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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Data Recovery Companies

Certainly you were aware of the importance of your data as a precursor, generator and promoter of new business and were considerate about the reliance of your business on that data. Suppose the situation takes a U-turn. Some hard disk failure, virus attack or perhaps a human error creates a scenario, which may lead to the loss of the coveted data, gathered over a long period of time. Yes, you are urgently in need of some data recovery service. You are surfing the internet like a mad man and find that there is a plethora of data recovery companies, offering their services at dirt-cheap charges. What to do now? Considering the man of foresight you are, certainly you would not hire the first data recovery company you come across. Since you are desperately interested in recovering your data, it will be safe to assume that you are quiet aware of the potential value and relevance of that data for your business. Will you then allow the mere cost considerations to influence your choice for a data recovery company? Are there any other steps to be taken before you go for it? There may well be a chance that the very survival of your business, depends upon the decision you take.

So far as data recovery services are concerned, you often get what you ask for. One needs to be aware of a lot of facts, before coming to any decision. If you have started by surfing the internet, you are on the right track. However, don?t get mislead by mere verbal declarations. You need to ask a lot of questions. You aught to dig a little deeper, before coming to a final conclusion. One needs to have in advance, an idea of the services one desires, and should have a realistic estimate of the money he is willing to spend. First and foremost, try having a peep into the history of any company. The fact that a company has existed and survived over the years is in a way, a certificate of its authenticity, and is often indicative of the fact that it has the necessary experience and expertise to deliver the goods. Look for any references or testimonials from the past clients. If the list includes the name of any Fortune 500 company or some important government department, it certainly speaks well for that company. Never opt for the companies who do not give any contact number. Call the representative of the company and enquire if they have the requisite clean room environment, vital infrastructure and tools to do the job. Ask about their success rate. Data recovery is a complex task that often needs to be performed amidst many physical and logical constraints. Any company with a success rate between 85 to 95 percent is a reliable one. Any thing more or les then this, needs to be taken with suspicion. Enquire about the experience and credentials of their technical staff. Check if they have the sufficient number of technicians to execute big recovery projects and meet the peek season demands. Do they have the expertise to recover data from all kind of storage media and command the necessary research and development facilities?

Once you have satisfied yourself regarding the above mentioned details, you can jump to the cost considerations. Beware of the companies that quote a price that is too good to be true. It is most probably a sham and you certainly won?t prefer to leave your confidential data into the hands of some imposter. Also avoid the companies that offer a flat price. The chances are that they primarily resort to the same standardized procedures for all types of recovery problems. Any authentic data recovery will first furnish a free initial consultation and a diagnostic report, before mentioning the price. It will often give you a list of the files that can be recovered. A good data recovery concern will often exhibit a consistency of policy and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Take care that the company you selected has an online customer portal and keeps you informed regarding the recovery of your data at all its phases. Cost does matter, but what is more important is the sanctity of your data.

2 comments:

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Unknown said...

I had RAID 1 configured on my PC with 2 hard drives. Unfortunately a virus wiped all the data on both the hard drives. I had no backup and no idea of data recovery. My friend suggested me to try out RAID recovery software, but I was really scared to do so, with the fear of permanently losing the data. I contacted RAID Recovery professionals and got all the data recovered. If your hard drive works on a RAID system, you need a service that specializes in RAID data recovery as it won’t be a good idea to do it on your own.