So, after pondering all these options, here's what I'm coming up with for a simple and balanced backup strategy:
EVERYBODY needs some kind of AUTOMATIC data backup. Vinny's logic is inescapable here. I would bet that most doctors can not be relied upon to manually back up their own data reliably. Unfortunately, most doctors probably don't know how to set up their computer to backup automatically.
(This being the case, why can't we make Amazing Charts Offsite Backup occur automatically?)
EVERYBODY needs REDUNDANT backups of their medical data, going back several days, and maybe even a month. Bert is absolutely right about this. Unfortunately, most doctors are not diligent enough to do this manually, and don't know how to set up their computers to do this automatically.
(This being the case, why can't Amazing Charts Offsite Backup add each nights' encrypted backup to a storage file, automatically dated to allow for easy recovery, instead of just overwriting the previously encrypted file every night?)
(Another question: does anyone know how long Amazing Charts Offsite Backup keeps our data that we upload? Can they go back and find the last functioning version of our database? If the above idea were adopted, we could do this
ourselves instead of having to pester Technical Support).
THUMB DRIVES are a mighty handy method of offsite backup, but it is best if they are ENCRYPTED. Unfortunately, encrypting the data before you leave adds another step and makes it less likely that doctors will backup at all. Also, encryption means finding and learning to use a new program (most doctors won't), or else dropping $79 for an IronKey.
(Question: why can't we set the path for where Amazing Charts Offsite Backup creates its encrypted database before it uploads? If we could set the path to our thumb drive, people wouldn't have to pay for encryption software or IronKeys. Instead, they could stick in the thumbdrive, and click on Amazing Charts Offsite Backup. Their data would be uploaded to San Antonio, and an encrypted copy would be created on their thumb drive simultaneously).
CONCLUSION:
There are a few steps that everyone should be taking to secure their mission-critical data each night. Unfortunately, there are probably very few doctors that are taking any of these precautions. With a few simple changes, however, Amazing Charts could allow users to do these things with ease.
Vinny, I am no programmer, but it seems like these changes would be easily implemented, and would really increase the security and customer satisfaction of the Amazing Charts family. I think these changes would bring Jon a lot more Offsite Backup customers (and maybe even some more Amazing Charts customers). Could you talk with him about this?
