I need your advice and help with my new business

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I'm starting a backup service that will be targeted towards local homeowners in my area. This will be a backup service that lets the average Joe get his important files backed up. Most people don't bother to backup files and so if they get a virus, hard drive fails, etc. they lose all their work. This isn't targeted towards the computer savvy group, at least not yet.

The website is SRBackups.com.

I haven't finished it, but basically, this is what will happen:
Program will create a drive letter Z on the computer which is basically C:\Backups
Program will run nightly between midnight and 3AM

All the files on their Z drive will be zipped and have the date in the filename, then uploaded to the server. It will store 10 days of data and then as they upload an 11th day, the last one gets deleted from the server automatically. In the program, all they will have to do is enter their username and password, everything will be set then.

I will be doing a trial run by giving accounts to everyone in my neighborhood and a feedback sheet. Before I do that, I want to get opinions on AT on a few things:

1) Would you be interested in this service? If not, explain why
2) How is pricing? What kind of plan would you like?
3) Besides the two pages that aren't done (ordering, more information), what else would you like to know if you were an interested customer?
4) On the support page, are there any other methods of support you think there should be? (Ignore that they aren't done)
5) Do you feel this idea has potential?
6) Any other comments/questions/advice for me?

I really appreciate your help

 

[oboeguy]

Dude, #1 concern is privacy, I think. I hope you have incoporated, gotten a lawyer etc, too, for when the first customer gets his/her identity stolen and blames you. I'm serious.

Sounds like a cool idea, in any case. Joe Sixpack needs backups just like the rest of us, after all.

 

[FoBoT]

my biggest concern would be security. what is the transport method between their machine and yours? how safe are your servers?

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
I'm starting a backup service that will be targeted towards local homeowners in my area.

All the files on their Z drive will be zipped and have the date in the filename, then uploaded to the server. It will store 10 days of data and then as they upload an 11th day, the last one gets deleted from the server automatically. In the program, all they will have to do is enter their username and password, everything will be set then.

I think this is an AWESOME idea.

1) Would you be interested in this service? If not, explain why
2) How is pricing? What kind of plan would you like?
3) Besides the two pages that aren't done (ordering, more information), what else would you like to know if you were an interested customer?
4) On the support page, are there any other methods of support you think there should be? (Ignore that they aren't done)
5) Do you feel this idea has potential?
6) Any other comments/questions/advice for me?

1. Not me personally, but this might be something that small businesses might like.
2. Are your prices per month?...
3. I want to know what I do to get the data back.
4. phone support, email support, ticket helpdesk support
5. You could go national with this...
6. Will it be secure?

When you do the upload, you're going to want to do it over SSL or SSH, and market it as a "secure upload". The data on the server should also be protected, perhaps encrypt it prior to zipping. Also 5 gig is going to be too big for a single zip, so you'll want to break it into smaller zip files. And then last you will need to ensure a secure way to retrieve the data, something that can't be spoofed by someone not meant to get it. You can add an additional value-added feature - every 1 or 3 or 6 months, the customer gets mailed a (set of) DVDs with a copy of the data for an additional charge.

I have done this exact same thing for the firm I work at - a Backup Script that allow users to backup important stuff from their drives that isn't something that typically gets copied to the file servers. But instead of a Z: drive, I have a menu that gives them options of what to backup, preset in the script. Then I also give them the option of the destination, whether or not to use compression, and whether or not to use timestamps (puts the date/time into the filename, so they can create multiple backups). I also added logging for the user and for us admins so we can keep track of how much space they're using.

Which is why I can relate to your idea - and I think it will work. Will require some marketing however (joint venture with some broadband companies?)

 

[rh71]

first thing that comes to my mind is... upload 2GB nightly ? That's rough...

and personally I would have issues with that since my ISP would cap me for excessive and continuous upload past a couple hours...

Also, I'm reading 10GB of bandwidth for a 2GB account... so this isn't going to be a nightly backup... am I misunderstanding something ? Also, have you thought out bandwidth costs for yourself if you happened to get a lot of customers on this ?

I can see this service being beneficial to some, but not many. Non-tech savvy users will likely not want to drop money (recurring) on something they don't care much about... especially backing up machines that they use for email/light-surfing only... my .02.

 

[FleshLight]

Are you running your own servers?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: rh71
first thing that comes to my mind is... upload 2GB nightly ? That's rough...

and personally I would have issues with that since my ISP would cap me for excessive and continuous upload past a couple hours...

Also, I'm reading 10GB of bandwidth for a 2GB account... so this isn't going to be a nightly backup... am I misunderstanding something ? Also, have you thought out bandwidth costs for yourself if you happened to get a lot of customers on this ?

I can see this service being beneficial to some, but not many. Non-tech savvy users will likely not want to drop money (recurring) on something they don't care much about... especially backing up machines that they use for email/light-surfing only... my .02.

the 2GB is total space they can use, if they have the full 10 backups, then it's ~200mb per backup. I think that's feasible each night

Thanks for the post, I have more to think about now

 

[vi edit]

It sounds like a liability nightmare.

 

[KarenMarie]

I read your other thread about this.. but you said local... and that doesnt pertain to me... so here is a free bump.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
I'm starting a backup service that will be targeted towards local homeowners in my area.

All the files on their Z drive will be zipped and have the date in the filename, then uploaded to the server. It will store 10 days of data and then as they upload an 11th day, the last one gets deleted from the server automatically. In the program, all they will have to do is enter their username and password, everything will be set then.

I think this is an AWESOME idea.

1) Would you be interested in this service? If not, explain why
2) How is pricing? What kind of plan would you like?
3) Besides the two pages that aren't done (ordering, more information), what else would you like to know if you were an interested customer?
4) On the support page, are there any other methods of support you think there should be? (Ignore that they aren't done)
5) Do you feel this idea has potential?
6) Any other comments/questions/advice for me?

1. Not me personally, but this might be something that small businesses might like.
2. Are your prices per month?...
3. I want to know what I do to get the data back.
4. phone support, email support, ticket helpdesk support
5. You could go national with this...
6. Will it be secure?

When you do the upload, you're going to want to do it over SSL or SSH, and market it as a "secure upload". The data on the server should also be protected, perhaps encrypt it prior to zipping. Also 5 gig is going to be too big for a single zip, so you'll want to break it into smaller zip files. And then last you will need to ensure a secure way to retrieve the data, something that can't be spoofed by someone not meant to get it. You can add an additional value-added feature - every 1 or 3 or 6 months, the customer gets mailed a (set of) DVDs with a copy of the data for an additional charge.

I have done this exact same thing for the firm I work at - a Backup Script that allow users to backup important stuff from their drives that isn't something that typically gets copied to the file servers. But instead of a Z: drive, I have a menu that gives them options of what to backup, preset in the script. Then I also give them the option of the destination, whether or not to use compression, and whether or not to use timestamps (puts the date/time into the filename, so they can create multiple backups). I also added logging for the user and for us admins so we can keep track of how much space they're using.

Which is why I can relate to your idea - and I think it will work. Will require some marketing however (joint venture with some broadband companies?)

Thanks for the comments, I sent you a PM with some questions

The DVD idea is excellent, I'll see what I can do regarding that

 

[PaveHawk]

Agreed, if you think average upload speed at users homes is 128k, uploading 1 gb would take quite a while.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: rh71
first thing that comes to my mind is... upload 2GB nightly ? That's rough...

Easily solved. 2gb of data will compress for savings at least 20%. And like I said above, you'll need to break up the zip files anyway, so you can throttle the uploads. Since it's on a 10 day rotation, you could just submit incremental changes; skip files that haven't changed.

Also, I'm reading 10GB of bandwidth for a 2GB account... so this isn't going to be a nightly backup... am I misunderstanding something ? Also, have you thought out bandwidth costs for yourself if you happened to get a lot of customers on this ?

I think he should drop the bandwidth limit - if you're selling 2gb of upload, then it shouldn't matter how much bandwidth is being used because you're not an ISP or web host.

I can see this service being beneficial to some, but not many. Non-tech savvy users will likely not want to drop money (recurring) on something they don't care much about... especially backing up machines that they use for email/light-surfing only... my .02.

Depends on the area. You get some people from the city that are willing to pay some guy $250 to spend 30 minutes troubleshooting their wireless network (and still not fix it).

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: FleshLight
Are you running your own servers?

Not yet, but once I get enough customers to see that there is potential, yes I will be

Originally posted by: vi_edit
It sounds like a liability nightmare.

What do you mean? I feel like I'm missing something

This is an LLC company and in the TOS I will have to put something that will not hold me liable for lost backups

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Thanks for the comments, I sent you a PM with some questions

The DVD idea is excellent, I'll see what I can do regarding that

Another thought, you'll want to generate a report each night for each customer. This should be kept in a database so you can run reports for yourself and prove that the backups are working like they should.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: rh71
first thing that comes to my mind is... upload 2GB nightly ? That's rough...

Easily solved. 2gb of data will compress for savings at least 20%. And like I said above, you'll need to break up the zip files anyway, so you can throttle the uploads. Since it's on a 10 day rotation, you could just submit incremental changes; skip files that haven't changed.

The fact that they have to go through all this organizing makes me feel they'd be better off with a DVD burner on their own machine. If these people are supposed to be able to do all this zipping/metering, I think they could handle burning DVDs on their own too.

I realize he's in this for the business, but he'd be doing people an injustice if he puts this backup idea into people's heads. It sounds like a huge hassle. I know it would be even for me... zipping files, worry about file sizes, bandwidth, etc... And not that this is happening each time, but compressing 2GB (especially at a high ratio) isn't going to happen quick either.

$70 one time can get you multiple 9.4GB of data backups within an hour. If you really want to sell this to anyone who even knows a little bit about computers, make it a one or two-click backup (which won't happen) and you've got something to sell... people don't want to pay even more to be inconvenienced... time and effort... especially for the less technical people...

Maybe you can still sell to the real paranoid people... say if their house burns down... they'll still have their data.

 

[oogabooga]

hey agaBOOGA, it seems like a good idea, but the thing is you'll have to market that idea that a lot of stuff can happen to data, i dont' think people really care, and those who do already make backups or can recover from HD failure.

the idea has some potential but yea, the liability and bandwidth seem to be too big issues. convincing people of need, maybe explaining exactly what can be done is good too. I wouldn't think joe shmoe would completly understand.

Cheers : Best of Luck to you

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: oogabooga
hey agaBOOGA, it seems like a good idea, but the thing is you'll have to market that idea that a lot of stuff can happen to data, i dont' think people really care, and those who do already make backups or can recover from HD failure.

the idea has some potential but yea, the liability and bandwidth seem to be too big issues. convincing people of need, maybe explaining exactly what can be done is good too. I wouldn't think joe shmoe would completly understand.

Cheers : Best of Luck to you

Thanks!

Now that you mention it, on a page I'll mention all the things that can happen causing data loss

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: rh71
I realize he's in this for the business, but he'd be doing people an injustice if he puts this backup idea into people's heads. It sounds like a huge hassle. I know it would be even for me... zipping files, worry about file sizes, bandwidth, etc... And not that this is happening each time, but compressing 2GB (especially at a high ratio) isn't going to happen quick either.

The zipping will be handled by the backup software. Customers just treat the Z: drive as another partition.

 

[SagaLore]

Mods, can you move this to the Software forum?

And AgaBoogaBoo - you should fix the link in your first post.

 

[pulse8]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: FleshLight
Are you running your own servers?

Not yet, but once I get enough customers to see that there is potential, yes I will be

Originally posted by: vi_edit
It sounds like a liability nightmare.

What do you mean? I feel like I'm missing something

This is an LLC company and in the TOS I will have to put something that will not hold me liable for lost backups

If I'm only going to store 200mb at a time, why would I send you my backups if you can't offer a guarantee?

For that I'd just get a 1GB flash drive and backup my stuff to that.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Lost backups are the least of your liability worries - what you need to worry about is data/identity theft for your customers.

It's an interesting idea; lot's of people would love a secure backup of email, 'My documents' and all their preferences/bookmarks/etc. It's usually not that much data either; I could easily fit everything I care about into 200MB; probably into 100MB.

One consideration is the customers available bandwidth; here in Canada most ISPs have given up on monthly bandwidth caps, but what is it like where you are? If the service is going to eat up 50% of their monthly bandwidth, they may start incurring overage charges from normal internet use, meaning demand for your service would fall off rapidly.

I would certainly pay your price for this if I had no understanding of how to back things up myself (as it is I do it myself with a cd-r).

 

[Koing]

The server you use will have to be secure and the information encrypted etc.

They will have to trust you with 'their' data and you have to prove if anything goes wrong it was NOT YOU.

Doesn't appeal to me as I do my own backups on to dvd.

I can see it being useful for some people though. Knowledge is £££ and they will pay for it

Best of luck to you.

Uploading it seems really slow though.

I was thinking if you could offer an 'at home' service? Come over to their house at a time they'd like and you'd do the backup for them? Not sure how many people would like this.

Koing

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Koing

I was thinking if you could offer an 'at home' service? Come over to their house at a time they'd like and you'd do the backup for them? Not sure how many people would like this.

That's also a bit of a 'cadillac' service; it wouldn't reap the benefits of automation, so it would have to be pretty expensive.

 

[z0mb13]

IMO I dont think this business is really feasible for home owners

How much will u charge them?? At least 10-20 a month I bet, at this price personally I would rather buy an external hard drive and back up my files personally...

you said you were targeting a more computer savvy consumer base, and I think they would rather buy an extra HD than pay 10 buks a month to back up stuff..

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
you said you were targeting a more computer savvy consumer base, and I think they would rather buy an extra HD than pay 10 buks a month to back up stuff..

Not targetting a computer savvy consumer base.