Over the years, many clients have asked me about the possibility of backing up over their studio’s Internet connection. It is an enticing idea. Every night your studio’s work files are magically whisked away to a safe online server.

That fantasy is coming closer to reality. Mozy.com provides unlimited backup storage for $4.95/month per computer— or a free 2GB option for people who don’t have as much to back up.

Mozy just released a beta Macintosh client which we’ve been testing. Even in beta it is the best Internet backup for Macs I’ve worked with. The free 2GB option is a perfect size for keeping key project management and accounting files protected.

Not Ready for Your Entire Studio.

But don’t toss your backup server in the dumpster yet. The practical limit on how much you can back up is largely determined by the speed of your studio’s Internet connection. In practice, we’re seeing speeds of 2-4 GB a day. That’s perfect for copywriters, project managers, bookkeeping stations, and some traveling laptops. But Mozy isn’t a realistic solution to backup your 500GB photo library quite yet.

Even though it can’t replace your full backup, I recommend signing up for a free 2GB account and trying it out. Use this service to supplement your current backup strategy by adding ongoing off-site backup of key business files.

Source: This tip inspired in part by the need for daily offsite backup of a key appointment database at Gary Manuel Salon.

Note: The links in this tip include a referral code (NP6WJH). Mozy adds 1GB of space to our free account for every four people who sign up with that code. If you’d rather not increase our free backup quota, this link does not include that code: Mozy.com.