COMPILED BY MICHAEL  F. PEELS . On the one hand, we have archival needs.  Important data we don't want to loose, ever, if possible.  This is the stuff you should copy to DVD or an external drive and store in a “safe place”.  Archiving is a selective process and can't be done easily by a generic, automated tool, unless you are a pro in perfectly storing and naming them. On the other hand we have backups as a safety net for accidental file deletions, hard disk crashes and similar events. What if  your external drives were destroyed or stolen and the only data you would be able to recover would be the the handful of files which are in Dropbox?  After all, someone who breaks into your office and steals your laptop or pc will probably pick up the hard drive next to it as well. Likewise, disasters like fires and floods won’t spare your backup drive. If you’re really serious about protecting important data, this is precisely why an off-site backup system is a good idea! PEELS IT DATA STORAGE makes backup and disaster recovery incredibly easy for users.