First and foremost they are just not reliable. For years we heard so many stories of people who were let down by tapes - just as they needed to restore files they discovered the tape drive didn't work or the tapes were damaged.

The upfront investment cost for tape drives can be crazy. Unless your willing to sit in front of the machine and keep swapping tapes then costs are criminal. If you get something too small then backups will only be made sporadically as it becomes a nuisance to do them.

When thinking about your current tape solution - ask yourself the following questions:

- Will the tapes really work when needed? The tapes and tape drives have a limited life. This leads to additional costs and insecurity. The industry recommendation is for a test restore to be done every week and the tapes themselves to be replaced every 12 months.

- Will the tape drive still be available in years to come?

- Are the tapes and tape drive in a secure physical location? What would happen during a burglary?

Tape (or DVD) backups are quite simply a pain - it takes time and effort and you have better things to be doing.

Allow us to help you out - Our online backup solutions allow you to get on with your real business.