Rand Secure Data Highlights Importance of Data Backup and Recovery on World Backup Day

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Rand Worldwide (RWWI), a global leader in providing technology solutions to organizations with engineering design and information technology requirements, today announced that its Rand Secure Data division is reminding companies about the importance of data backup and recovery on World Backup Day (March, 31). Based on findings from its Data Governance and Data Backup surveys, Rand Secure Data is highlighting three key recommendations that organizations should consider when backing up their data.

World Backup Day takes place on March 31 each year and aims to raise awareness of the importance of conducting regular backups to protect digital data.

“With industry stats indicating the vast majority of companies will experience some sort of data loss each year, it’s critical to ensure your data is backed up and that your backups are fully recoverable,” says Chris Grossman, senior vice president of enterprise applications at Rand Worldwide. “In our own surveys, more than 80 percent of respondents told us that they have had to recover data from a backup â€" and of those, 37 percent experienced a recovery failure. This high failure rate is completely preventable. Like the World Backup Day community, we believe that a good backup plan is continuous, so our solutions focus on both data backup and recovery.”

Results from Rand Secure Data’s recent survey on backup show that organizations are beginning to take heed of the importance of data recovery. With this encouraging news, and in honor of World Backup Day, Rand Secure Data is highlighting the three essentials for implementing a successful data backup and recovery solution:

1. Security

An organization’s data is one of its most valuable assets. The security of data in a backup is just as critical as the security of data in a local environment. Consider a backup solution that is:

• NIST FIPS 140-2 certified and ensures data is protected in-flight and at rest
• Compliant with regulatory requirements, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

2. Recoverability

To increase the likelihood of recovering data after loss, a backup solution should proactively assess the consistency and accuracy of all data. Consider a solution that includes:

• Autonomic healing and proactive monitoring to heal any corrupted data
• Multiple types of data checks to safeguard the integrity of data

3. Mobility

Today’s mobile workforce is creating massive amounts of corporate data, but is this data being protected? Implementing a backup solution that can carry the organization’s data governance policies to all endpoint devices is critical. Consider a backup solution that can:

• Backup enterprise data residing outside internal networks in mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones
• Protect against enterprise data loss on damaged, lost or stolen mobile devices

Celebrate World Backup Day with a free t-shirt from Rand Secure Data, learn more here.

To learn more about enterprise data backup, watch this short overview video. For a free consultation about your data governance strategy contact a Rand Secure Data expert at 1-877-443-8042 or visit www.randsecuredata.com/solutions/backup.

About Rand Secure Data

Rand Secure Data, a division of Rand Worldwide (RWWI), is a leading provider of data governance solutions that combine ultra-security and high-performance with simplicity, accessibility and affordability. Rand Secure Data offers industry leading data archiving, email archiving, backup and eDiscovery solutions that allow companies to simplify IT strategies, lower overall costs and free up resources without having to make any sacrifices in terms of functionality, security or control.

As a division of Rand Worldwide, one of the world’s leading professional services and technology companies for the engineering community, Rand Secure Data has more than 30 years of experience developing and delivering technology solutions to customers and has offices throughout the United States and Canada.

Any and all trademarks making reference to or related to Rand Worldwide, IMAGINiT Technologies, ASCENT, Rand Secure Data, or IMAGINiT Clarity, are registered and/or owned by Rand Worldwide, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other legal holders.

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Survey: More People Back up Their Data in 2014, but Still Lose It

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Having an external hard drive isn’t enough. That’s the main message behind updated data released today from Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of data recovery and ediscovery. Results from a second-annual survey of customers who lost valuable computer data shows the majority of consumers and businesses are taking steps to back up their data, but a range of minor oversights rendered those steps ineffective.

Sixty-five percent of survey respondents had a backup solution in place at the time of data loss, up from 60 percent in 2013. Of those respondents, 59 percent used an external hard drive, 15 percent had cloud backup and 10 percent used a tape backup system. Additionally, 55 percent said they diligently backed up their data on a daily basis.

So why did they still lose their data? Regardless of the solution or backup frequency, data loss may have occurred as a result of one of the following oversights and/or failures:

• The external drive was only connected on an occasional basis; backup not automated and instead performed on demand
• The computer was not on during a scheduled backup and not configured to perform at a different time
• The backup software failed
• The backup ran out of destination space
• The backup profile did not cover all of the device requiring backup
• A file was lost before a scheduled backup occurred

“As the year-over-year survey results demonstrate, conducting backups is just step one in a complete backup strategy,” said Abhik Mitra, data recovery product manager, Kroll Ontrack. “Regularly ensuring your backup solution works effectively and the data is accessible is also paramount.”

Among the findings of the survey of 642 recent Ontrack Data Recovery customers across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific: 64 percent claimed losing business data (compared to 67 percent in 2013) and 36 percent experienced a personal data loss (compared to 33 percent in 2013). Of the 35 percent (compared to 40 percent in 2013) that did not have a backup solution at the time of loss, 53 percent said they are extremely likely to seek a backup solution, followed by 36 percent that are somewhat likely. When asked about the primary barriers that kept them from seeking a backup solution, time to research and administer a backup solution was once again the most common reason, cited by 49 percent in 2014 compared to 55 percent in 2013. Expense of backup solution, cited by 27 percent of respondents, was the next most common barrier to leveraging a backup solution.

“With backup technology getting better in quality and price, it is no surprise we saw an uptick in the percentage of people implementing a backup solution,” Mitra said. “What is interesting is that those that spend time, effort and money to implement the solution still experienced data loss, proving that one needs to be extremely diligent to ensure their chosen backup method is successful. If all else fails, the final line of defense should include enlisting the assistance of a reputable and experienced data recovery provider.”

In preparation for World Backup Day on March 31, 2014, Kroll Ontrack advises that individuals and businesses alike should diligently monitor and verify their chosen method of backup to ensure it is successfully operating and capturing a current, accurate snapshot. The company recommends assessing your personal data loss risk using the Kroll Ontrack Data Calculator and then taking the necessary steps to implement a backup system keeping the following tips in mind:

• Take the time to invest in a backup solution and set up a backup schedule
• Ensure backups are running regularly in accordance with the determined schedule
• Check backup reports for error indications or failure
• Test backups on a regular basis to ensure data has been accurately captured and files are intact

About Kroll Ontrack Inc.
Kroll Ontrack provides technology-driven services and software to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers manage, recover, search, analyze and produce data efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to its award-winning suite of software, Kroll Ontrack provides data recovery, data destruction, electronic discovery and document review. For more information about Kroll Ontrack and its offerings please visit: www.krollontrack.com or follow @KrollOntrack on Twitter.

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• Technology & Electronics
• Kroll Ontrack
• data recovery

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Spanning Automates Daily Backup of Data Within Salesforce.com

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Spanning Cloud Apps, the most trusted provider of data backup and recovery for cloud applications, today announced the general availability of Spanning Backup for Salesforce in the Salesforce AppExchange. In limited beta since November, Spanning Backup for Salesforce is the first and only “in-app” backup product, delivered directly through the Salesforce user interface, making it easy to monitor backups and recover lost data. Spanning Backup for Salesforce provides a secure cloud-to-cloud approach for automated backup and, with the Salesforce Spring ‘14 release, it will uniquely integrate with Chatter to proactively alert Salesforce admins to important backup status and export activity.

In addition to launching the new backup solution in AppExchange, Spanning has officially joined the Salesforce ISVforce program and is the only cloud-to-cloud backup provider that is part of this selective program. Spanning was recognized as providing clear value to Salesforce users and will be sold through the Salesforce.com direct sales channel.

Salesforce’s backup policy includes daily snapshots of their customers’ data, which protects against significant data loss, but it does not provide rapid, easy or cost-effective ways to recover lost data. Recovery is a service provided by Salesforce that can take weeks and cost thousands of dollars. This leaves companies with a difficult decision when data loss occurs. Salesforce also offers users the ability to export all of their data on a weekly basis; however, the manual nature of the approach is costly and error-prone. Having an automated daily backup from Spanning ensures that changes to data are captured frequently, minimizing the chance for error, and significantly reducing the costs and complexity of backup.

“Salesforce administrators, who are often responsible for backup and recovery, tend to work solely in Salesforce and prefer to manage, monitor and use integrated applications that leverage the capabilities and security provided by Salesforce,” said Jeff Erramouspe, CEO of Spanning Cloud Apps. “We’ve received great feedback from our beta customers, who have praised our fully integrated user experience. Salesforce users expect transparency in knowing exactly what is and is not being backed up and we make it easy for them to monitor this both for compliance and peace of mind.”

Salesforce manages critical corporate data, including customer details, sales, marketing and financials, for more than 100,000 organizations. With Spanning Backup for Salesforce providing automated daily backups, Salesforce customers now have a trusted, reliable and consistent way to protect critical data, files and customizations. Additionally, the new solution allows users to rapidly recover lost data from any previous backup.

Key features in Spanning Backup for Salesforce include:

• Automated, secure daily backups: Cloud-to-cloud backup of Salesforce data improves backup reliability and reduces the time it takes administrators to manage the backup process;
• Detailed reporting of backup results: Admins can monitor the status of daily Salesforce backups, including the configuration changes and any errors or warnings that may need attention;
• Monitor and control API usage: Monitor and control the number of API calls used by Spanning Backup each day;
• Point-in-time data recovery: Easily navigate to any previous version of data and recover specific object types or all items through granular exports; and,
• Chatter feeds for backup status and activity monitoring: Provides real-time progress updates for admins of backups and exports directly in Chatter newsfeeds (available with the Salesforce Spring ‘14 release).

“When migrating business data and processes to a cloud application like Salesforce, organizations must consider the protection of their data and their ability to quickly recover data when necessary,” said Jason Buffington, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “Too often, SaaS providers focus more on availability of the service, but not always the protection and retention of the data. Considering how many organizations rely on Salesforce â€" including ESG â€" it is exciting to see Spanning bring this offering to market.”

Spanning will be hosting a live demo of Spanning Backup for Salesforce on April 3, 2014 at 11 a.m. CDT. Interested attendees can register here.

Pricing and Availability

Spanning Backup for Salesforce is available to customers now in the Salesforce AppExchange. The product will be sold with a $30 per-user, per-year subscription with unlimited storage. For more information, to start a free 14-day trial, go to http://spanning.com/products/salesforce-backup/.

About Spanning Cloud Apps, Inc.

Spanning, the leading provider of backup and recovery for cloud applications, helps organizations to protect and manage their information in the cloud. The company provides powerful, enterprise-class data protection for Google Apps and Salesforce.com. Spanning Backup is the most reliable and trusted cloud-to-cloud backup solution available. Learn more at www.spanning.com.

• Technology & Electronics
• Business
• Salesforce

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New Tools Will Reduce The Costs of SSD Data Recovery

All digital storage devices can fail.  This is just the nature of our current technologies.  When a storage device fails and it contains data that wasn’t backed up on another storage device, the owner of that content can be in a lot of trouble.  There are many companies in the business of recovering data from damaged storage devices including hard disk drives, USB sticks and solid state drives.

Data recovery companies are experts in extracting the data from failed storage devices but they run into special problems in recovering data from self-encrypted storage devices.  This is a special issue when the data is on an encrypted SSD since recovering data from a failed SSD is generally more expensive than on a HDD and the encryption in an SSD makes this data recovery impossible without some help form the SSD companies and their controller manufacturers.

According to a recent white paper from one data recovery company, Gillware, based in Wisconsin, reducing the time it takes an engineer or technician to perform a recovery reduces the overall recovery cost.  In addition faster recovery is a greater value to the consumer who lost the data since, in general, the value of that data declines with time.  This white paper is available at:  http://www.entertainmentstorage.org/articles/SSD-Data-Recovery-Benefits-of-Industrial-Cooperation.pdf.

Storage device manufacturers are wary of disclosing sensitive information and valuable intellectual property but the recovery of customer data from SSDs, especially if these are self-encrypted drives, will be much easier if the SSD companies can offer some simple tools for the use of trusted data recovery companies.  Some of the SSD companies provide such tools to data recovery companies, but others do not.

Where the tools aren’t provided the costs of recovering data from an SSD are much higher or the recovery may turn out to be impossible.  Gillware reports that their costs for data recovery from a full-disk encrypted SSD where they have technical specifications and tools from the SSD vendor is about $700 compared to $3,500 where this assistance is not available.  The figure compares the costs of HDD data recovery, SSD data recovery with manufacturer support and the costs without manufacturer support.  With proper tools the costs of SSD data recovery are not much more than for a HDD.

Most failed SSDs are physically and electrically healthy but have some corruption in a key area of the drive’s firmware, preventing the user from accessing his/her data.  Many of the issues with SSD data recovery can be overcome but in the case of a self-encrypted SSD these steps will not be successful unless the encryption key can be accessed in the storage device, enabling reading the raw unencrypted NAND data.  There are some other features where data recovery companies can use some help from the SSD manufacturers including a description of the NAND page layout and a means to employ as much of the most recent runtime translator as possible but without being able to get clear text data using the device encryption key, data recovery is impossible.

Self-encrypted storage devices are a valuable method to protect consumer data and privacy but they can also prevent recovering that data if parts of the SSD become corrupted.  There needs to be a greater degree of cooperation between the SSD manufacturers and legitimate data recovery companies to make recovering data for an SSD customer easier, while maintaining protection of SSD company intellectual property.  Better recovery tools will increase the likelihood of recovery, lower the costs and recover the data faster, leading to happier customers.

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Stellar Data Recovery Recognizes 'World Backup Day' with Savings of Up to 90% Off of Their Highly Rated Data Backup ...

METUCHEN, N.J., March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellar Data Recovery, a global leader in providing data recovery solutions, has launched a limited period promotion on the occasion of World Backup Day. The promotion includes special offers on Stellar's backup, repair, recovery & migration utilities. Stellar's popular backup and imaging utility "Stellar Insta Backup Gold," which has been upgraded recently, is being offered FREE on purchase of its data recovery software "Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery." The standalone purchase price of "Stellar Insta Backup Gold" has also been slashed by 70% during the promotion period. March 31st is celebrated the world over as "World Backup Day." It serves as a reminder to backup all important data as a safeguard against data loss.

"World Backup Day is a reminder for all of us to maintain a regular backup of all important data. While Stellar's expertise lies in helping businesses and individuals successfully recover from data loss events, we understand that losing data is an unpleasant experience. Therefore, backing up important data is a reliable safeguard against data loss. To drive this initiative forward, Stellar has decided to run this special promotion," said Mr. Sunil Chandna, CEO, Stellar Data Recovery.

Stellar Insta Backup Gold is a user-friendly, secure imaging & backup utility that performs backup of all important files, folders, volumes, mails, etc. It can schedule automatic backup & take incremental or differential backup regularly. It will be available at a massive 90% discount on purchase of various products from Stellar. Stellar shall also offer its mail backup utility "Stellar Mail Backup" FREE on purchase of its email converter tools for a limited period which ends on March 31^st.

Availability

"Stellar Insta Backup Gold" can be purchased at a special price of just $14.99 from: http://www.stellarinfo.com/data-safety-eraser/instabackup/backup-data.php

For all other offers on World Backup Day from Stellar you can log on to: http://www.stellarinfo.com/special-offer.php

About

Stellar Data Recovery is an ISO 9001:2008 certified organization that specializes in Phoenix data recovery Tools, Disk utilities and in-lab data recovery services. Ever since 1993, Stellar has emerged as a leading and well-trusted brand for all kinds of data loss situations. With its wide range of software and services, Stellar has more than 2 million customers, which includes top corporate giants from all over the world. 

Contact Information

Sharadendu Tiwari
Voice: +1-877-778-6087
Email
Web: www.stellarinfo.com

Read more news from Stellar Data Recovery.

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Data Rescue 3 Rated The Best Mac Hard Drive Recovery Software by TopTenREVIEWS

Livermore, CA (PRWEB) March 14, 2014

Data Rescue 3 was extensively reviewed and awarded 10/10 making Data Rescue® their top-rated, best Mac hard drive recovery software choice. The verdict directly quoted from the review, “As our pick for the best Mac hard drive recovery software out there, Data Rescue's effectiveness, usability and functionality far outshine the competition.”

“We are proud to continue to hold this coveted position with TopTenREVIEWS for 2014 and be the industry leader for Mac hard drive recovery software,” states Jennifer Bell, Marketing Manager at Prosoft Engineering, Inc. Prosoft continues to develop and evolve Data Rescue as well providing excellent customer service and support for our customers.”

Data Rescue 3 â€" Mac hard drive recovery software

Do you have a corrupt hard drive or one that no longer mounts? Did you accidentally delete files on your computer? Are other Mac file recovery utilities failing to recover your data? Data Rescue® 3 is the best hard drive and file recovery software for the Mac. Data Rescue® 3 works even when your hard drive fails to mount or boot. Data Rescue® is the most-awarded, most-used hard drive recovery software for the Mac. Data Rescue® is even used by data recovery specialists, forensic recovery teams and IT groups worldwide. Data Rescue® is easy-to-use deleted file and hard drive recovery in a box.

Availability

Data Rescue 3 is available for purchase online directly from Prosoft Engineering.

About Prosoft Engineering

Established in 1985, Prosoft Engineering, Inc. creates professional, quality software designed for both novice and expert users. Prosoft’s technical support team is based in the California office and can be reached free via phone or email. Please visit the website at http://www.prosofteng.com.

About TopTenREVIEWS

TopTenREVIEWS (TTR) provides thousands of objective third-party product reviews to help our readers make informed purchasing decisions. Our reviews are organized by product type, and we distill the essence of each set of products into TTR's signature side-by-side comparison. This at-a-glance analysis compiles all the information that people need to know to make informed decisions between competing products.

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PST Password Recovery Becomes Faster and Easier Thanks to a New Advanced Tool from Recovery Toolbox

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) March 11, 2014

Recovery Toolbox, a company known for its deep expertise in developing data recovery and file repair tools, announces the availability of a totally new and largely improved version of Recovery Toolbox for Outlook Password, a specialized PST password recovery tool and one of the leading solutions of its type on the market. http://www.outlookpassword.recoverytoolbox.com/

Created for a very wide and diverse audience, the product features a highly intuitive user interface that makes it a perfect choice for users with basic computer skills and no practical experience in password recovery. The newest version of the program is based on a totally rewritten and optimized algorithmic core that makes PST password recovery a fast, smooth and hassle-free process that even novices can handle without a single problem. The program efficiently restores passwords for Microsoft Exchange server, Microsoft Mail, IMAP and POP3 email servers, Microsoft LDAP directory and HTML email services like Hotmail or MSN. http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/help_outlook_password.html

The software doesn’t require any additional components to restore PST passwords and works in all major versions of MS Windows. Recovery Toolbox for Outlook Password supports password recovery for multiple profiles with the help of a convenient file browser with a tree-like navigation pane. All relevant account parameters can be saved to a text file with a single click for quick access in the future. This PST password recovery tool is a great choice for system and network administrators facing the problem of forgotten passwords on a daily basis. http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/faq_common.html

“The use of the new algorithmic core made the complex password recovery process easier and faster than ever before,” noted Victor Bobrov, Head of Product Development at Recovery Toolbox. “With this PST password recovery tool at hand, professionals and regular users can finally forget the problem of restoring access to their data, since it can now be done with just one click.”

The free demo of the program is available on the official website of Recovery Toolbox. http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/

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EaseUS Upgrades Data Recovery Software into 7.5 Version to Resolve Complex Data Retrieval Troubles

New York City, N.Y. (PRWEB) March 06, 2014

EaseUS upgrades free data recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard into 7.5 version which was published on 4th March, 2014 so as to resolve complex data retrieval issues. This time the 7.5 version of EaseUS data recovery software comes with a stronger capacity for restoring more high quality data with a faster working speed. Now EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5 is available for users to use and enjoy a wonderful process for doing data recovery on their own and get their privacy protected. Keeping the previous excellent features of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5, EaseUS this time promotes three major features - a much more easier operating interface, a faster data analyzing speed and a better data recovery result.

To provide a better service for great EaseUS software users, professional EaseUS software developers and engineers worked day and night for enhancing the recovery process. EaseUS software developers and engineers now this time simplified the original data recovery operating interface. Unlike other similar data recovery software for providing complex and colorful interfaces for users so as to catch users’ eyes, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5 gets rid of those parts. Instead, this new data retrieval software highlights traditional recovery process with a clearer interface and sharper and more exact guidelines for great users so that they can find exactly what they want precisely. This simplified interface makes EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5 much more easier to be used by all users.

Higher data analyzing speed is the key point which was improved on EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5 this time. Being applied with a latest essential algorithm from EaseUS software, this free data undelete tool is capable to handle complex data restoring problems with a higher working efficiency. Unlike the traditional versions, this new 7.5 versional of EaseUS data recovery software speeds up data analyzing process and shortens the time for scanning volumes, partitions, hard drives or other data lost storage devices.

Another outstanding advantage of this newly published data recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free 7.5 is that a better data retrieval result than ever before helps users to find more high quality data back. This time EaseUS software engineers further enhanced this part of found data quality so as to provide better service for users to find more lost data with high quality. Furthermore, this data recovery method is still 100% clean and secure, which is suitable for any one to use and protect data while using it to restore lost data. To enjoy a better data retrieval experience, try a better way and higher data restoring efficiency, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 7.5 version is the second to none choice. Don’t hesitate and try it now!

Key Features:

Higher working speed for restoring up to 2GB files and data;
Simplified operating interface enables all users to use;
Greater data analyzing capacity find more high quality lost data;
Support to restore all files types like videos, photos, documents, emails, archives etc;
100% clean and safe; low risks; perfect choice for protecting data security;

Now EaseUS data recovery software are available here :

Free Version:
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm
Professional Version:
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizardpro/

About CHENGDU Yiwo Tech Development Co., Ltd.:

"EaseUS" is the officially registered trademark of CHENGDU Yiwo Tech Development Co., Ltd. All other trademarks acknowledged. EaseUS is an innovative software developer with more than ten-year data recovery research and development experience, dedicating to deliver the best software products and services of data security and storage management to the worldwide consumer and business market segments. Millions of people spreading over 180 countries are now using EaseUS' products and all speak highly of EaseUS' softwares and services. For more information, please visit: http://www.easeus.com/.

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Eurozone recovery strengthening, data suggests

Brussels (AFP) - The eurozone's economic recovery is strengthening, data released Wednesday suggested, although growth remains moderate with hard-pressed consumers keeping a tight check on spending.

Gross domestic product growth accelerated to 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 in the eurozone, enough of an improvement on 0.1 percent in the previous quarter, the EU's data agency said.

The eurozone had escaped a record 18-month recession in the second quarter last year with growth of 0.3 percent, but then stagnated.

In its final figures for October to December growth, Eurostat confirmed that investments and exports drove recovery in the final quarter.

However, household spending rose by just 0.1 percent, the same rate as in the third quarter.

"The consumer revival required to broaden and strengthen the economic recovery (was) still conspicuous by its absence," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics.

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European Commissionner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn speaks during a press conference  …

Retail sales figures released separately showed a 1.6 monthly gain in January, but Loynes noted this followed a drop of roughly the same amount in December.

Slovenia posted the strongest growth at 1.2 percent while Cyprus registered a slide of 0.1 percent along with Estonia while Finland saw a fall of 0.3 percent.

The bloc's biggest economy Germany showed growth of 0.4 percent in the October-December period, better than analyst forecasts for 0.3 percent, while the French economy grew 0.3 percent, below forecasts.

Italy managed only 0.1 percent growth.

However a key forward-looking indicator, a survey of companies compiled by data firm Markit, showed that business activity in the 18-nation eurozone powered to its strongest growth in over two-and-a-half years.

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The giant Euro sign in front of the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt on March 7, 2013 …

Markit Economics said its Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for February rose to 53.3, the highest level since June 2011.

- PMI hits 32-month high -

A figure above 50 suggests an upturn while one below shows a decline.

"The final PMI indicates that the eurozone economy grew at the fastest rate since June 2011," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

"The survey suggests the region is on course to grow by 0.4-0.5 percent in the first quarter, which would be its best performance for three years."

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A woman leaves a department store in Paris, on January 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bertrand Guay)

The upturn in the service sector gave the main boost to overall activity, while manufacturing also contributed.

Ireland posted the steepest expansion of business activity, while Germany was second placed.

Italy also returned to growth and recovery continued in Spain, the survey showed.

"Perhaps the best news came from Spain, which is enjoying its best quarter of growth for seven years, and Italy where the rate of growth hit a near three-year high," said Williamson.

France, however, remained the eurozone's laggard, being the only nation to report a contraction in business activity for the month.

Christian Schulz, Senior Economist at Berenberg Bank, pointed to the increase in the services component of the PMI, which rose to 52.6 from 51.6, while manufacturing dipped to 53.2 from 54.0 as indicating a recovery in household spending is under way.

"The export-led Eurozone recovery is broadening out to domestic demand despite the legacy of the crisis," said Schulz.

But even a 0.4-0.5 percent expansion in the first quarter is "not the sort of growth that is needed to absorb the large amount of spare capacity in the economy and hence head off the dangers of deflation," said Loynes.

The analyst believes that the ECB will Thursday seek to stimulate growth by making a small cut to is key refinancing rate, which is at a record low 0.25 percent.

Such a tepid growth rate is also not sufficient to bring the eurozone unemployment down from near record levels. The unemployment rate was 12 percent in January, with nearly 19.2 million people out of work.

• Budget, Tax & Economy
• Politics & Government
• economic recovery

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DriveSavers and KelbyOne Partner to Recover Digital Images from Around the World

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

DriveSavers Data Recovery, the worldwide leader in data recovery services and eDiscovery solutions is partnering with KelbyOne, a subscriber-based online education resource for creative people, to offer recovery of digital assets to the group’s 250,000 members.

DriveSavers has helped more than 50,000 customers recover digital images, including the successful retrieval of more than 750 images from a camera that was submerged in 60 feet of frigid Alaskan waters for three days. DriveSavers was the first company to successfully perform data recovery from digital cameras, and is recommended by all leading camera and card manufacturers to perform data recovery on their products.

“It’s frightening to think about, but a photographer’s career could be jeopardized if they experience data loss,” said Chris Bross, senior enterprise recovery engineer for DriveSavers. “Every photographer should be aware of how to properly handle flash memory cards and prevent the loss of precious and valuable photographs.”

Since the company began recovering data from flash memory cards more than a decade ago, digital photography has taken the world by storm and potential problems concerning data loss have evolved.

"The nature of our members' businesses and hobbies make it crucial to have a support system to go to when literally all else fails,” said Krista Smith Rosado, Director of Marketing at KelbyOne. “Their files â€" be it photos, design docs, business support files â€" are their livelihood and valuable assets. Partnering with DriveSavers as a reliable source for data recovery service gives our members the comfort and piece of mind that their work is protected in any event."

DriveSavers has been in business since 1985 and recovers data from all types of removable media, hard drives, solid-state drives and flash memory cards. The company has successfully recovered all types of files including digital images, accounting records, client information, contacts, calendars and customer mailing lists. Photographers, musicians, game developers, web/graphic designers as well as major film and audio production studios such as DreamWorks, Lucasfilm, NBC/Universal Studios have turned to DriveSavers for data recovery.

Subscribers to KelbyOne will receive special discounts on DriveSavers services, and benefit from the company’s award-winning customer service and an unparalleled success rate.

DriveSavers will be at the 2014 Wedding and Portrait Photography Expo (WPPI), booth #145, from March 3 â€" 5 to discuss the importance of backups, proper handling of camera cards and what to do when data loss occurs.

To learn more about DriveSavers program for digital arts professionals, visit http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/devices-supported/digital-cameras/.

About DriveSavers Data Recovery

DriveSavers Data Recovery, the worldwide leader in data recovery, provides the fastest, most reliable and only certified secure data recovery and eDiscovery service in the industry. All of the company’s services meet security protocols for financial, legal, corporate and healthcare industries and it is the only company that posts proof of its annual SOC 2 Type II Audit and HIPAA data security and privacy compliance. DriveSavers adheres to US Government security protocols, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Data Security Rule (GLBA), the Data-At-Rest mandate (DAR) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). DriveSavers engineers are trained and certified in all leading encryption and forensic technologies and operate a Certified ISO Class 5 Cleanroom. Customers include: Bank of America, Google, Lucasfilm, NASA, Harvard University, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, US Army and Sandia National Laboratories.

• Technology & Electronics
• Business
• data recovery

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