The Data Backup Plan With so many systems to choose from, storing your data is a no-brainer.

The more your business grows and the longer your company is around, the more data you stockpile. Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images and other big media files--the gigabytes can really pile up. And with business compliance rules becoming more stringent, a good backup solution is more important than ever.

Housing all that data requires a storage solution with hundreds of gigabytes available. Fortunately, your storage options are like Skittles--they come in a rainbow of flavors. From personal media servers to online backup to portable hard drives, mass storage is cheap and getting cheaper. There's a solution for every situation and budget, but network-attached storage, or NAS, is a good place to start.

This one-time enterprise option has benefited hugely from recent advances in ease-of-setup and operation. NAS devices are now easily added to a network through either a wired or wireless Ethernet connection, giving you room to spare. For example, Iomega's StorCenter Pro NAS 250d 500GB option runs Windows Storage Server R2 and features a built-in 70GB REV backup drive, making it a handy combined storage/backup system for $1,999. The Buffalo Tera-Station Live, on the other hand, brings a hefty 2TB to bear for only $2,369. This NAS solution is also Mac-compatible for Apple users or mixed-OS environments. iTunes support, a printer server and super-fast transfer rates make this a flexible NAS option to consider.