Thank you Tameside Advertiser for including us in this week’s edition.

1.  Ask your offsite data backup provider where your data is physically stored – is it in the UK, within the EU, in the USA, where?  You need to know where your data ends up because different regions have different laws on data protection and lawful searches.  For example, the Patriot Act in the USA allows US authorities to access any data held in the USA, including data held on behalf of UK companies by US service providers.  If your data is stored in the EU then there is a world of difference between German regulation and some of the less stringent countries.  You need to know where your data is.

2.  You also need to know how securely it’s protected – because if your data security is breached, you may be liable.  Outsourcing your data storage is one thing; but you can’t outsource responsibilities and liabilities of protecting that data.

3.  If you do have a data disaster, how fast and easily can you retrieve your data?  If you can only communicate with your provider via call centres or email, will the urgency of your situation be understood?  And if you have to restore your data via a tortuously slow broadband connection, how long will it take to trickle back?  Depending on how much data you have backed up, this could take days to restore.

4.  Is there a cost involved in restoring your data?  Pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap providers can charge a fortune to restore your data when crunch-time comes.

If you need a reminder of how Replicate Data works:

1.  All data is stored in 2 x Greater Manchester data centres, more than 10 miles apart for added resilience.  So, in effect, your backup is immediately backed up to a second site as a belt and braces approach.

2.  Data is 128 or 256bit AES and ECB encrypted for security (that’s military grade encryption in simple terms) and compressed for speed of transfer.  No-one, including us, can access your data without both your user name and password because this forms part of the encryption key.  It’s therefore essential that you keep this information safe.

3. & 4.  If you do need to restore your data in the event of a disaster, our friendly and efficient technical team are on hand to help you retrieve it at the click of a mouse – and at no extra cost.  In extreme cases, we can get your data copied to a new device and couriered to you.   Regrettably this would be at additional cost to you – but we haven’t had to resort to this solution yet!

The event was designed to give small and medium enterprises guidance on various aspects of intellectual property. There were presentations on a range of topics including trademarks, patents, sources of finance and responsibilities of directors. Those who attended also got the chance to meet the presenters and get expert advice in one to one sessions.

Tracy Barlow, Marketing & Finance Director at 24/7 Uptime Ltd, said: “It was a very interesting event and the speakers were extremely helpful. As recommended, I have requested and received confirmation from our website designer and printer that we own the design/artwork rights of our website and logos.

“I have also started incorporation proceedings for a new company name and did it online as suggested. It was straightforward and cost just £18 as they said. When I telephoned for advice I spoke to experts who gave me the information I needed in simple terms, which was very reassuring.

“I did all this the same day I attended the roadshow. It was all done and dusted by just gone 1pm and I only left the roadshow at around 11.30am!”

Innovation Roadshows were held at the University of Manchester Innovation Centre and Chester Riverside Innovation Centre.

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) offers support and information to businesses across Europe to help them make the most of the opportunities of the European Union. EEN’s services are specifically designed for small and medium enterprises, but are available to all European businesses, research centres and universities.

For more information on EEN’s services call 0844 2598571 or email info@eenw.org

It was certainly different to the last time we were there – it looks fantastic.  And we think our photos show just what we’re keeping up and running!

I have had very sore heels in the training leading up to the event which my physio has been treating as a condition called plantar fasciitis, a nasty complaint which is common to runners and very tricky to get rid of.  So – when the gun went off, I set off at a steady pace and got to the 13 mile halfway stage in 1 hours 49 minutes.  This was well inside my target time and I was feeling very good and strong.  All was going well until mile 18 when my heel started playing up; it started getting sorer and sorer until it was really very painful indeed.  One recent quote came to mind, even in the middle of 36,000 runners when I was doubting I would finish, and that is “pain lasts an hour, a day or a week – giving in lasts a lifetime”.  It’s a David Bedford quote, ex athlete of course and London Marathon race director.  So, with that in mind – and of course being made of iron ….. I jogged, limped, walked and grimaced the last 9 miles and made it to the finish in 4 hours 25 minutes and 58 seconds.

In my age category (which as 45-49 year old category is now embarrassingly called ‘super veteran’) I finished in position 1,894 and my overall race position was 17,528.  Interestingly, the next person behind me in my age category came in just 23 seconds behind me – one Gordon Ramsay.  The miserable devil didn’t even whip up a quick omelette at the finish …..  Without the injury, I think maybe 3 hours 45 was possible.  Will I try again?  Ask me again in 6 months time!

I ran to raise funds for our local hospice, Willow Wood.  As always hospices need all the help they can get.  I set a target of £500 and haven’t quite got there yet.  My Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/247uptime-londonmarathon still accepts donations for a few months after the event so please feel free to donate, even if it’s only £2.47!

Almost there – looking good but feeling awful ……….

Got the London Marathon medal at last!

But Marathon trainers can get a bit bloody!

King’s Cross Station selects Marathon everRun to eliminate server downtime – thank you guys!

We were approached by main contractor, Fourway Communications, in August 2011 about protecting the Station Management System at King’s Cross.  The Station Management System ensures the efficient running of the station, including different sub-systems such as CCTV cameras, fire systems, building management, PA system, help points and voice recording.  With the station being used by 47m passengers every year, these systems are critical and must operate without interruption.

Russell Bennett, IT solutions architect at Fourway Communications, explains: “Fourway was tasked with delivering the Station Management System as part of the refurbishment at King’s Cross.  Because of the critical needs of the station, we needed a high availability solution with zero operator intervention in the event of a server failure – and the failover should take place with no loss of system availability.  That immediately ruled out most of the solutions on the market.

“Marathon everRun addressed all our criteria in one hit.  We employed 24/7 Uptime to advise on server design and take the lead on the Marathon everRun installation.  We have undertaken heavy tests and the software has delivered every time.  24/7 Uptime’s assistance throughout the project has been outstanding and, without doubt, has greatly assisted us in delivering a successful project.”

It was a very proud moment when we saw everyone’s hard work come to fruition – and we look forward to seeing the end result on our next trip to London.

As an added bonus, we celebrated our 3rd year in business during the same week as the King’s Cross launch, so such positive client feedback can only help us continue to grow!

Don’t forget you can donate at our 24/7 Uptime-London Marathon Just Giving site