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IT markets seem to be getting more splintered all the time. AT&T on May 24 started operating a cloud-based backup service specifically for mobile devices used by small and midsize businesses.
Using the AT&T Tech Support 360 Backup and Go service, employees who work remotely won’t have to worry about losing documents, said Ebrahim Keshavarz, vice president of Small Business Product Management for AT&T.
In addition to providing automatic file backup in the cloud, the service enables users to collaborate and share documents on the fly. They can call up and view those documents on any connected PC or mobile device, Keshavarz said.
Backup and Go also allows users to print and fax documents, add comments or share with others by sending a Web link. The service runs on more than 800 mobile devices, including BlackBerry devices and smartphones from other device makers, AT&T said.
The basic Backup and Go service is available in the United States for SMBs with high-speed Internet connections for $7 per device, per month, with no storage capacity limit. All data accessed and backed up is stored in AT&T’s highly secure data centers, Keshavarz said.
The account can be accessed by browser from any PC or mobile device, he said.
A premium version of the service, at $10 per device, per month, offers unlimited storage, data archiving and several other features. For example, users of the premium version can create project teams and online project workflows for collaboration; create guest accounts that can access authorized project work areas; e-mail files directly from online storage, to colleagues, customers and partners; print stored documents from any computer; and keep older versions of files with version control up to six months.
Analysts have predicted that the market for SMB data backup services like this one is growing quickly at this time.
According to market researcher AMI-Partners, the U.S. market for small business online storage and backup is expected to more than double from $138 million to $295 million from 2009 to 2013, while the smartphone device and data services market is expected to go from $2.5 billion to more than $5 billion during the same time frame.
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