When deciding which type of storage device would best fit your needs, realize first that there is no perfect solution.

In fact, chances are you're going to need more than one type of storage device to satisfy your business. For example, you may prefer a tape drive for archiving, but in addition, you'll probably need a device using media that other systems can easily read, like CD-ROMs or Zip disks.

And while you shop, keep a few points in mind:

Capacity
You're always going to be limited by the size of your media. So before you buy, make sure it can handle the amount of data you'll be storing efficiently and economically. A good rule of thumb: Buy a drive that can back up your entire hard disk on one piece of media, with room to spare.

Or, consider how much data you have to back up in one sitting at the end of each week. For example, if you only have 1 GB of data to copy over the course of a week, you might consider a writable CD drive (650 MB per disc) or a Jaz drive (2 GB per disk).

For more than that, you'll want something like a tape drive (at least 4 GB per cartridge) or DVD-RAM drive (5.2 GB per double side disc). Having to constantly change the media when you are copying data would be incredibly time consuming - or impossible, even, if you do backups overnight and run out of space in the wee hours.

For example, while tape drives may be the most economical solution for backing up huge amounts of data on a regular basis, they are not the fastest, or the most convenient solution. Often, retrieving lost data can take more time than you have to spend, rewinding to isolate the data you want to recover.

On the other hand, recordable CD or DVD drives, or other disk-based systems, allow you to zero in on any part of the data in just moments.

To make the right decision, you'll have to weigh how important the speed of copying or finding files is versus the cost of storing them. (In some cases, a software solution coupled with a storage device can make data recovery that much easier.)

Device and media costs
How many times will you need to stock up on new media? While it might be tempting to base your decision on the cost of the drive, pay attention to the cost of the media as well. It may be that you'll end up opting for a far more expensive drive to take advantage of the lower media cost.