The ‘service model’ refers to different service plans offered by a data recovery company to their clients. Many companies are now coming up with a lot of lucrative plans to attract more and more clients. So nowadays you have a wide variety of choices in not just selecting data recovery companies but various service models offered by them as well. So, it becomes necessary to be aware of your needs while analysing the market for a company to perform your data recovery work in order to make the best use of these offers.
Let us have a look at the different areas where these service models differ from each other and also at the possible drawbacks in each of them.
Classification of Service Models
The primary area of difference is obviously the data storage media that a particular company handles. Another area is the period of time for which a company’s service may be secured. Some of them offer their services on a short term basis which proves to be useful mainly for the home based users who do not need data recovery services frequently. Then, there are those who offer long term services which you secure by entering into a contract with a particular company rather than consulting them for every individual problem you face. Such plans are just the dealing required by businesses that handle large amount of data. This is because such services are usually cheaper than the ones mentioned previously.
The next difference could be the difference in prices offered by different vendors. You might have to choose between reputable companies which offer their services at somewhat higher prices and those that offer their services at dirt cheap rates. At the same time you need to remember that if a company is large and has been in the market for a long time, it does not necessarily imply that the company policies are ethical and the rates charged by them are quite acceptable.
As data recovery is a popular field, there are many new entrants in it. Due to this, it is becoming difficult for a company to maintain a monopoly in a certain market that it may have enjoyed a few years previously. This, along with the demands of the stock holders, may cause the large companies to charge exorbitantly high rates even for minor jobs. But at least you can be happy about trusting the work with a good company. On the other hand, the companies that offer their services at very low rates may not be able to do that. Trusting them with your data storage devices may mean that you lose all your data permanently.
Again, service models vary depending upon a different aspect of fee structure. Some of them charge for mere examination of a data storage device. While some claim to charge fees only if they are successful in recovering the data. The latter may seem quite attractive but it has one drawback; such companies generally do not quote their fees until the actual recovery of data is done. And, once they have done the job, they might be charging you high fee. So you may end up paying more for your work even without the examination fee.
Drawbacks in Data Recovery Services
The problem gets a bit more severe with companies that have unethical staff who continue with the job even when they are certain that recovery of data is not possible. Another problem associated with companies which have a bad reputation is the risk about the safety of data. The data that the companies recover may be made available to others. Such companies are likely to offer their services at attractive rates. But, trusting them with the disks that contain sensitive data may prove to be disastrous. True, such breaches in trust are punishable offences but often they are quite difficult to discover. So, spending some extra money might be worthwhile rather than falling prey to such practices.
The Final Call
It is not advisable to just trust everything that a company’s website or brochure claims. So read the reviews by the past client that has been provided. Also, make sure to visit various forums where people discuss their experience with different companies. It is advisable to select the optimal service only after checking out all these information.
Now, it is for you to decide between price and quality. Make your final call keeping in mind the preciousness of your data. If your data has been lost due to computer virus or malicious hacking considering employing the services of a computer forensics (or digital forensics) expert.