AT&T Launches Online Storage For Home, Small-Biz
Dubbed "Online Vault," the consumer backup service does an initial backup, then backs up only new files and changes to existing files on a daily basis after that. The service compresses and encrypts all files that the consumer selects for backup, and transmits them to an AT&T data center, from which they can be restored to any computer the customer chooses. Files deleted on the local drive are retained by AT&T 30 days, so users can recover files or restore older versions of a file or document.
The small business-centric "Remote Vault" service is similar, but allows for more flexible backup schedules, including hourly, weekly, or other periods. AT&T also retains all backups for as long as 4 months.
Online Vault is priced at $5.95 per month for 2GB of space, with each additional gigabyte running an additional $2 a month. Consumers never pay more than $17.95 monthly, however.
The small business service, meanwhile, costs $6.95 for the first gigabyte of storage, with additional space priced at $2/GB. Pricing for server backup runs between $6 and $12 per gigabyte, depending on how long the data is retained at the AT&T centers.
Numerous online backup services target home and home office workers, including Carbonite, which prices its service at $49.95 annually for an unlimited amount of storage space, and Xdrive, which this month unveiled a free service that provides 5GB of online storage space.