Help with IT backup

Welcome to the forums 

Can only go on my own experience. We used to a traditional backup server in the office, but was finally convinced to embrace the cloud, and now haven't looked back.

We use a product called LiveDrive and swear by it. It's very cheap to use, easy to set up, and once configured you have piece of mind. I also use their app on my iphone, meaning I can see all the office files on my phone if need be.

It gives you a windows explorer style view on your computer, caches them locally on your machine, but everytime you save something, it is automatically backed upto the cloud. They have had some bad reviews, and some early software wasn't the most reliable, but we've not had any problems in the last couple of years.

Email wise, also used to have an Exchange server in the office, but was also convinced to give it up and we use a company called Cobweb for our email. We use outlook as the client, and Cobweb provide mailboxes on cloud based exchange servers. Makes email hassle free, secure and costs a couple of quid per mailbox. Again used them for years and never had any problems.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Steve... I use 1and1 for my mail but run it through livemail but I just dont know where to go with it - do I need to change>  Im not sure - everybody seems to recognise Outlook in Business...  I have no idea where to start... 

Outlook is just your email client, so it makes no difference to me what email system you use, but what I'm more bothered by the actual email address. eg bob@xyz-company.com sounds much more professional than xyz-company@hotmail.com

There's a multitude of vendors out there, and lots of different options. eg you could use Googles Gmail to send and receive your company emails. They do an apps for business package for a small monthly fee. Haven't used it, but being Google it can't be too bad: Google Apps for Business

If you want to use Microsoft Outlook as an email client, then you will need a license (which you will have if you have a copy of Microsoft Office) then after that it's up to you how you connect to your email provider, and who you use.

If you are at a complete loss, then I'd suggest talking to someone like cobweb.com who will be able to talk you through the options, and get you set up quickly and efficiently. They will also provide you with an Outlook license and the code to install it if you don't already have it.

The beauty with outsourcing it is for a few quid a month, you have complete piece of mind that your emails are working, set up correctly, and when new versions of software come along, you simply upgrade when told to. If your emails stop working, you have a UK phone number where you can shout at someone  Only happened about twice briefly over last few years, mainly due to a denial of service attack, but customer service has been very good.

I have been using Carbonite for around 4 years, and did once have to restore a backup when my laptop got a virus. After 2 years I opted for the 3 year option. I don't have to do anything.

I used to use Outlook when in my employed jobs as that was the done thing. However for the past 7 years I have used Gmail as my mail client without one hitch ever, compared to the occasional hassles and glitches Outlook still continues to cause.