Bob Chaput, President: DataMountain.com

What makes a businessman choose the overcrowded marketplace of online data backup services in which to dip his entrepreneurial toe? For Bob Chaput, owner of DataMountain LLC, it was a genuine desire to solve problems and help people. And it's a motivation that has paid off, and allowed DataMountain LLC to grow a loyal customer base.

There is currently is a glut of online data backup services with shaky foundations an a lack of central regulation or review of quality of services to help customer's make an educated choice. As Bob puts it, "today, the online data backup or remote backup competitive landscape can arguably be characterized with having one Snow White, seven Dwarfs and five-thousand ghetto solutions."

This has also created a competitive environment where forcing prices down has been the primary weapon to attract new customers. Of course, although customers rarely think about it, the only way to lower prices is to lower quality of service. And although I may not be all that savvy when it come to technical issues, I guessing that this is fairly crucial element for backing up your data!

DataMountain steers clear of both of these minefields by only using the best security solutions from industry giant IronMountain for a company's backed up data as well as offering a level of personal and honest customer service that most other businesses would do well to pay attention to. While other businesses split their customers into two categories (small fry and big fish) and give them services accordingly, Bob holds strong to a philosophy that no client is more important than any other. "I have a sincere passion to help bring to business leaders, managers and owners of small-medium business (SMBs) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) the same tools, services and capabilities usually only available to the large enterprises. "

After all, the small business with a single computer and three employees relies on it's data just as much as a multi-location big brand name. And while other companies operate with a single focus on data back up and restoration, DataMountain takes a more holistic attitude to data security issues. "My specific focus and passion is around risk management in three key areas: Risk of being out of regulatory compliance, Risk of going out of business due to data loss, Risk of throwing money away on phony/ineffective solutions." The lack of 100% reliability of some services is something that genuinely concerns Bob, who has seen too many businesses have to close doors due to data loss. "Many buyers in the SMB and SME world are focusing on inexpensive “backup” rather than actual “recovery” that works when one needs it most. It’s about the recovery!" Hurricane Catrina was a perfect example of how a disaster can destroy business infrastructure in more ways that one. The disaster wiped out many business in 2005 that may have been able to begin trading again had their data been safely stored offline. Customer databases, accounts history, project portfolios, files, documents...the list of what could be lost is extensive in this era when so much of our work is done on computer and puts the value of effective data backup clearly into perspective.

Getting people to shift their mindset away from deal-hunting and back to data protection is a key element of Bob's business philosophy, and undoubtedly a big reason why customers trust his products. "Our approach is education-based. As a former educator, I love creating and sharing content from which others will benefit. That includes writing articles, creating and delivering webinars, recording webinars for on-demand viewing, publishing a monthly eNewsletter, writing a blog, etc."

Bob started the business using a personal investment, and regardless of growth has always been careful to keep an eye on finances. "I believe that businesses that boot-strap in the early stages are more likely to better manage resources and assets as they grow."

However, just as DataMountain talks about "value" rather than "price", so Bob's focus is about more than just profit. "Mostly, I love solving problems for customers."

How would your business cope if it lost all it's data? What about even 30% loss? It's certainly not something I would like to face!

You can find out more information about the topics of data backup, security, disaster recovery planning and off-site data storage at http://www.DataMountain.com