Compaq offers PC data back-up service

Compaq Monday unveiled a data back-up service for consumer and small business users of its Presario PCs.

In a deal with Connected, a Framingham, Mass., provider of networked data storage, Compaq will bundle the subscription service with its new line of Presario PCs. The service is intended to protect users from losing critical information if a computer is damaged or a system crashes.

Through the offering, users can program the service to back up data through the Internet as frequently as they please. Using a small client-side application and a regular Internet connection, the service will synchronize the data on a user's PC with remote servers managed in Connected's data center. If any data is lost, the user can recover it from those remote servers.

Compaq will offer a variety of service packages. One of those will include the option of receiving a loaner notebook computer if a PC is destroyed or fatally crashes, Connected said.

Compaq employees have been using the Connected data backup service, dubbed Connected TLM, to protect critical data stored on their company PCs since 1999, according to a Connected spokesman. Other major customers include Hewlett-Packard and the U.S. Post Office.

Connected has reseller partnerships with various IT consultants and software and hardware vendors. Its deal with Compaq is its first with a major PC manufacturer, Connected said. The service is only available for Compaq's Presario PCs running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. A link to the Connected service will be featured on the start-up screen.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there is a growing focus on data storage to protect users from loosing critical information in the event of an emergency. Dell Computer said this week that it saw sales of third-party data storage devices available from the PC maker grow 70% in its fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 2, compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Much of that is due to demand from customers looking to boost disaster preparedness, the company said.

Information on pricing and availability was not yet available.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.