Testa cooled down on this business deal. Although he wholeheartedly believed that discounts promised were achievable, he could not get himself to ship his computer together with money without any form of receipt and assurance. He could recall hundreds of cases in which he ultimately ended up benefiting more than was verbally agreed and understood because one sentence was missing from a contract. Two days later Hopper phoned to ask whether Testa was still interested. Testa was not. Deep down our old miser was happy—the use of happy should not be taken literally as Testa did not possess such a gene in his being—that he did not see this transaction through. Hooper and an associate made the news a few years after their exchange with Testa. They were arrested and charged with theft and fraud. They would subsequently be found guilty of having ripped off hundreds of people out of equipment and cash. They would basically hire the services of a secretary, a warehouse and a post office box and would advertise computer-related services in classifieds. Those who replied to the ads would be conned into sending in equipment and cash for upgrades, replacements, servicing, data recovery and more. They would sell received equipment under a separate operation. Clients who called would be delayed until Hopper and his friend disappeared from the scene about 2 to 3 months after they had first remade their debut in an area. Investigators would normally find the usual things one expects in this type of operation; unpaid rent, wages, service and utility bills, cleaned out rooms and a warehouse with bits and pieces of kit that had not made it out of the door in time or which was of no interest.

So much time had passed since the tape had first malfunctioned that Testa forgot—or decided to forget—about the need to take backups. Backups are things you perform frequently and never get to use. Not taking a backup does not prevent a computer from not switching on in the morning nor does it make it malfunction. As a result, it is something one can easily side-line. Besides, not all problems, even those that are apparently critical, require one to seek a backup. For example, when Testa’s computer one morning coughed up a burnt plastic scented smoke and died out, Testa called in TechnoFriend—BuonoTech charged more—and by the time the technician was packing his kit to leave everything was back to normal. Don’t get me wrong, until the data became accessible again, Testa’s pulse was at an all-time high and his blood pressure was short of bursting a vein. He was distraught at the knowledge that he did not have a backup. He knew that without the computer and the information stored on it, his business was at a total loss. It had been years since he or his staff had updated the paper index system that allowed payments to be tracked, expired contracts to be revisited or to be moved to the closed cases section. Testa had implemented internal systems that relied entirely on the computer; his business stopped functioning whenever there was a power failure. Whenever there was a power failure everyone directed their efforts to cleaning and tidying up; if the computer would not be revived they would have all the time in the world to clean and tidy. Testa promised himself over and over again that the backup issue had to be dealt with.

But the moment the all clear signal was heard, life returned back to normal. Testa grumbled at the exuberant bill for the cost to replace a faulty power supply and clean in the fluffed up innards of the computer. As soon as the characteristic hum of the machine could be heard and the usual programs could be invoked, the backup promises reiterated over and over only a few minutes before began sinking into the kingdom of forgottenness. To be entirely accurate, the backup issue didn’t get forgotten, it simply never ever made it to the top of the list to get sanctioned and seen through. A few months after this event, the computer died out again. This time round the computer was declared dead and needed to be replaced. TechnoFriend offered to setup a new system with a tape unit and transfer the data from the old disk to the new computer. Newer versions of the old programs Testa had used would be installed and the programs Testa had written would be compiled on the newer machine. The new system would eliminate the need to file documents as it allowed for electronic signatures. Clients would sign a tablet and the signature would be held within a computer. The new system was faster and more robust although it still required a cool environment. Since Testa’s business had come to a complete standstill as a result of the failed computer, the miser was not able to squeeze as much as he would have liked.

After prices and timings were negotiated, the new system went into operation. It was a leap in technology. Everything ran considerably faster and newer versions of programs had newer functionality that made life simpler. Testa could now backup the data and the new backup system was setup so that it only required that, on a daily basis, someone remove the ejected tape from the night before and push in a tape for that day’s backup.

He did initially take a backup on a daily basis but the habit of not taking a backup seemed to have infected him. One particularly busy day (the business had moved up another notch) he forgot to push in the tape. The next morning there was a warning on the computer that informed him that a backup could not be taken. He acknowledged the warning and everything returned to a norm. The missed backup events appeared frequently and over a considerably short period of time it became a standard procedure that every morning one had to ok the backup warning so that it would go away. His employees would do it if Testa didn’t get to the keyboard first. One day when tinkering on the computer Testa had adjusted the backup software so that it no longer scheduled a nightly backup. Backups would be an on demand thing rather than a programed process. A few weeks after, one of Testa’s employees remarked that the error message that came up every morning had gone away and “now the computer was fixed.” Life was as it should be; profitable and very busy.

One Saturday night a water outlet valve of the air-condition got clogged. This resulted in water seeping out of the unit and trickling down the outside of a pipe that normally expelled condensed water into the street. The pipes ran directly over the computer system. This was one of the designed decisions Testa had insisted upon to keep costs down. Water leaked on the running computer system and onto the UPS. A short in the latter resulted in a small fire coupled with intense black smoke produced when plastic and electronics burn. The combination destroyed the computer, printer and the box of tapes that had infrequently been used to backup the system.
No one knows what this mishap cost Testa. A specialised company had managed to reconstruct portions of the data from the only readable backup tapes against a hefty payment. The tape contained data that was more than 6 months old. While on the outside Testa’s operation went on, he did downsize and his operation was never on the par to what it had originally been. Some might say that he had grown old, but an ex-employee claimed that he lost huge amounts of money when debtor data vanished in the computer disaster. As soon as news of the disaster spread amongst those who owed Testa money certain people began making claims that they had effected payments. Costly and lengthy legal action by Testa against presumed defaulters did not always produce the desired outcome.

After the ordeal, backups became as regular as rain and the media was retained offsite.

Although a second computer shop had just opened in town, Testa decided to visit the shop who had supplied the computer system originally. BuonoTech had expanded to become a retail chain and at the time was still the first name that popped into any one’s mind when they talked or thought about computers. Testa first visited BuonoTech. When he explained the symptoms and reported the error message, he was told that the problem was a hardware failure error. Getting a new set of tapes was not going to solve the problem. He was informed that his system was obsolete and that BuonoTech no longer stocked that model. They could get him tapes if he insisted but since the format was specific to that model they would not take the tapes back if he returned them. They offered him a new tape drive with tapes. The cost of this solution (tape drive unit, tape media and installation) was miles outside Testa’s ‘I’m willing to pay’ scale. Testa argued that if computers had fallen considerably in price, tape units should have followed suit. It made no difference to him that the new tape system was faster and could store more information. This was a rip off. He demanded to see Jack Buono.

Unfortunately Mr. Buono was packed with meetings and it was difficult to speak with him today. If Mr. Norberts could leave his contact details Mr. Buono would contact him as soon as possible. Mr. Norberts left the shop a very angry man. “Had it not been for me, these people would be as penniless as when they approached me to help them out.” he murmured to himself, “That’s the respect I get for helping these people move up society notches”. His number seems to have been misplaced by the person at the counter because Mr. Buono never returned his call.

The second shop, called TechnoFriend, was a small shop owned by a Johann Wang. Johann initially opened the shop for two reasons: he loved technology and he wanted extra income to reinvest into technology. At the time, Johann held a full time job as a night manager in a hotel. He started life as a person with no interest in computers. He had never seen or used a computer. His first formal training on computers had taken place at the hotel about a year before. His hotel had decided to computerise their operation and he was one of the selected few who had received training from BuonoTech. That was his first interaction with technology. He discovered that he was a natural with computers and could solve problems and figure his way out of technological knots with relative ease. Unlike almost all of his peers, he didn’t freeze if an unusual message popped up on the screen. Rather he would actively try to figure out a solution.

Unlike older and younger colleagues who had received the same initial training, he didn’t spend the first and last 15 minutes of every lesson complaining with the tutor that he is too busy or too old or too tired to learn computers. Neither did he bitch that computers were a waste of time and money and that since the introduction of computers mistakes where off the chart, guests were angry and on the whole, things were now worse than they were in the pre-computer days. Johann just absorbed what the tutor had to give.

Others soon discovered that they had a guru in their midst and would call upon him for a solution to their electronic stumbling blocks. Initially, when someone called BuonoTech’s support line at night the person taking the call would ask if Johann was around. If Johann was not working that evening, a lengthy diagnosis would have to be conducted followed by a painfully comprehensive step by step solution to the problem. On the other hand, if the technical support person was lucky enough to learn that Johann was on the premises both understanding what the problem really was as well as describing what should be done to sort it out would be over and done with in the shortest possible time. A few months after the system had been installed, night technical support calls during which Johann was working went down to zero. This was not because they no longer happened but because Johann, after a few more specialised training sessions at BuonoTech, could sort out the problems without escalating the matter.

Johann subscribed to a few computer magazines which he scrutinized from cover to cover and his first big gift to himself was a computer purchased at a reduced price from BuonoTech. This machine allowed Johann more freedom to experiment, tinker and learn and this, in turn, further increased his skill in technology. Less I forget, a few years after this story ends, the TechnoFriend chain consisting of 4 stores was bought out by the BuonoTech mega chain for an undisclosed sum topping 6 digits.

When Testa entered the shop he was greeted by Johann. Testa reiterated his problem and error message and made it clear that he was not interested in being ripped off. The owner was taken aback much less than expected because Testa’s reputation preceded him. After a bit of searching and phoning, Testa was given the same reply as the previous shop. All attempts to end the conversation and get the mister out of the door did not cause the latter to head for the exit.

“There’s nothing we can do”, “I’m sorry you’ll have to look elsewhere”, “Did you try BuonoTech?” and “Sorry I can’t help you” are just a few of the hint lines to end the exchange, but Testa would not leave the shop. Maybe it was Johann’s character, maybe it was the hospitality training he received from his other job, maybe a combination of both but the shop owner could not get himself to tell the mister to “get the hell out of here”. TechnoFriend had developed into a sort of computer club type-shop. This was directly as a result of Johann’s passion for technology. Gurus and geeks would hang around the shop getting the opportunity to play with what was on display, chat with each other, and argue the best technologies around. Some of the regulars put in as much time as Johann and ended up serving potential clients and helping confirmed customers.

At one point, Johann was joined by 2 others in an attempt to explain the benefits of newer backup systems but, yet again it was a waste of time. At the end, Johann had the brilliant idea of how to pass the buck, he fished out one of the many computer magazines he had running all over the place and looked up the classified ads. One ad claimed that the company would solve any computer problem guaranteed. The ad promised that if the company failed on its promise it would pay $100. It listed a PO Box one could write to and a phone number one could call. Johann photocopied the ad, gave a copy to Testa and told him that the circled company might be able to help him. It was probably the longest two hours Johann had spent with a single client in a transaction that did not result in a sale, but somehow he was content that the man had taken his custom elsewhere.

The next day, Testa phoned the company. The lady who answered the phone told him that no one was at the office. He was to leave his details and someone would phone him back upon his return. The promised phone call came at around 4pm. The caller who identified himself as Hopper reassured Testa that they would be able to help “as long as it’s a computer problem.” Testa gave details of the computer system, the tape drive, the symptom observed and the error message. Hopper promised to call the next day. The next day Testa received the call he was waiting for. Hopper did find a replacement unit but it was not worth it. He would like to propose to Testa a new computer system complete with the latest tape unit. He could offer it to Testa at a very special price of 30% off retail. Their company had also found a buyer for his old computer and if Testa agreed that would result in another 25%, 30% if Testa had retained all the disks and documentation that came with the machine. It was great that, in exchange for a few scraps of paper and a few disks, he would be getting an additional 5%. He would be getting a top of the line brand new system complete with tape drive at a staggering 60% off retail. Sure the cost of a few tapes, transport services of both the old as well as the new system, as well as the service charge to transfer the data from the old machine to the new one and to erase the old machine would add around 10% but even at 50% it was a huge bargain. Even though Testa was satisfied at such a phenomenal discount his natural inkling was to try to squeeze this lemon a little bit more. Hopper agreed that everything would be done at 55% discount although Testa would have to pay everything up front. Testa wanted to think about it.

Testa didn’t believe in paying overtime. He believed that overtime was there to make people realise that they have the potential to earn more. Besides he was afraid that once a person got a taste of extra income he might ask for a raise rather than be grateful for what he was given. He didn’t believe in part timers because he felt that part timers would have too much time on their hands to seek alternative employment. This made part timers less loyal to the firm. He didn’t believe in employing women because the female sex was, for all terms and purposes, not male. Women might want to get married and might have babies. According to Testa, women had to take care of their family and to shop and to clean the house and this would, in-turn, increase the likelihood that they would need to take all their vacation days and be much more inflexible to working additional hours for free. Besides employing a woman meant that sooner or later one had to invest in facilities necessary with womenfolk. According to Testa, women were of a greater disposition to want to better their environment and try to make their workplace more bearable and enjoyable to work in. They also had a higher cyclic probability of being sick and emotional and, God forbid, become emotionally involved with him. Women were definitely on the do not consider list.

The computer came at a time when the firm’s business had gone up a notch. His two employees were each putting in around 10 unpaid hours a week. As Testa saw it, 5 of the 10 hours came from their lunch break and he could squeeze that out of his dependents without too much complaining. The problem was the remaining 5 hours that had to be done either before their official starting time or by having them stay over after the business officially shut up. Testa also managed to convert most of his employee’s official vacation leave into work days. He did this by making his subordinates understand that there was work to be done and they had to be responsible towards the business which was ultimately their bread and butter. Therefore unless Testa decided that an errand was critical and could not be done outside the extended office hours, his clerks would be refused the request to take the day off. If one was adamant about needing the vacation leave, Testa would make the few days before the off day and one or two days after, a mental torment of humiliating accusations aimed at the person who only wanted some time off. Testa would grumble aloud against the person and would encourage the poor man’s colleague to join in. The co-worker always seemed tremendously eager to join in such discussions that would, more than usual, bash his mate. If an errand could only be done during office hours, the employee would be allowed to get the errand done and return as soon as possible to his desk afterwards. Testa had reached a stage in which he feared that asking for more unpaid time was too risky.

From his interaction with the Buonos, Testa had learnt that computers can be programmed to do certain tasks previously performed by humans. He was hoping that the computer system would be a cheaper alternative to employing a third employee. Testa also felt that juggling three people would be much more difficult and there was a greater risk that those in his employment would suddenly decide to chat amicably amongst themselves and compare notes.

Training was conducted by a junior trainer employed by BuonoTech. He had been employed a few days before and onsite training at Testa was probably his first duty. Although he was not that experienced he was both knowledgeable and eager to please his client (and his boss). The first thing that Testa did was to get the young tutor’s home phone number. After a session, Testa would revise all the work done, work through the documentation, read help files and experiment with the various programs. If Testa encountered what, at first seemed to be an insurmountable problem he would hack at it. If that failed he would call the tutor at home. Saturday, Sunday, evenings never prevented the determined miser from picking up the phone. If the inexperienced tutor did not have an immediate answer or was not at home, Testa would ask to be called back.

At the end of the training the firm had a small database that, within a few months, would hold a record for each transaction the firm held with third parties. Searching and organising information was considerably made more efficient. For example producing a list of people who had defaulted was no longer a task that took someone many hours once a month; thanks to the computer the list could be produced on a weekly base in a matter of minutes. Standard letters would be produced automatically rather than be typed in, one at a time. The computer system brought a reshuffle in the way the firm operated. The clerks would create and update records which Testa would meticulously verify. They would print the letters and do the chasing passing the “black spot” cases for Testa to handle personally. A few months later, additional business systems were computerised. Testa did all the programming work himself.

It is amazing how a person such as our little character could have taken to computers. May be it was because the machine had no soul, no feelings and no emotions? May be it was because it could be made to work, and work and work without the need for silly humanistic traits such as having a cup of tea or needing to go to the bathroom? May be because the computer system had cost Testa almost nothing and was proving to be, overall cheaper than his two employees? May be it was a combination of the above? Testa understood that unless he learned more about the subject he would be at a disadvantage. He had two options, utilise the services of a trainer or teach himself. Engaging a trainer had proved to be a success but unlike the first time, now he would have to pay for the effort. After a few enquiries he concluded that this would prove too expensive. The only way to teach himself was to acquire books on the subject. At the time, the local library did not carry a good selection of computer books. Although more and more people had heard about computers, they were still not sufficiently mainstream to merit their own section. Besides the few titles on the subject were generic and directed towards an introduction to the subject. He was past the introduction stage. This meant that Testa had to purchase the knowledge he sought. After a little bit of research (misers tend to be so good in research) he selected two books. He worked through every page and tried every example. The proof-reader intensity with which he skimmed through the book resulted in his discovering considerable errors in both texts. Since he did not encounter any problems with the first book, he placed the errata page he had created in the book before placing it on a shelve with other literature he owned. With the second book he encountered a few stumbling blocks. He decided that the best way to go about the problem was to write to the author pointing out the errors in the book and then forwarding his problem. It worked.

As the couple made their way into the room Jack begged his wife to calm down as “it was soon going to be over”. The lawyer handed Testa’s paper to Jack and the latter, without really looking at the sheet, agreed to supply the hardware, software and services listed. The lawyer scribbled an addendum to the contract and read it to the interested parties. After confirming that there were no objections, he made 3 copies of the contract for all interested parties to sign. After Testa had scrutinized the cheque and placed it securely in his pocket, he took another pen from the centre of the table, and placed his name on every document that now constituted the end of his business association with the Buono’s. When the last scrap of paper was signed by all parties, Testa got up, placed the pen and his copy of the contract in the inside pocket of his jacket and headed towards the door of the office and eventually towards the exit of the shop.

In the end, this transaction cost the Buono’s much more than they had originally planned but the pain in their pocket was more than counterbalanced by the thought that they had gotten rid of Testa.
A few weeks later Testa received a call from BuonoTech. The caller wanted to enquire when it would be possible to perform a site inspection. Since this was a high end system, staff at BuonoTech would have to inspect the site beforehand to discuss where the computer and terminals would be placed and from there determine any preliminary work that was necessary. After this stage was complete, they would install the computer system together with the acquired software. The appointment was confirmed. On the day and at the agreed time, a couple of guys knocked on Testa’s door. After asking Testa where he would like to house his system they ran through a standard checklist of what had to be prepared beforehand. Electrical points, circuit breakers, air conditioning, floor and desk space and wiring to other peripherals were some of the points listed on the checklist. These had to be ready and operational before the computer could be brought in. What Testa had failed to realise was that these works were not included with the supply of the computer and had to be paid for separately. By only inspecting invoices he had never realised that such critical services were an integral and critical part of every computer installation. The computer brochure had mentioned operating temperatures but he had not really paid any attention to them. When he enquired with one of the technicians why such services were not listed on invoices, Testa was told that, BuonoTech did not perform such functions directly but sub-contracted the works to a company called J & L Maintenance and clients dealt directly with the company. J & L Maintenance was owned by the Buono’s.

When the quote from J & L Maintenance arrived Testa reeled back at the estimate. He phoned BuonoTech and categorically refused to pay so much for such mundane work that anyone could perform. He could get the same work done for a third of the price; probably even less. The person taking Testa’s call informed the miser that J & L staff were specifically trained to perform these installations and that they periodically took exams to retain their license. As a result they followed certain operational procedures and used supplies that were of the best quality. Testa didn’t shift from his initial position. At the end, the manager of the person who originally took the call informed Testa that they had no problem if a third party contractor did the works as long as Testa signed a disclaimer.

After rummaging through his lists, Testa called in a contractor to whom he had lent money. The contractor was a solo operation that specialised in electrical works but did almost any work that came his way. His brother-in-law would help if a job required more than one pair of hands. Planning was not his forte but what he lacked on this front he made up with waves of optimism. Nothing was ever a problem and when something indicated that it wanted to become a nuisance he would patch it up, sometimes literally. But he was cheap. Although the contractor had never designed a computer room before, he didn’t see that being much of an issue. Testa’s instructions to the contractor were simple, keep costs down; and if cutting corners meant that the over cost would be lower than that was ok. The price quoted by the contractor was almost as cheap as Testa had expected.

There were a few mistakes in the design of the computer room and one necessitated that part of the job be redone. The completion of the room was considerably delayed because, on a number of occasions, the contractor would disappear for days on end. But eventually the computer room was ready and a date when the computer would be delivered was agreed. When this day dawned, everything went smoothly and within a few hours the computer was humming quietly in its cool corner. The agreed software was installed and tested to be working without a glitch. The installer demonstrated to Testa how to power on the machine and how to safely switch it off again. To questions about how to use the installed software and operating system the technician explained that in a few days someone from BuonoTech’s training department would be contacting him regarding the on-site training.

Testa employed two people. They were necessary to help manage his activities. Testa had in his employ people who seemed to have given up on life. Mind you, they weren’t suicidal or anything of the sort; they simply had very little expectations of bettering themselves and seemed to have one purpose in life; that of cycling through the sleep-work-eat-work-watch TV routine day in and day out with some slight variation on the weekends and on public holidays. On the few occasions during which Testa discussed employee affairs with them, he made sure they understood that with their lack of education, they would not find any other job. It was their business to ensure that the firm prospered because when it stopped everyone would suffer. Even though their senses seemed to tell their brains that the business was reaping in ever increasing profits, what came out of Testa’s mouth painted an opposite picture. These two employees had been working for Testa since they had left school at the legal minimum age. The first employee had been working for Testa for the past 10 years, while the second employee joined about 6 years after. Testa made sure that there never was any cohesion between his two dependents; he convinced the older employee to be on his guard lest the junior member prove to be better than he was and convinced the junior member to work hard because if anyone had to go it would be the last-in first-out basis unless he proved he was the better man. While on the surface both employees seemed to get along, both would spy and tell on the other whenever there was the opportunity to damage their colleague.

Although Testa was a miserable miser, he was no ignorant miserable miser. He was extraordinarily brilliant and intelligent. Yet he focused his intelligence exclusively on those actions that made him better off. You wouldn’t trick him in a transaction and if bettering himself meant mastering new techniques, understanding new legislation and becoming proficient in the use of a gadget he would surely overcome all obstacles that might have hampered his being able to squeeze every bit out of the knowledge he had amassed. All that he amassed was never used for the betterment and improvement of others; in fact many of those who had dealings with him would tell you that his policy was that of gain at the unscrupulous benefit of others. Generally speaking, transactions with Testa were never of the happy sort. On those rare occasions in which a transaction’s outcome seemed to be one in which the other party would walk away with a smile on his face, Testa would make sure that the other side would pay extra for that grin.

Our 5 foot 5 inch character’s first encounter with computers dated back many years. He had received a request to loan money to a young entrepreneur who wanted to setup a computer / training shop. It would have been the first one in the region. The shop would be selling the entire spectrum of equipment ranging from small home computers that would plug into the TV set as a monitor and would use a tape cassette recorder for the storage of programs and data all the way to high end systems that would consist of a central CPU complete with 5GB hard disk, 8inch floppy disks and a massive tape drive together with 4 to 8 dumb terminals that would be wired together using propriety cabling. The person behind the venture was a technical geek who seemed to know computers inside out. His wife was a teacher in full time employment who also dabbled comfortably in computers. She would be managing the computer school. The young couple would use a centrally located family house for their venture; the street level floor would be used as a showroom while part of the first floor would be converted into a class room. If the business took off additional space was available for growth.

Testa was approached to finance the remaining startup costs. Refurbishing of the premises, purchasing stock and other knickknacks ran into the tens of thousands. The couple had gone to the banks for a loan but had been refused. Different banks gave different reasons that could be summarised as follows, “you are too young with no earning history and want to dabble in the unknown and potentially risky field of these new metal and plastic demons called computers.” In a nutshell the answer was no. Testa knew that anyone who came to him did so when all avenues had been thoroughly explored. He did not need to spend too much time explaining that, if he decided to accommodate the request, his rates where high maybe even bordering what some would consider usury but worded in such a way that they did not appear so.

With the young couple the conditions were as follows: the contract would show that the amount borrowed was actually 5% more than what was actually being requested. A rate of 10% interest would be payable on the inflated amount. Testa would get a 20% stake in the business. The loan was to the couple and not to the business. This ensured that if the business succeeded it would not be he who paid back his loan; on the other hand if the business failed the couple would be bound to the loan for all of their life. The loan document also dictated the wages the young couple would take home until the full amount was paid up. They took the loan.

The business was a huge success. In less than half the agreed time, the couple had paid off the loan, together with agreed interest in full and a hefty penalty for severing the loan conditions beforehand. The couple could have probably taken Testa to court for some of the terms demanded by the wise and wicked loan shark but since money was pouring in so effortlessly they didn’t bother. By the time the loan had been paid off, the business employed a staff of 7, had extended the second floor and the Buono’s were even thinking of opening a second outlet.

The couple, who answered to the name of Jack and Liz Buono, wanted to rid themselves of Testa before expanding the business further. They didn’t want to carry Mr Norberts on board any more. The man contributed absolutely nothing to the business except for the in-depth scrutiny of balance sheets, invoices, stocks, and services registers. The Buono’s spent countless hours justifying most expenses and all investments to further the business were synonymous to giving birth. In later years Liz would claim that given birth was actually less painful than having to deal with Testa! Jack and Liz wanted to get rid of Testa. They wanted to buy out the miser. They engaged a top notch legal firm to act on their behalf. They were hoping that a team of paid professional cold hearted gutter snipes would be able to eradicate them of the old and stringy cold hearted leech. The signing off date was agreed and upon Testa’s insistence the singing was to take place at the shop. After months of letters, meetings and periods of inactivity the terms of an agreement was reached and a date when the contract would be signed agreed.

The contract signing date arrived and all the interested parties sat round a table in what was to eventually become the company’s board room. As he entered, Testa took a pen advertising the shop from a pen holder in the middle of the table and used it to scribble a note or two during the official rereading of the agreement. At the end of the reading Testa stood up and declared that he had changed his mind and was no longer interested in giving away his 20% holding. To say that everyone’s jaw fell to the floor was an understatement. Liz, the normally unheard and unseen partner in the business completely lost it. “Why did you waste everyone’s time you old miserable slime bag?”, she screamed at the top of her voice. “Why waste our time and money on professional services to draw up this deed if you didn’t want to go through it?” With the exception of Testa, everyone (including Liz) was taken aback with the energy and aggressiveness that came out of this woman. “What gives me great comfort is that you are paying for these expenses as much as we are since the shop will be footing the bill. In six months’ time I’ll drive this business six feet under and you won’t be able to milk another cent from it”. She pushed her chair back and made straight for the door.

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Oldest written document ever found

Contingency backups are short term backups people take to protect against computer failure. These backups represent a snapshot of computer documents at a particular instance in time and should be updated as frequently as the implemented backup technology allows. These backups protect users against deleting a file by mistake or taking a working document one notch back rather than one forward. These backups protect against external mishaps such as hardware failure, malware attacks and such like events. Online backups are best suited for this type of backup. 

What I am calling an archive backup can also be termed a prosperity, point-in-time or indefinite backup. An archiving backup is the act of copying documents on a computer for the purpose of referring to them at some point in the future. Compared to contingency backups, when one takes this type of backup there is never the intent to overwrite the backup with a later copy. Certain online backup companies may offer archiving services as part of a standard package or provide the same for a fee. I have encountered situations in which forgotten contingency backups become potential archiving backups when these are discovered stashed in some remote corner of an organisation. 

You can think about archive backups as equivalent to the manuscripts created hundreds and thousands of years ago. From these texts we get a glimpse of the affairs of the era, the people who ruled and the news of the day. Those who take archive backups are not thinking of such a distant future but create these snapshots for one of two reasons: legal obligations or to retain a snapshot of the organisation just in case one needs to go back at that exact point in time. For example, archive backups may be taken prior to a major system upgrade. 

The frequency at which an organisation takes an archive backup can range from daily to once every blue moon depending on legal, computation, physical and financial considerations. A small SME may not afford the time, money and space necessary to make a daily archive backup and a simple “end of year” snapshot would do. 

Progress and change are archived data’s main nemeses. Yet the same progress and change are technology’s main driving forces. This contradiction makes it more difficult to successfully read archived data the longer the time period between when the archive was made and when it is accessed. 

Many organisations try to avoid having to delete files as much as possible. The let’s-keep-it-just-in-case syndrome is nowadays much easier to justify thanks to the dirt cheap price of hard disks. In many organisations all documents are stored on a central file server and with certain companies it is becoming standard practice to have the folder of a former employee moved as a subfolder under his boss’s directory when the person leaves the company. 

There are a few tips that, if followed, increase the chances of successfully accessing archived data at some point in the future: 

1. Export a copy of the files you want to archive to a format that is open. Companies come and go and with them they take their proprietary formats. Just because a company no longer exists does not mean that its file format algorithm is known. Even if the file format may have been deciphered partially or fully, it doesn’t mean that the licence holder of the file format would have granted others the right to reproduce it.
2. Export a copy of documents to a format that can be faithfully read by many programs. This compliments the point above since if a format can be faithfully reproduced by many programs it implies that the format is well documented. It does not mean that the format you are saving to today will be in common use in 25 years’ time but it does mean that the likely hood of finding a tool that deciphers it increases in relation to how popular the format was in the past.
3. No company will last forever / no software will last forever. Do not be misled by the fact that just because the manufacturer of your software is the biggest on the planet it will remain so many years into the future. The absolute majority of tech companies will eventually go bankrupt, be bought out, dwindle into obscurity or move out of certain areas of technology. And while they are on top these companies take decisions that effects the software they produce. For example, in Microsoft’s 25 years of selling Word, there have been 12 versions of the product with 5 distinct file formats. The latest version of the program does not natively read files produced by the first version and the currently available filters do not retain formatting well when importing very old formats.
4. Export to a format that is not compressed or encrypted. This allows you to extract the data if everything else fails.
5. Save documentation about the programs you use to edit the stuff you want to archive. Remember that after 25 years you will not have the vaguest recollection of what program you used to create the stuff with. Having the name of the program makes it easier to target your future searches more accurately. This should be in a plain text file format to ensure readability.
6. Save as much documentation as possible about the format itself. Just because today the internet is packed with information about the format does not mean that when your successors are researching archived data for the 100^th anniversary of the company, any information about the format the documents are written in would be easy to find.
7. Upgrade your documents to the latest version of a program. A newer version of a program normally works flawlessly with the version of the program it replaces. If the file format between program versions has changed, you should upgrade all your documents to use the file. With office productivity tools this normally necessitates that you open the document and “Save As” it to the new format. After having confirmed that everything is OK, you should delete the files having the old extension if the extension would have changed. If you have a large number of documents you may want to automate the process.
8. Store the archives in a secure place. Not only does this help preserve the media on which the archives are backed up, but it also safeguards against anyone reading them—recall the point above that suggested that such archives should not be encrypted.

This doesn’t mean that you should no longer delete files. Business operations take precedence and filling the working folders with useless documents is counterproductive.  Besides, an archive backup is intended to be a snapshot of an organisation and not an organisation modelled to accommodate the snapshot. In order to implement an archive backup system in your organisation does not necessarily mean that you will have to spend an enormous amount of money. 

Only time will tell whether in 500 years researches will be trying to decipher optical disks and backup tapes to understand how organisations in the Cambrian period of computing used their rudimentary machines to communicate, socialise and conduct business. Scholars would be debating how society of the time allowed so much of them to be published on social networks that even allowed indiscriminate photos of third parties to be uploaded without the necessary consent.

A word of caution – incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should save a copy in a safe place such as, to an external drive or USB device.

The backup is done using the export function within the Registry editor. Export the registry file as follows:

1. Open the Registry editor by typing regedit in the Search text box from the Start menu
2. On the file menu, click Export
   
3. In the File Name, enter a name for the backup registry file and destination location, choose a removeable media if available
4. In Save as type, select the file type Registration files (*.reg)
5. In Export Range, check the option All to save the entire registry
6. Click Save

Importing the registry file

1. Open Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Search text box from the Start menu
2. On the File menu, click Import
3. Find the file you want to import, click the file to select it, and then click Open

Note: In Windows Explorer, double-clicking a file with the .reg extension imports the file into the computer’s registry.
Last warning: A restored file overwrites an existing one and becomes the active registry of your configuration and hence, any modifications done after the backed up registry are lost!

In order to backup Sage Pastel Evolution one needs to backup the Microsoft SQL Server database as well as the appropriate registry entries. In this article I will not discuss how to backup Microsoft SQL Server Express or Standard edition—email me on chribonn@gmail.com if you are interested in a write-up on how to backup these products.

The Windows Registry

A word of warning about handling the registry: unlike many programs, the registry program does not have an undo or an undelete option and changes go into effect immediately. If you delete a file by mistake you can pull it out of limbo by visiting the Recycle Bin. If you screw up a document, pressing undo will take you back one action at a time until you reach the stage before the oops or, if necessary, you can abandon all changes done during that session simply by not saving the updated document. None of this exists in the registry so be cautious. 

How Sage Pastel Evolution uses the Windows registry

The Sage Pastel Evolution program is a thick client that makes use of windows registry to store customisations each user makes to the program. Module settings, what information is shown, how it is formatted and the order of columns are all examples of the type of information that one can find in the registry. This is the approach Sage used to give each user his own personalised environment. If a single Windows login is used by multiple sage users, each user can have his own tweaks.

Storing the settings of each user within a computer’s registry rather than as a record within the Microsoft SQL database is a debatable design decision especially since database technology constitutes a core component of this product. My reasoning is that if a user wants column A to come before column B and column C being hidden, he would want that on each and every computer he uses. A person who uses more than one computer must set the customisations on each computer. When a new account is created, there is no option to copy settings from an existing user to the new one. And, if anyone of the client computers fails, the settings have to be reprogrammed. This article will explain how to tackle each one of these scenarios.

Backing up the Registry

Sage keeps all program settings in the registry hive HKCU\Software\Softline. Backing up this registry key ensures that all customisations are available if the computer fails.

1. Run the program regedit either from the command prompt, by clicking on the Run option found in the Start Menu (this option is not visible by default in Windows 7) or by typing in the program name in the Search Program Files and options box that is situated at the bottom on the Menu that comes up when you click the Start Menu button (this is not available in Windows XP).
2. Navigate to the HKCU\Software\Softline hive. Select the option File -> Export…from regedit (1).
3. A dialog box comes up. Select the folder and specify the file name you want to call this registry entry (2). As shown in the diagram above, the selected radio button of the group Export rangeshould refer to the Softline registry branch (3).
4. Backup this file and update it whenever settings change.

You have to repeat the process above for each Sage Pastel Evolution user who logs into the computer.

Restoring the registry

You may need to restore the registry file you backed up either because a computer failed and had to be reinitialised or to transfer settings from one computer to another.

Because this program retains information in the HKCU part of the registry, the user must be logged into the computer before his registry settings are imported.

After the user has logged in, execute the program regedit.exe. This time round choose the option Import… from the File menu (1). Navigate to the folder where you had previously placed your backup and open the file (2). A final dialog box will confirm that the registry was updated with the contents of that file.

Changing Agents

This section is highly technical and should only be performed by people who understand and are comfortable tweaking the Windows registry. An error could, at the very least, end up making this program stop functioning.

Each Sage Pastel Evolution user is known as an agent. A user who logs into this program using the user name Chris would have an entry in the registry starting at HKCU\Software\Softline\Evolution\Agents\Chris. Assume that you would like to copy Chris’s agent setting to those belonging to Mary so that Mary does not have to make the changes already done by Chris. Use the following steps:

1. Ask Chris to log into his computer and using regedit export the registry hive HKCU\Software\Softline\Evolution\Agents\Chris.
2. Open the exported registry file within a text editor such as notepad and change all instances of [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Softline\Evolution\Agents\Chris to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Softline\Evolution\Agents\Mary. Save the modified registry file.
3. Ask Mary to log into Windows with her credentials and install the program on her PC if it is not already functional.
4. Test that she can log into the program.
5. Import the modified registry file created in point (2) into Mary’s Sage.

Conclusion

If you have any comments or observations or would like to request or share information on how to backup a particular program, send me an email on chribonn@gmail.com.

Backing up the data file

The folk who decided on the default location of the Outlook data file chose a location that is difficult to figure out.  Also when installing Outlook (or when running it for the first time) there is no way to specify a different folder.

Changing the default location

The first thing I am going to demonstrate in this tutorial is how to move your existing Outlook files to a more humane location under the Windows 7 Documents (or Windows XP My Documents) folders.

Open Outlook which I am assuming you are already running.

1. Right click on the Personal Folders entry (1) and choose the option Properties for ‘Personal Folders’ from the short cut menu that comes up. If your folder has a different name, Personal Folders will be called differently.
2. A dialog box titled Outlook Today – (Personal Folders) Properties comes up. Click on the Advanced… button (2).
3. This brings up yet another dialog box titled Personal Folders. The Filename: entry (3) depicts the location of where your Outlook data file currently resides.
4. Copy the directory location from the Filename: entry and paste it into a Windows Explorer window.
5. Click OK on all the dialog boxes you have just opened and shut down Outlook.
6. Move the folder that contains the Outlook files to a more appropriate location. I would suggest under %USERPROFILE%\Documents if you’re using Windows 7 and %USERPROFILE%\My Documents if you’re still happily using Windows XP.

Click on the Microsoft Outlook 2007 icon to run the program. Since you have moved the original location of the data file, you will get a message box telling you that Outlook can no longer find the pst file in its original location (1).

Clicking OK on the dialog box brings up a file selection screen that allows you to specify the new location where you had shifted your Outlook data files. Move to the new location, click on the pst file and hit the Open Button (2).

Another message box comes up to tell you that Outlook must be restarted. OK that.

The second time onwards Microsoft Outlook 2007 will automatically find your files no questions asked. And the directory where all your important emails reside is now in an easy to find location in your Documents folder together with all your other important stuff.

Backing up the registry

Microsoft Outlook retains your email account settings within the registry. This means that when the time comes to reinstall your computer, unless you have saved your registry Outlook settings you will have to re-enter all the email accounts you process using Outlook 2007. If you happen to have a single Gmail account this might not be that much of a problem (provided you still remember how to do it) but if, like me, you have almost a dozen email accounts flowing into your Outlook remembering each mailbox’s parameters can be time consuming.

A word of warning about handling the registry: unlike many programs, the registry program does not have an undo or an undelete option and changes go into effect immediately. If you delete a file by mistake you can pull it out of limbo by visiting the Recycle Bin. If you screw up a document, pressing undo will take you back one action at a time until you reach the stage before the oops or, if necessary, you can abandon all changes done during that session simply by not saving the updated document. None of this exists in the registry so be cautious.

In Windows 7, type regedit in the Search Programs and Files to run the registry program. With Windows XP, type the same command in the Run… box. Both options can be accessed from the Start Menu. Windows 7 will bring up a dialog box asking you to confirm your action. You should say yes in order to run the program.

Navigate to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles (1). Each profile you have defined will appear under this key. In my case there is one profile called Outlook.

Right click on Outlook and choose the option Export from the menu that comes up. I suggest that you place the registry snippet you are saving in the same location as the Outlook data files. This ensures that all your Microsoft Outlook related data is in one easy-to-backup folder.

End of part 1 – Conclusion

By backing up the folder to an online backup service you can rest assured that whenever something happens to your computer all your emails and the mailbox settings can be retrieved with ease. If you add a new email account or remove one you no longer use, you should export the registry settings again.

When backing up your Outlook data files, Outlook should be shut down.

Although I have not mentioned Windows Vista, the procedure for Windows 7 is almost identical to that of Windows Vista.

Next time I will describe how to use the information you have saved to restore your Microsoft Outlook 2007 in case of corruption. I’ll also throw in how you can use this backed up data when upgrading your computer from Windows XP to Windows 7.

We all appreciate how important emails are to us. Back them up regularly.

External hard drives: An external hard drive can easily be attached to your computer using a USB port. External hard drives can be stored in a location that’s separate from your computer, which can help protect your backup. You need to connect it with your computer every time a data backup is done and is usually slower than internal hard drives.

Writeable CDs or DVDs: CDs and DVDs are relatively inexpensive and are easy to find in stores. Practically, all recent computers have CD/DVD burners installed. You can store the CDs or DVDs in a location that’s separate from your computer. Depending on how much data you have, it might take several CDs or DVDs to hold your backup while CDs or DVDs can become corrupted over time.

USB flash drives: USB flash drives are relatively inexpensive and can hold a fair amount of data. You can store a flash drive in a location that’s separate from your computer. It could fill up quickly as typical sizes are still small.

Network locations: If you have two or more computers connected together, a shared folder or drive on one computer can be a convenient place to save your backup. Ideally, the network share is protected with a username and a password while backup time depend on the network devices’ transfer speeds.

For the most flexibility, my recommendation is to save your backup to an external hard drive :)

Health, good fortune and prosperity are the common form of wishes we bestow upon one another. And since I do not want to break with tradition I would like to bestow them onto you. Yet with all of these there is little we can do to determine the outcome. What destiny has in stock for each and every one of us will be revealed at the appropriate time. Some of the wishes can be even considered to be dangerous. For example I would never suggest to a friend to take on gambling so as to increase her prospects of getting some good fortune.

Yet I can safely wish you a year without any loss of data. The simple trick is to backup your data regularly, ideally in a manner that is automated and does not necessitate you having to remember to do it. If the process is automated there is a great chance that you will succeed in not losing any critical information if your computer takes all the data with it when it dies out.

Punched cards also known as IBM or Hollerith cards were the medium used for input and output. Different codes would be represented by the presence and absence of holes in predefined positions. Programmers would have their program punched into a stack of cards. They would submit the program deck, followed by cards that held the data on which the program worked. The operator would load these cards into the card reader (together with other jobs). The operator would use a special language called the JCL (Job Control Language) to make the computer read the program into the computer’s memory and execute thereafter. The JCL instructions themselves would be entered on punched cards. Data used by the program would be loaded in a similar manner. Output from the program would be to paper if it needed to be human readable or to new punched cards if the output would have to be processed again. Today’s equivalent to punched cards is files stored on the hard disk.

A punched card was a stiff piece of paper. They came in a variety of colours allowing colour coding of different sections of a deck such as JCL, programs and data.  Punched cards did not originate with the computer industry; they were first used in the 19th century for controlling textile looms and for operating fairground organs and related instruments.

The punched card cannot be thought of a backup in the modern sense of the word. Important programs and data cards could be duplicated just in case anything happened to the working set.  The punched cards would be stored offsite and being made of stiff material proved to be quite durable.

We’ve come a long way in the world of backups, the technologies may have changed but the purpose and scope have remained fixed.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Important Note - a drive needs to have system protection enabled in order to be included in a restore point and in order to have the previous copies of files and folders functionality!

You launch the System Protection box from the control panel: (Click Start\Control Panel)

1. In the Control Panel Click System and Security
2. In the System and Security window click System
3. In the System window click System Protection – now you have the System Properties window open with the System Protection tab selected

  4.   Select the drive you want to set and click Configure
  5.   After you make the required settings click OK

Required settings:

Restore system settings and previous versions of files

This is the default setting for the system drive or volume. Do not change this default setting, since restore points here hold system information and user files that are present in the user profile. Disk Space Usage depends on how much space is used for user files. If your files reside in this drive or volume then 20% to 40% should be ok. If the drive is set to hold just system files then 10% should be enough.

Only restore previous versions of files

You normally use this option on drives or volumes that contain user files only such as, a second disk drive for data storage. A value of 40% of Disk space usage would give you a large number of previous versions of your files.

Turn off system protection

This would be the setting for external backup drives or USB disks that hold backup file sets. The main problem with USB drives is that they are normally formatted using the FAT file system. Remember that System Protection works only with NTFS formatted drives!

Last but crucial point is that old previous versions of files that were overwritten due to a low Disk Space Usage setting will not become available by increasing the Disk Space Usage percentage! Then, you need to revert to a restore process from a backup set!

Over the past few months I have been trying to educate myself on the topic of backups. So during one or two breaks I would try to get answers to the following questions:

1.  Have you ever lost data on your computer?
2. Do you know what a backup is?
3. Do you regularly take a backup?
4. What would be your ideal backup solution?

Have you ever lost data on your computer?

Many people reply yes to this answer. In a number of cases, the loss is related to a genuine hard disk failure. On the other hand I have been told stories of computers being wiped clean without taking a backup first simply because the computer would not boot Windows or to remove an insidious Malware infection. In many such cases, I learnt that the computer owner is a self-made computer technician who has just graduated the 101-Format-and-Install-Windows-from-scratch course—and knows nothing else. Others would have taken their computer to their son’s friend or to some amateurish setup that seem able to eradicate the problem only if they format the computer. Sadly no one ever bothered to make a copy of the My Documents folders on the problem computer beforehand!

The stuff lost normally always includes digital photos. On those computers in which at least one of the users is in school, such a loss is associated with lost assignments (sometimes very critical). People also mention emails as being something they severely miss after a loss. Although not as important as the other items I have mentioned, a lot of people find that re-entering ISP settings, setting up printers and other devices, remembering web site addresses and passwords and the process of making a computer function as it did before the event is a hassle.

Do you know what a backup is?

Everybody knows that a backup is a process in which important files are copied to a separate medium just in case the computer breaks down or one deletes a document by mistake. The majority of people know that they can backup their important files to CDs, DVDs or USB sticks. Few people know whether their operating system comes bundled with a backup program and fewer people can mention by name a company that sells a backup solution or at least the name of the backup program itself.

Do you regularly take a backup?

Less than five percent of the people I have spoken to claim that they regularly take a backup. My definition of regular for the home user would be at least once a week in those quite periods, at least daily during that time when the user is using the computer for a critical task. I would consider critical any of the following situations: a thesis or project that could pass or fail a person or that could increase the person’s overall score; a work related project that may be mentioned in a performance review; a task assigned by the voluntary group the person is associated with that is important for the group; any home related part time work that is done on the computer; any photo or sound clip of a person or persons covering a past event; any document that is currently being updated and into which one has put months and years to create and which, if lost, would probably never be recreated. I need to point out that this short list sums up many of the stories of data loss I was told by my students. Many of those who have performed a backup use the Windows Explorer program to drag files from their original location to the CD or DVD icon or to the USB drive. Issues related to media spanning or a single file being larger than the media on which it is to be backed up constitute an issue for many. In the case of the latter scenario many people simply do not back up the file. I once had a student who told me that she would back up her files onto a USB stick but would erase the USB drive every time she needed the gadget for something else—not the best backup strategy around!

The remaining ninety five percent of people do not take regular backups or have never done so. The group that has never taken at least one backup tends to be those who have never suffered a data loss. They tend to be relative newbies to the world of computers. The impression I get from speaking to people who have taken at least one backup is that backups are like New Year resolutions; a lot of drive and determination at the beginning that fizzles out over time. Taking a backup tends to be bound either to a recent data loss or to the energy and drive that normally accompany the beginning of an important project that demands the use of a computer.

What would be your ideal backup solution?

From the hundreds of people I have spoken to on this subject I have come up with the following definition of what an ideal backup should be.

“A Backup should be a solution that is easy to setup. When I open the program it gives me a Windows Explorer-type list that allows me to choose the directories I want to backup. The backup should be over the internet so that I do not have to fiddle DVDs and CDs. The backup solution should work in the background monitoring my selected directories and should automatically backup changed files without any involvement on my part although it should have an icon on the desktop which when clicked will run the backup manually. The backup should keep files I delete for at least 7 days just in case I deleted a file by mistake.

If something happens to my computer and I lose everything, I want to be able to install the program again and after typing in my username and password, the program automatically downloads saved backup setting so that I do not have to recreate them. I want to have a Restore icon on my desktop that, when clicked, will allow me to restore individual files, complete directories or deleted files. The interface should be similar to Windows Explorer.”

System Image Backup

However, in Windows 7 you can use the Wbadmin command-line utility to perform scheduled clones (snapshots) of your PC!  The normal backup rules need to be observed before using this utility and these are:

• The destination location should be a second internal hard drive, an external hard drive, a network shared drive or multiple DVDs – not recommended/feasible
• The destination drive should be formatted with NTFS file system – windows 7 default
• Adequate space is available on the destination drive – equal to the source data size (Actually, even less than that!)
• The utility needs administrative privilegese

Now, let’s see how easy it is to create an automated task that initiates a System Image backup of the c: drive and saves it to another drive :) Assuming your system volume or drive is the c: and your destination drive is f: (where f: can be a second hard drive or a network share). Save the following text in a file with an extension .bat Ex: SystemSnapshot.bat

wbadmin start backup -backuptarget:e: -include:c: -allCritical -quiet

This wbadmin utility will start an image backup of your c: drive and system/boot volumes if not specified while it saves it to the f: drive.

As with any script, you can then create a schedule job using SCHTASKS ( Windows Task Scheduler command) as follows:

SCHTASKS /Create /SC weekly /D sun /TN “Imagebkup” /TR c:\scripts\SystemSnapshot.bat /ST 22:00 /IT

where the task scheduler will run the Image backup script every Sunday on weekly basis at 22:00 hours. Assuming the user is logged on and have administrative rights! However, I do recommend to use the native Windows 7 Task Scheduler Utility to set a schedule as this utility is much improved in this new OS :) Check for errors if any in the history tab of your scheduled task. An error return code of O means ok!

A folder structure is created on the destination drive together with a number of files. The most important file is the .vhd one where in Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions, you can restore all your data and applications. How to mount this image and restore your computer will be explained in a future article :)

Click Back up files button

Alternatively, you can create a complete backup of your entire computer by clicking the Back up computer button and follow the simple wizard :)

 Traditionally, corporations’ senior management main concerns were that the business data must be safely backed up, verified and some off-site policy was in place, given that the costs were affordable! IT staff main concerns were that ALL data is backed up and backup jobs ended with a success status. Some advanced features such as, retention and recovery points were added to the backup policies. The result of such concept without investigating the data being backed up required that enough storage media is available to handle the entire data size no matter how long the backup process would take.

 Is this concept valid to-day? Do we actually need all the data? Does our data change on a daily basis? Is the backup administrator knowledgeable about the importance of the data being backed up? Is it feasible to use storage space for data that will never be retrieved back?

 The way forward with data backups is the involvement of all stakeholders of the respective data. Data belongs to its rightful owner. A regular exercise should be in place where an IT staff or manager invites every Data Owner (the actual user/employee owning a particular data) to review what should be backed up, for how long the backed up data is required and the acceptable loss of data time-frames in cases of system failures. For example, take an employee that downloads various articles, research material and other documents on a daily basis to create a report or a business case, etc. Apart, from the legal issues a sound conversation with this employee would conclude that whatever report he/she is creating will be the only file needed to be backed up.

 Data owners are responsible for their own data while backup administrators are responsible for the service they are rendering to them. A good backup policy is one that makes the employees aware that they own the data and they should verify that their data is safely and securely stored. Such a policy would clearly explain that users should inform the IT/backup administrators with their backup requirements. On the other hand, a sound policy would include that the IT/backup administrators check with Data owners on regular basis depending on the business type to verify that those requirements are still valid.

 Another valid point would be to publish a document within the company such as, on a secure intranet with brief details about the data being backed up, retention times and other options that do not disclose any sensitive data.

 Briefly, Data owners are the only people to decide which data within their environment is to be backed up, for how long it should be kept and the acceptable loss of data time-frames. Also, they should initiate and terminate a backup request by informing the backup administrator while the backup administrator should review the Data owner requirements on regular basis.