So you've decided to invest in a backup drive. Good for you, but what is the cost of backup drives these days? You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that more than ever before there are plenty of affordable choices.

Tape backup drives are a smart investment giving you the flexibility to be able to backup large volumes of data in no time at all. And for the most part they are reliable although they do occasionally have some issues with errors. A regular tape backup is a good choice for small to medium business as well as the home market.

There is a new tape backup on the market called the VXA Backup System. It leverages the latest in technology by utilizing digital packets with a zero error rate tolerance so you never have to worry about a backup that's a dud.

The VXA is a very exciting drive because it's smarter, faster, more reliable, and easier to use. You can take your tapes from one machine to another with no worries about it not being able to read the data. And because of the way the data is read, a tape can be almost completely frozen then unthawed and it will still be able to read the data. Now that's impressive.

That said, it is a little on the pricey side and might be more suited for a medium to large business.

You could also invest in an external hard drive to backup your data onto. In today's market you can find these for little money, and it is a good choice for the home market or small business although not the most convenient option around.

Prices on all backup drives vary according to manufacturer, features, where you buy it, what sales you catch, and a host of other issues, but you can certainly get some great buys online saving as much as 50%.

Watch the VXA Technology virtual tour.