HP announces Upline- data storage in the cloud

It seems like every day we hear of another upstart company offering data storage and offline backup to keep your data safe in the cloud.  A press release today points to another new service but this is from no upstart company as it is offered by none other than HP.  Upline is HP's new service for consumers and small businesses that provides data backup, remote access and file sharing but the big news is that for a limited time only HP will give new users a one year subscription for free.  From the HP press release:

With HP Upline, customer data is automatically backed up on a user-determined interval to multiple online servers using the latest encryption technology. The service also helps small and medium business customers increase productivity by connecting them to their data and allowing them to do more with it – from more convenient document collaboration with colleagues to remotely accessing data when traveling or at a customer site over an Internet connection.

HP Upline users have access to a variety of tools, including:

· File sharing and remote access – share files of any size by emailing a password protected and time-limited link rather than an attachment.

· Remote access – enjoy greater productivity on the go with the ability to open, edit, share and publish files from any Internet-connected PC using a secured log-in and password.

· File publishing – publicly share data by easily generating a URL to publish content to a website or blog; automatically refresh files published to multiple locations to keep public data current.

· Local archiving – create archive copies of files that can be saved to a CD, DVD, NAS, USB drive or a second partition on a hard drive.

· Data migration – easily migrate files to a new PC.

· Multi-user dashboard – easily set up, manage and track the usage of employee accounts within a small business.

The free one year subscription has an unspecified amount of limited online storage but Upline offers three subscription plans of increasing storage capacities.  You can find more information at the HP Upline web site.

Comments

[mike]

I don't know if this is an update to HP's old backup service or something new. I used their service about a year ago for about two months and then it wouldn't work anymore. No amount of fixing helped and I couldn't ever completely delete it. Hopefully this is a new, improved version.

[Wiley Johnson]

Do you think that the fees posted are annual/monthly/one-time?
Depending on the quality of service and the time of the license fee, it could be a fairly good deal
thanks
..wiley
NW Houston

[Roger McIntosh]

1GB limit for the free plan.

[Jenny]

Online backup is becoming common these days. It is estimated that 70-75% of all PC's will be connected to online backup services with in the next decade.

Thousands of online backup companies exist, from one guy operating in his apartment to fortune 500 companies.

Choosing the best online backup company will be very confusing and difficult. One website I find very helpful in making a decision to pick an online backup company is:

http://www.BackupReview.info

Have a look here, too:
http://www.backupreview.info/index.php?pid=read_article&article_id=9

This site lists more than 400 online backup companies in its directory and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.

[Des]

@Jenny - do you find it useful because you're involved with it ?

[Rick77]

Too bad it's painfully slow. Don't plan on backing up large files unless you have a lot of time on your hands.

From their website, " 1gig typically takes 4-5 hours to backup'.