An overwhelming majority of Storage readers agree that outsourced backup isn't the best solution for them. Eighty-one percent of survey respondents currently don't use a backup service provider, and 65% wouldn't consider using one in the future. The top two reasons for not using a service are readers' confidence in their own infrastructures (61%) and concerns about data security (48%).

Readers who've experienced backup outsourcing weren't pleased with the results. "We had outsourced backup in my previous company and the experience was not good," writes one reader. "Turnaround time for change requests was huge."

Another found outsourcing unreliable: "After working for a company that did outsource, we found there were many hidden costs, and our backup processes did not receive the proper attention when it came to meeting scheduled runs and recovery needs."

--Trina MacDonald