Data backups are a most unglamorous part of IT, yet this task requires extreme consistency and commitment--companies that take this responsibility lightly do so at their peril. Still, even the most diligent IT manager can be tempted to cut corners when faced with maintaining backups at remote and IT-support-challenged locations. It's with this poor soul in mind that we set out to compare six top providers of online server backup services to find out what peace of mind they may offer.

The services from Connected Corp., Data Base File Tech Group, EVault, Global Data Vault, LiveVault Corp. and Pro-Softnet Corp. allayed our fears about data security and 24/7 availability--they all fulfilled every criteria for security and functionality in terms of data file backup and restoration. The only major difference is in how well their cost and features list mesh with your enterprise-specific backup and user-support requirements; in a few cases, software complexity may require some IT chops.

We picked LiveVault as our Editor's Choice. We liked how its simple Web-based interface provided powerful remote-management capabilities, and its comprehensive user and database support justified its slightly higher price.