The proliferation of PC computer systems in our society has become prevalent in all aspects of daily life. Over 90% of all North American businesses have at least one PC currently in use on the premises (the average number being 3.5), and more than half of all households own at least one PC, up from one third a few years ago. There are currently in excess of 250 million PCs in use in North America, 80% of those are used for business-related applications.

Business and personal users have largely adapted to the daily use of PCs, and have become increasingly dependent on the data stored in them. For example, the use of more direct marketing methods has vastly increased the value of customer databases in business locations. Without them, many organizations would grind to a halt. Billing systems, accounting data, and most other daily business activity rely heavily on personal computers.

Unfortunately, data loss is a common occurrence. At least 94% of all surveyed PC users have experienced at least one significant data loss, on average once a year. More often than not the data loss is due to human error. A recent study has indicated that for every megabyte of data lost, the average cost to restore the data, in terms of direct employee time and organizational overhead, is in excess of $1000 dollars.

Furthermore, computer hardware theft, including any backup hardware in place, is on the rise as black market demand for computer equipment has become astronomical according to police reports. Fire, employee tampering, natural disasters, and a host of other scenarios are also causes of data loss, although direct hardware failure and user errors remain the most common causes.

Given the current dependency on PC-based computer data, as well as the increasing real value of the same to all in society, it is surprising that more attention has not been paid to the adequate protection of this data. Surveys indicate that 40% of business users do not do backups at all, 30% backup only to floppy disc, which is increasingly unwieldy given the growing size of hard drives, and only 30% have any sort of tape backup in place, which is seldom used with any regularity.

The new solution to data backup problems is Mistral!  Some of the obvious benefits: Mistral will backup and restore your system over the Internet-

* Automatically- on a scheduled basis with no personnel intervention required
* Securely- uses Blowfish encryption - only you can open with your password KEY 
* Conveniently-  real time, intuitive interface for backup and restore
* Remotely- encrypted data is held at a secure facility with 4X redundancy
   and can be accessed from another PC, anywhere with Mistral and an appropriate KEY

* Economically- less expensive than other methods: Zip, floppy, tape or drive     

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First of all, conventional backups typically require “conscious action” in that the person doing the backup must remember to perform the activity on a regular basis, which is seldom the case in practice. Mistral runs automatically, typically during nighttime hours. The PC user never has to worry about doing manual backups again, or worry about the dire consequences of data loss.

Secondly, conventional backup methods do not protect against such potential occurrences as computer theft, fire, employee tampering, and even natural disasters, unless the backed up data is manually transported offsite for storage on a regular basis.  Mistral automatically ensures safe, offsite storage of all the data on the user’s PC system.

In Terms of those conventional methods, Diskettes represent the most vulnerable medium for backup.  They are easily damaged and require an enormous amount of time and attention, particularly if backing up significant amounts of data.  In addition, someone has to label each diskette and take them offsite to a secure place.  Recovering data from diskettes can be equally frustrating because of the time it takes to find which diskette contains the missing file and to restore it to the appropriate directory.  Just in terms of labor alone this represents one of the more costly, and least reliable backup methods.

Many companies have invested in tape drives to perform their backups.  These are considerably more reliable than diskettes, yet not without their own shortcomings.  This backup method generally involves some initial investment in hardware and/or software.  In addition, there is the on-going cost of personnel to initiate, change, and handle tapes, which must then be transported to a secure offsite location.  Also, tapes and tape drives do wear out and must be replaced.  Finally, finding files and restoring data from these tapes can be quite difficult and time consuming.  

Beyond these simple labor costs, sophisticated backup programs, drives and most especially, backup media are not inexpensive.  Moreover, all such mechanical devices are prone to failure, both in terms of malfunctioning and just plain wearing out.  When you factor in these additional costs, the Mistral system looks economical indeed.

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Research shows that 94% of computer users have experienced a significant loss of data, on average once per year, and that the majority of losses are caused by equipment failure or operator error. Given that over 90% of business organizations, and more than 50% of households in North America currently have at least one PC in use on the premises, it's safe to say that data loss is a significant and costly problem.

This cost can be devastating to an organization if complete or even partial data loss is experienced, in that the lost data, if not adequately backed up, must be manually restored. This does not include the potential loss of business and revenue streams experienced while the organization’s computer systems are effectively down. In fact, in 1995, the data “disaster recover” market size in North America exceeded $1 billion dollars a year for the first time.

Integration With Existing System

No, Mistral does not affect normal tape backups. Mistral operates independently of any tape backup system which may be in place on an independent end-user PC, or on a LAN network. If your existing tape system uses the archive bit to identify files for an incremental backup, Mistral can be adjusted to compensate. 

Will Mistral backup open files on my system?

Every PC end-user has the ability to customize the Mistral client software. Perhaps the first customization issue involves setting the days and times for backup.  While this is quite easy to do with Mistral, it is only one of many adjustments available.  Others include precisely which files are backed up, which communications routes Mistral uses, how and when Mistral's screens are displayed, and how restored files are handled, just to mention a few.   In terms of timing, while most organizations select times outside business hours, for instance between the hours of 6:00pm and 8:00am, many home-based PC users will select daytime hours for backup, while they are away at work. Some may even prefer to select their lunch hours as their backup time. The process is entirely end-user defined. It is also worth noting that online restoration of data can take place on demand, at any time of day or night.

No!  If your hard drive crashes and can't be revived, CompuSure can supply you with a CD-ROM disc of your system's hard drive, provided, of course, you have backed up your entire system.  Conditions permitting, this CD-ROM can be delivered  in one business day for  restoration by the end-user.  Alternatively, if the user isn't comfortable with this process or doesn't have a CD-ROM drive, CompuSure can provide the mastered CD-ROM with a portable CD-ROM unit and reinstall it. This service is offered at a modest service charge.

Yes, depending on the operating system in place, the service can be offered to network users very cost effectively, with the added protection and benefits of safe, offsite storage.  Mistral can be configured to backup an entire LAN or just portions of it.  In fact, one of Mistral's most interesting features is its ability to service notebook computers used in the field.  This program can be used to backup and if necessary restore (read access) files on the Mistral IT server from another PC, anywhere on the planet, provided the remote PC can reach the internet and has the Mistral client installed with a valid KEY. 

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Miscellaneous Program Use

No problem. The Mistral Data Backup Service has been designed with nearly every possible contingency in mind. If the modem connection is broken, for any reason, the end-user PC software will call back at intervals until a re-connection is established with the central server. The backup process will re-establish from the point at which it left off, not start the process all over. 

Mistral IT typically stores data from each end-user system for a period of 30 backup cycles.  That is to say there are 30 individual "data sets" stored on the Mistral IT server at any given time.  Translating this number into a time period depends on the end users backup pattern.  If they back up every day, this represents 30 days of usage.  If, on the other hand, they backup only on business days, this translates to a full 6 weeks.  This is the default setting, and this number can be raised.  However, extending it increases the amount of data held on the server and would naturally cost more.  Until a file is deleted from the end-user’s system, it will be continuously recreated in the new data set as data is backed up each day.  When the end-user inadvertently deletes, corrupts, or modifies a file on his or her workstation, an original version will still exist in a previous data sets for the 30 cycle time period.  The original version can be conveniently recovered within that time period using the internet.

What kind of monitoring and audit trail does Mistral Data Backup Service provide?

What about viruses?

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First, Mistral can be used to backup and, if necessary, restore (read access) files on the Mistral IT server from another PC, anywhere on the planet, provided you can reach the internet, and have the Mistral client on that system with a valid password KEY.  This feature allows you to obtain the files normally kept on your primary backup site from home or at remote locations when you're on the road.

Second, assuming a daily backup is performed, the final daily revision of every changed file is saved for each daily backup cycle.  (See FAQ on How long Mistral keeps files above.)  These are available for restoration in their original form for thirty (30) backup cycles.  This means that you can retrieve an older version of a file, if you have a problem with your current version.  By Contrast, Windows and Windows based backup systems automatically overwrite modified files, so earlier versions are not available. As a result of this feature, significant time and effort can be saved by restoring earlier versions of any file that has been mistakenly modified or damaged.

Third, if an end-user's hard drive is nearly filled to capacity, a CD-ROM copy of the drive’s backed up contents can be mastered, then all of the seldom-used data and applications can be removed from the physical hard drive, and subsequently accessed only when needed by simply dropping in the CD.  

Finally, many businesses require permanent hard copies of their financial records, and client files.  A Mistral backup CD-ROM is the perfect method of storage and access for this type of archive.  CDs have an exceptional durability and lifespan, and a Mistral CD is encrypted, so your data is secure and can be accessed only by using your password KEY.  Backup tapes, by contrast, are generally not encrypted.  Anyone who has access to them can view and copy them.  Consequently, they do represent a certain security risk. 

Most importantly perhaps, CompuSure will continue to provide the latest in leading-edge technology, as well as new service offerings to you, the end-user.