Mobile Information Protection focuses on information distributed outside the data center on desktops, laptops, and PDAs. It extends EDS Intelligent Storage Services, the storage on-demand service launched in 2000 and extends protection to the desktop, which the company claims is often overlooked when backup policies are defined. The significant increase in the number of mobile users - most who keep corporate data on laptops or synced to PDAs - creates significant exposure. Although some have implemented user-initiated backup policies, the backups are not performed on a regular basis and often overlook critical data.

"As employee productivity becomes even more dependent on mobile computing platforms, corporate information assets are at greater risk of loss or theft," said Sandi Scullen, global offering executive for EDS Intelligent Storage Services. "This service enables continuous backup - and more importantly, recovery on-demand - and becomes fundamental for the enterprise to protect corporate assets while also providing a vital convenience to the individual user."

"Critical corporate data left unprotected on laptops and other mobile devices should send shivers down the spines of C-level executives," said Adam Couture, principal analyst with Gartner. "Although, we all know we should backup our laptops, it is a usually a pretty low priority until it is too late. Technology that moves PC backup to an automated background activity overcomes these all too common human foibles."

In addition to incidental loss of data, Mobile Information Protection plays a key role in business continuity and disaster recovery plans by ensuring that businesses - both large and small - arm their workforces with a comprehensive backup solution to support their business continuity strategy to handle any emergency at any time.