A Getting Started Wizard is in place to help first-time users. A Silent mode runs backups invisibly in the background and won’t interrupt the use of your PC.

Your files are encrypted before they leave your computer, so they are transferred and stored in a secure form.

Spheritec endeavors to provide a service that is affordable for businesses of any size.

Spheritec Datagard integrates with your Windows desktop environment and Microsoft® Windows Explorer.

Choose from our targeted range of plans and storage options and choose the one that best suits your home or business needs.

24 x 7 retrieval of data by authorised personnel. You can retrieve your data from anywhere and at anytime: all you need is internet access. You can access your files from home, the office or anywhere in the world.

A crucial component of Spheritec’s Online Backup Service is the client software. End-users simply download and install the client software, and their computers are ready to backup and restore data securely across the Internet to a secure server.

The Getting Started Wizard will automatically appear if any of the critical fields have been left blank when Datagard was run. This wizard walks the user through the steps of connecting to the backup server, configuring backup sets, creating a backup schedule and setting a secret encryption key.

The most efficient backup technology available today, FastBIT technology can accurately extract only the changes that you've made to a file since your last backup. This efficiency is achieved by using the powerful FastBIT difference engine to identify and extract the binary-level differences on two versions of any file. On average, FastBIT backups are more than 6 times smaller and faster than similar block technologies, which translates to using only 1/6 of the bandwidth and server storage space.

Datagard offers a Silent mode that will allow the program to run silently in the background without displaying any Windows or Task Bar icons.

All Datagard users have instant access to restore any version of their data files. Although each incremental backup contains the small changed portions of the file, the server software has the capability of recovering any version of a file from the initial backup to the last incremental backup and EVERY version in between.

All version upgrades can be distributed to all end-users automatically after completing a backup. When new versions of the client software are available, the update patches can be placed on the server to allow client to automatically get updated to the latest version. All update patches are created with the same FastBIT technology to reduce transfer time. Upgrades happen seamlessly without any user intervention required.

If a scheduled backup is missed, the next time the computer is started the Event Manager will display the missed event and allow the user to immediately perform the missed event. If a backup fails to complete successfully, the Event Manager will try the backup again when the computer is restarted or Datagard is executed. If a backup fails due to a network problem, the Event Manager will prompt the user to complete the backup at a later date.

The client software can be configured to send an e-mail to any user(s) upon any successful backup or a backup with errors or warnings. A summary of the attempt is sent in the body of the message and the complete log file may be attached as an option.

Datagard features the ability to create an unlimited number of backup sets. Since backup sets can be scheduled to run independently, a user can configure multiple backup sets to run at different times. For example, a backup set containing all data files can be configured to run at the end of each week and another backup set containing a single database file can be configured to run multiple times per day. All file versions will still be immediately available for the user to restore.

All data is stored in an encrypted format and all communications between the client and server are encrypted. Users can choose between DES, Triple-DES and Blowfish encryption algorithms. The software is available with exportable levels of encryption for International customers.

Including or excluding files from the backup selection is possible with set filters that can be created manually or with an easy-to-use filter wizard. Filters can be created to include all data files on a users system to avoid hunting through a hard drive for all of the data files. Filters can easily be shared with any other users.

Enhanced scheduling options have been added to the client software to help automate the backup process. The scheduling capabilities allow users to configure backups at any time, multiple times per day or even before Windows shuts down. Additionally, any third party scheduling application can be used to run the backup application by scheduling simple command line calls to run an automated backup.

Upon installation, a small application is configured to run in your Windows System Tray. (The Windows System Tray is located at the bottom right-hand corner of your computer screen.) This application monitors the scheduling process and give the end user quick access to a number of useful functions, including:

• Backup and Close - Run a backup and then close the application when finished.
• Backup and Logoff - Run a backup and logoff the system when finished.
• Backup and Shutdown - Run a backup and shutdown the system when finished.
• And more...

All backup and restore transactions are thoroughly logged on the client and the server applications. The user can quickly review and print the client logs from the client application. The server maintains a Master Log of all general user activity and records detailed information for each user to help track usage and aid in technical support.

Datagard supports the ability to run any 3rd party application(s) before or after a backup or restore action. For instance Datagard can be configured to run a virus scanner before the backup and run a defragmentation utility after the backup. A virus scanner can also be configured to run after every restore process.

Since the FastBIT technology leverages the CPU power to get great file reductions, it can be taxing on the processor. Some backups may be done while the user is working on the system and others after hours when the user is away, so the client software allows the CPU utilization to be configured. You can give the backup application all the processing power it needs, or make the backup application subordinate to other tasks.

Datagard supplies useful toolbars for users. The toolbars can be customised and displayed based on the user's individual preference to quickly access commonly used functions.

You are not locked-in to a fixed term contract - you can cancel at any time (some timing conditions apply -see the FAQ for more detail).

You can restore your data from the online backup at no additional charge, any time of day, from anywhere in the world.