtually every type of disaster; fire, flood, altitudes up to 15,000 feet, chemical exposure and shock protection. It has been approved by such industry leaders as PCWorld, MacWorld and ARS Technica.

One of the best features is the Data Recovery Service (DRS). This ioSafe standard feature is the ultimate safety net for hard drives. The 250GB model comes with a three year plan and up to $5000 of forensic data recovery. In the rare event that something would get past the Rugged’s outer shell, you will be covered. There are also 500GB, 750GB and SSD models available.

The SoloPRO is well suited for Medical Offices and Dentists with computer servers storing PHI or electronic medical records.

The ioSafe SoloPRO External Hard Drive line is a great choice for the office environment. It’s not as portable as the Rugged line but it’s just as tough and dependable; it’s perfect for any workstation or for server duties. It provides unparalleled data protection with neck-breaking connectivity speeds. The 1TB SoloPRO e STATA/USB 2.0 Desktop Hard Drive is the perfect example of the line. It is Microsoft Server, Linux, Mac and PC compatible and it has the ability to connect to NAS servers.

It has a one year DRS plan with up to $1000 of forensic data recovery (upgrades to three and five year plans are available). The environmental protection is top-shelf. You could dunk the SoloPRO in ten feet of water for 72 hours and your data would still be safe and its fire protection ensures that it can in temperatures of up to 1550 Fahrenheit for up to 30 minutes. The Active Airflow Cooling design ensures that the hard drives will run in optimum condition.

The SoloPRO has the latest in USB technology, its play data transfer can go up to 5 GB/s and the eSTATA interface provides quick and clean access to servers. SoloPRO provides further physical protection with a Kensington security slot as a standard feature that is available with a floor mount or cable lock. There are also 2TB, 3TB and SSD models available and the SoloPRO line has $50 and $100 mail-in rebate deals available and most models are on sale now.

IoSafe products are the perfect choice for your medical office. They provide layers of security for your patients and peace of mind for your staff. Protecting data is no less essential than protecting the client it represents.

Written by:

Joseph Fowler

HDDfiresafe.com

In the quick-paced business world, data is the key to a company’s survival. That data most flow and be protected at all costs from almost every imaginable problem. If the data concerning a customer, a product or an operation is misplaced, destroyed or scrambled; then your company could be in peril. The key to protecting your data is twofold. You must back it up on a regular basis and it must be kept in multiple and safe locations.

There are ways to achieve this protection using on-site physical protection, computer networking and internet-based protection and backup. While this project may sound daunting, it is very easy for a small business to set-up their own grid of protected storage. We’re going to show you a simple 3-step program that can be used as a frame and tweaked to fit your own small business. First, you need to be aware of two different types of storage. Network-attached storage (NAS) and cloud computing. These terms will be explained in steps one and three of the plan.

Step 1: NAS and the solutions it offers. A NAS network should be the core of your new program. Network-attached storage is a file-level computer data storage unit connected to a computer network. This server is connected to all the computers in your company or office and shares the files from one source. They are often specialized computers built from the ground-up for this purpose. They usually contain more than one hard drive; using logical, redundant storage containers or RAID arrays. If your business works with large amounts of data, a NAS network makes access, configuration and administration far easier. It can create such simpler and cost-effective systems as load-balancing and fault-tolerant e-mail and web servers. It’s a good choice because it takes the work and stress off individual computers and servers.  We list some great NAS products and the companies that make them at the end of the article.

Step 2: Combining NAS with a great product, the ioSafe SoloPRO external hard drives. IoSafe is famed for their construction of disaster-proof hard drives and their SoloPRO line is a great choice for small businesses to combine with their NAS networks.  There are 23 different products in the SoloPRO line and here are some that would be a great fit for your business. The 1TB SoloPRO USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive is an excellent choice because it comes with a three year data recovery service with up $2500 of forensic data recovery and replacement. It is Linux, Mac and PC compatible and its fireproof skin protects data from loss in temperatures of up to 1550 Fahrenheit for up to ½ hour. For your purpose, the most important feature is the USB 3.0 and/or the e-STATA/USB 2.0 connectivity which allows the SoloPRO to connect to any NAS network. This connectivity feature is shared by the 2TB model, the 300GB SoloPRO SSD, the 1TB SoloPRO Desktop Hard Drive and the 3TB USB 3.0 Waterproof/Fireproof Hard Drive. The ioSafe drives can combine onsite protection with your NAS network, providing new levels of security for your data.

NAS + ioSafe SoloPRO is great for SMB

Step 3: Cloud protection. This type of storage uses the internet as a utility where your company sends its data to an internet storage grid. It is called a “Private Cloud” when a company engages a third-party to host an infrastructure where the data is copied, stored and updated on a regular basis. Your company can have this service for a monthly or yearly fee. Updates and copying schedules depend on the individual plan and what internet company you use. There are definite advantages in the areas of scalability, security, performance and multi-tenancy. This article provides a great list for companies interested in securing cloud coverage, “Top Cloud Computing Companies to Watch and invest in 2011”.

HDDFiresafe.com is always interested in connecting you with great products. These three companies make quality NAS devices that could fit your small business’s profile.

Synology: This Company specializes in NAS equipment for a variety of clients. In their small business & workgroups section they have many products available. Such as the RackStation RS411, the RackStation RS409 and their DiskStation line has the following; DS411, DS410, DS211 and the DS111.

LaCie: This French company has several lines of NAS products available. Such as the LaCie Network Space 2, the LaCie Network Space MAX, the LaCie 5big Backup Server, the LaCie 12big Rack Network and the LaCie CloudBox (which works perfectly with cloud coverage).

Pegasus Promise: They have several NAS products available The SmartStor NSx700 series is ideal for high-performance environments. The Enterprise Storage line is ideal for corporate structures and the SMB Storage line provides medium and small businesses with cost-effective ways to keep their data online longer. Pegasus is also involved with cloud storage solutions.

This basic plan covers all the bases. NAS allows your data to flow and perform better; the ioSafe products offer onsite protection and high-quality performance and investing in private cloud protection will allow you the peace of mind of knowing your data is decentralized and off-site. The final layout of your plan is up to you but HDDfiresafe.com will be here to help you put the pieces to together.

Written by:

Joseph Fowler

HDDFiresafe.com

Safety First…Backup Your Data

A combination of onsite disaster proof hard drives, off site and online or cloud backup are the best bet.

One of the largest technological concerns a business or individual can face today is the loss or corruption of their files and data.

It is vital for your company, clients and to your own sense of security that you have a ready and adaptable backup plan in case a disaster scenario occurs. Research conducted by the University of Texas shows that only 6 percent of companies that suffer from a catastrophic data loss survive while 43 percent never reopen and 51 percent close their doors within two years.

A recent NFIB poll shows that man-made disasters affect 10 percent of small businesses and natural disasters have affected 30 percent of small businesses and in the United States hurricanes are by far the most destructive natural force affecting businesses with losses. The International Data Corporation analyst firm shows that 70 percent of all successful attacks on computer networks are carried out by employees and company insiders.

You need a plan.

Here is a three-step, easy to follow plan that will help your business protect its data files.

1. Archive Your Business Data Regularly:

There two steps to correctly archiving your data; identifying the critical data that needs to be saved and using an archiving method on a regular basis. Executables like software programs don’t need to be saved, if they are lost, reinstall them. All files that you have created and or modified should be saved and archived. From accounting numbers to individual e-mails.

After you’ve selected which data to archive, select and use a backup software program. There many different programs you can choose from. The key is to remember to archive your data regularly, on a nightly basis is often suggested.

2.  Creating Physical Data Backups:

Having a physical backup is necessary because of the chance of computer failure. Even dropping your laptop on the ground or spilling coffee on office unit could be disastrous.

One of the most reliable and cost effective physical backup methods for a small business is the external hard drive. They are simple to use (with most you only have to plug it into your computer’s USB port) and the price range is usually only several hundred dollars. Many external hard drives are also disaster-proof, like ioSafe’s SoloPRO

3.  Off-Site Data Backup:

To be truly secure, the best option is storing copies of your data off-site from the main archive. There are many options for this method; many businesses keep copies in bank vaults or at the homes of different employees.

One of the most popular methods is online backup; these websites will backup and save your data for a monthly or yearly fee. Here are some of the most popular companies that offer this service.

• Carbonite: Since 2005 this company has backed up over 100 billion files and recovered 7 billion of them from being lost. They offer a program for small businesses that is $229.00 a year for 250 GB of storage space with the option of upgrading, automatic backups and a free month-long trail. http://www.carbonite.com/en/
• Mozy: Also founded in 2005, this company has over 70,000 business customers. They have many options for businesses such as encryption, custom configurations and automatic backups. The pricing is different for desktops and servers; learn more here: http://mozy.com/
• SugarSync: This company offers different features such as Apps for smart phones and pooled storage for multiple users. Their business plan is 100 GB of storage for three users at 29.99/month and 299.99/year and is upgradable. Learn more about them here: https://www.sugarsync.com/

The fact that you’re thinking about data backup and considering a plan is a great step in the right direction. It is also important to remember that when it comes to the safety and success of your business and clients, redundancy is the magic word. If you use online backup then also have an external hard drive in your office or a disaster-proof lockbox filled with zip-drives. If you backup your data every night then make sure that a copy gets sent to a secure off-site location.

Whatever system you decide to use to backup your data, backup that backup system!

Author: Joseph Fowler

Today, the majority of our most important data is stored digitally, so it is essential that you take appropriate precautions to safeguard this information. Nothing is better suited to this task than the ioSafe SoloPRO SSD. It is the ultimate solution for all your backup needs. This disaster proof external hard drive is fireproof, waterproof, and comes with a 3-year warranty. In short, it is one of the best safeguards you can have to protect yourself from data loss.

At the heart of the SSD external hard drive is an Intel 320 Series solid-state-drive.

The Intel SSD version of this resilient hard drive is particularly impressive. An SSD, (Solid State Drive), is generally more expensive than a traditional mechanical hard drive because it is a relatively new technology. It also won’t always offer you the largest storage capacities you can buy today, but it does offer a number of important advantages that are quickly making it the format of choice in external hard drives.

For instance, an SSD is much faster at accessing data than its HDD equivalent due to its speedy NAND Flash memory technology. They are also more rugged and reliable because there are no moving parts to damage or fail under stress. This means the life span of an SSD is likely to be significantly longer than an HDD. An SSD is also quieter than a regular hard drive, it doesn’t get as hot, and it draws less power too.

The Intel 320 Series SSD that is used in the SoloPro is the perfect partner for ioSafe’s legendary durability. It comes in either 300GB or 600GB versions, and has a sequential read performance of up to 270MB per second. It has built-in data protection features and ensures that backing up to an external hard drive is quick, easy and painless. The 320 series is also a third generation product, so it has all the benefits of a well-engineered technology and the backing of an industry leading brand.

To help you feel even more secure with your purchase, ioSafe include a 1-year Data Recovery Service with all its SoloPRO drives. So, even if your data does fall foul of an unforeseen disaster, ioSafe’s forensic data specialists will work to recover any and all data that it can and ship it back to you on a factory fresh unit.

Together, Intel and ioSafe offer you an unparalleled level of security. Intel provides the technology while ioSafe provides the protection. This makes the SoloPRO SSD an ideal companion for anyone who is concerned about data security.

Click here to learn more about brand names of hard drive manufacturers

It's true.... many moons ago ioSafe manufactured a NAS storage device called the ioSafe R4. This network attached storage server could house up to 4TB of storage and provided the end user with all of the bells & whistles you would expect from a NAS including RAID, hot swap hard drives, remote administration and even a built-in backup manager. Alas, ioSafe no longer makes the ioSafe R4 but there are still many ways in which you can reap the benefits of a NAS and still get the fireproof & waterproof protection that ioSafe is famous for.

NAS meet ioSafe. ioSafe meet NAS.

At our office we recognized many years ago how important RAID is to our own data

The ioSafe R4 was a 4TB NAS that was fireproof & waterproof. This product is no longer available.

backup strategy. We value redundancy and multiple backup copies of client information, databases as well as Exchange and .PST files. We also recognized that the missing link was disaster protection. What if the hard drives crashed or a fire ripped through our building. The simple solution was to connect the ioSafe hard drive directly to the NAS. It may sound elementary ( and it very well is) that for $500-$1,000 small businesses could now afford a solid data backup plan that may very well keep them in business should disaster strike.

Our Setup

In our office we have an Exchange server, ReadyNAS 1100, ioSafe Solo and the first generation ioSafe S1 (the ioSafe S1 is no longer manufactured).

We run a mixed environment with a combination of PC and Mac. [Our graphic designer prefers the Mac platform for all of the wonderful imagery you see on our website today - thank you Mr. Maximumedia :) ]  The ReadyNAS 1100 acts as our office file server with seven (7) workstations connecting to it on a daily basis. The ioSafe Solo is directly connected to the ReadyNAS and we utilize the built-in backup manager to backup our RAID 1 hard drives to the ioSafe. This set-up gives us TRIPLE REDUNDANCY, fire protection, water protection as well as the best in class ioSafe Data Recovery Service (DRS) with up to $5,000 of forensic recovery should our ioSafe hard drive break for any reason, no questions asked.

Cost

As the cost of storage has dropped tremendously in the last few years you can now get an ioSafe + NAS for as little as $500.00. A quick Google search reveals that the ReadyNAS Duo can be found for under $160.00, add in 2 x 1TB hard drives for $55 each and an ioSafe Solo starts out around $150.00.

Total Cost of NAS + ioSafe TODAY: $420.00

Shown above is the ioSafe S1, 1st Generation fireproof hard drive from ioSafe. This product has been replaced with the ioSafe Solo and ioSafe SoloPRO.

Several years ago when we first implemented our setup the price was much higher with the ReadyNAS 1100 priced at $2,300 and came with 4 x 500GB hard drives. Toss in the ioSafe S1 at $3,000.00 and you were digging deep into your pockets.

Total Cost of NAS + ioSafe 5 YEARS AGO: $5,300.00

That's an 80% drop in cost over five years! 

Comparing the PROS & CONS

At first glance combining the benefits of NAS storage and an ioSafe hard drive may seem confusing (especially to small business owners that are not IT or tech junkies at heart). However when you start to break down the benefits and compare apples to apples there is a tremendous value to the SMB to implement this or a similar data backup plan.

PRO's

RAID. RAID. RAID. Yes, the value of redundancy cannot be emphasized enough and multiple backup copies are always better than one.

Standby Hot Spare - with a 4 disk RAID set up you can run two (2) hard drives in a RAID 1 (mirrored backup copies) and have an extra hard drive on standby in case one of the drives in the RAID crashes. The standby drive will automatically kick in and begin making a backup

Remote Access - With the NAS in your backup loop you have access to your business data without sending it to the cloud where it may be subject to more risk than it might be worth. We'll leave that up to you to decide.

Disaster Protection - fire, flood, accidental deletion, you name it and the ioSafe DRS has you covered with no questions asked. It's remarkable that ioSafe is the only hard drive manufacturer that offers this service with their product.

CONS

More Equipment - yes, with this setup you must now purchase two (2) pieces of equipment. For many small businesses or mom & pop shops extra equipment is often a no, no.

Price Points - While many of our readers with say that the ioSafe + NAS set up is a cheap way to get data protection they are presuming that every business has the same cash flow as they do. The reality of the small business world is that budgets are tight and most of the time non-existent until year 3,4 and even year five.

To sum things up if I could help all of our small business clients implement the ioSafe + NAS system I would. This setup works very well for the majority of our clients and without a doubt a mixture of brands still achieves the same goal. Whether it's a Seagate BlackArmor NAS, NetGear ReadyNAS, Western Digital NAS or an HP MediaSmart server the point is that combining ioSafe hard drives with network attached storage is a very wise choice for the small businesses around the world.

Peace of Mind for the Entire Family

Your data is the most important data in the entire world and you deserve the best hard drive to protect it from disaster. For years, ioSafe, Inc. has been engineering and manufacturing the best brand of external, portable as well as internal hard drives for your home and business. Whether you need a fireproof hard drive as part of your business continuity or disaster recovery plan or simply want to protect your family photos, video or music files, ioSafe has a hard drive for you.

Learn more about the entire family of hard drives from the ioSafe Solo, ioSafe SoloPRO and the new Rugged Portable Mobile Hard drive.