Q, Anthony, Thankyou for making time available to answer a few questions about your service.
A, No problem Kevin. I appreciate your interest in our service.
Q, Before we get into a lot of detail perhaps for the benefit of all you could give us a brief rundown on your experience.
A, My experience in business began over 15 years ago when I worked for a number of very large corporations. I worked my way up through the ranks, learning everything I could from within the various departments I was in. Within 5 years (in my early 20's) I decided to take this experience and set up my first business - in retail! It was successful and I sold out 3 years later. My skill sets were very much marketing and customer services, and I used these to good effect in my next position to develop a small design firm into a thriving architectural practice, growing it from 1 person to over 50 and increasing turnover tenfold within 18 months. The practice still operates and I remain involved on a consultancy basis, I now commit 95% of my time to Depositit.
Q, What inspired you to set up Depositit and what challenges did you face on the way.
A, That's a great question and looking back over the past 5 years it's been quite a fantastic journey. Back In 1999 I was running an architectural practice and we used computers for everything, including generating designs, letters, emails, invoices and storing digital images. We knew how important the computers were to our business and even more so how valuable the data was inside them, hence we had in place a 'strict' backup policy - backing up to tapes.
Unfortunately, as the practice got busier and deadlines closer, certain duties became neglected (our backups). It was more important for us to put our efforts into our projects and keep our clients happy, than spend time on other 'non essential' office duties! Hence backups became more and more neglected, being carried out every 2, 3 or even 4 weeks!
There always seemed to be something more important to do!
Then one day our computers all went down and we lost everything! We immediately went to our tapes (last backup had been around 3 weeks previous) but not all of them worked - so we were missing everything from the past 3 weeks and some information from before this time too. It was a nightmare, and projects went on hold as we made embarrassing phone calls to clients in an attempt to retrieve back copies of drawings and invoices - it was awful!
Fortunately we survived and after about a month we were just about back on track, but exhausted and very much poorer for our efforts (the fiasco had probably cost us in the region of #20K!).
Not long after this, my business partner and I went out for dinner and reflected over the past 6 weeks! We came to the conclusion that we couldn't be the only company out there that had suffered such an event. We also decided that as our dependency on computers grew, so would the amount of data we generated - hence backing up would become even more important!
With this in mind we thought that there had to be an easier and safer way in which to backup our computers, and also most importantly, a way that would allow us (small businesses) to get on with our core business and not have to worry about missing a backup.
We basically wanted an automatic process to do the backup for us every day and store the data somewhere safe - this would make our working lives feel more protected.
And so that night over a pizza, Depositit was born!
We felt we'd stumbled upon a really good idea and decided to see where we could take it, however we knew our limitations so brought in additional people with the right expertise to help take this forward. So we recruited an IT expert, Finance whiz, Solicitor and a very experienced businessman and presented to them the concept of a secure, automated online data backup solution.
They all loved it and we formed the company, raised some money and brought on board a specialist software development team to create the solution for us. It wasn't totally smooth sailing, as the market crashed, initial investment was withheld, people lost their jobs and we were now being eyed suspiciously (as another .com) - however we remained committed and all worked even harder, put in our own money and 2 years after our pizza, Depositit came off the production line!
Now 5 years since conception and 3 years after launch, we are a leading provider of online data backup services and proud to boast the most secure and cost effective solution available in the world.
I apologise for this answer becoming so long, however I still get excited when I think back to how we started and what we did with that idea. I hope it will motivate everyone out there with their own idea (s) that 'every dream can be realised and all is achievable' - albeit there are many sacrifices to make on the way :o)
Q, Please explain what services Depositit offers and why they are of benefit to all.
How long have you been operating and what areas of the market do you cover (World)
A, Depositit provides a single critical service and does this exceptionally well. Our software automatically backs up the important data on your PC, laptop or server and in the event of an emergency the data can be immediately retrieved. We've been offering the service since 2001 and have customers successfully using it from all over the world (customers include broadband, cable and dial up users).
To give you more of an idea about how the solution works: Depositit backs up computer data automatically, every single day over a secure Internet connection, stores three separate copies in three maximum-security off-site facilities and then sends you an e-mail to confirm the backup is complete.
As well as automatically backing up client's data every day and securely storing it in 3 separate data centres, it is also encrypted to 448 bit level assuring complete privacy and providing 100% peace of mind. We are also registered with the data protection registrar which means we will never make available customers details to
other organisations.
Q, Why should the home user or small office user consider using your services.
A, The home user or small office user are most at risk from data loss because many of them do not backup regularly (if at all). They know they ought to, and if they are backing up it tends to be to a CD every week or 2! Things are not very different to 5 years ago when I was running the architectural practice and we were all too busy to spend time on our backups.
One big difference nowadays is the amount of people who currently work from home, be it full time or on various projects after hours. The home PC or laptop contains valuable information that requires backing up.
Depositit offers a perfect solution. The service is very easy to set up and use, it's automated so you no longer have to remember to backup (or find time to do it), it's incredibly secure, protecting your privacy and confidentiality and above all your data is stored securely away from harm. Unlike the CD's that might be burnt every few weeks and sit beside the actual machine!
Finally, Depositit was born out of personal experience and that ethos remains with the company. We always remember why and for whom we created this solution, hence home users and small offices can relax safe in the knowledge that they are securely backed up.
Q, Is your software hard to use, do you have to set anything up every time you want to backup data.
A, We recently had a journalist run a feature on Depositit and in order to review it he needed to evaluate our software. He told me when he was going to set it up and my heart was beating hard when a few hours later he rang me up to say: "I just wanted to let you know....I'm completely sold! It was really easy to set up and works like a dream - it's amazing. Everyone should be using this"
Other comments include: "Even my grandmother could use it" and the most common remark is, "I slept so much better last night knowing my data was safe". Which is incidentally exactly how I felt when I beta tested it over 3 years ago, it provides a very safe feeling knowing that you don't need to worry anymore.
I'm not saying all feedback is as positive as this. However from registering for an account to setting up the software we have endeavoured to make the entire user experience as simple as possible. The solution itself is very intuitive and once you have selected the files/folders you wish to backup - that's it! From then on Depositit will automatically backup your information every single day for you and you won't need to worry about it anymore.
Our support pages are extremely thorough and we have also invested heavily in an interactive training module, which can be referred to at any time. In fact if anyone wishes to preview our solution and see how it works they may visit the following the area on our website to download and use this training module:
http://www.depositit.com/support/cbt.shtml
Q, How much storage space would the average home user or small office user require.
A, Our experience has shown that many computer users are still not actually aware of how much data they have on their machines, as a consequence they don't know how much storage they require.
This being the case Depositit created two subscription packages, both offering generous amounts of storage at comfortable price points.
Our 500mb Light User package is ideal for home users, allowing for storage of over 1000 digital images and/or 100's of documents and spreadsheets.
Our Standard 4gb package is ideal for small offices, the majority of whom find this offers ample storage for their needs.
Depositit provides unlimited storage and all our packages automatically upgrade to accommodate customers storage requirements. As our customers approach their storage quota they receive an email from Depositit suggesting that they are within 85-95% of their storage capacity and if they wish to remain within this storage bracket they should delete some information (from their backups) or else do nothing and allow the system to automatically upgrade their account to the next storage level.
If customers are unsure of their storage requirements they can email us for advice and/or subscribe to the light user package, allowing the system to place them within the storage band required.
Q, So how much annually do you pay for this storage and what additional services come with the package, can you upgrade at any time.
A, Our Light User 500mb Package costs #60.00 a year plus vat (total #70.50)
Our Standard 4gb Package costs #120.00 a years plus vat (total #141.00)
You may upgrade at any time, and all upgrade charges are pro rata - which means that at whatever point you upgrade within your contract this is the amount you will be charged (I.e if you upgrade half way through your contract <month 6> the upgrade charge will only be 50%).
Another benefit we offer our customers is the fact that we do not charge any licence fees. This allows you to install Depositit onto multiple machines under a single account, for example you could backup both your laptop and PC or if you work in an office with 4 or 5 PC's that aren't networked, you can install Depositit onto all the machines under the single account. We simply charge for the storage required, so if 4 machines remain within our standard 4gb package the cost will remain just #120 + vat in total.
Furthermore we do not charge extra if you wish to install the software onto a server.
Q, Well thank you Anthony you have covered my queries well but in the interests of offering my customers real value can we discuss putting together a "Special Offer" for them to consider, perhaps some real savings over the normal fees.
A, I have no problem providing a special offer to your customers and will forward you a promotional link that will allow everyone to subscribe at the following reduced rates (offering approximately 17.5% off our website prices):
Depositit Light User 500mb Package #49 + vat
Depositit Standard 4gb Package #99 + vat
All upgrade fees will also be reduced, with each additional 4gb of storage costing #50 + vat. As such 8gb of storage will cost #149 + vat, 12gb = #199, 16gb = #249 etc.
To take advantage of this offer, please click here:
Depositit Deal
Kevin, It's been great talking with you and I once again I would like to thank you for your interest in my company.
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