Mosey Along With Mozy Online Backup

“Download and install Mozy to ensure your data is safely backed up at a secure, remote location.”

And what we faced will astound you.

Dear Mr. Johnston, I addressed an email on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 4:36 pm to someone at Berkeley Data Systems in American Fork, Utah, who had identified himself as Benjamin Johnston in Customer Support for the Mozy Online Backup program (http://www.mozy.com/).

Frankly, I should have addressed my email to Josh Coates, founder and CEO of Berkeley Data.

The company’s website provides Web browsers with the following information:

“Berkeley Data Systems is an emerging software technology company that specializes in data protection. In 2006 Berkeley Data released the Mozy Online Backup service to home users; and in 2007, Berkeley Data released MozyPro to businesses and resellers. Today the company has more than 180,000 total customers worldwide. Founded in 2005, Berkeley Data Systems is funded by Novell co-founder Drew Major, Tim Draper of Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson; and Wasatch Ventures. For information, visit http://www.berkeleydata.com/.”

I am responding to your email of May 15, 2007 sent at 11:10 am and which I labeled “Email Message Number 21” below.

Your claim of having sent an email to me on Monday evening via support@mozy.com is not credible because I have not received it though we have received others from that address, including your company’s auto response emails, or your claim confirms the lack of Berkeley Data System’s credibility and the lack of trust in the Mozy Online Backup services.

Furthermore, you make the following promise in your auto response emails: “[J]ust to let you know that our hours are between 7:00AM and 5:00PM Mountain Time Monday through Friday. If you've contacted us within these times, you can expect an answer before the end of the day. If you've caught us after hours, we'll answer your email the next business day.” That promise is false as our documented experience shows. Please see below.

Below I document in detail my many efforts pleading for Berkeley Data System’s help to solve the very severe problems we encountered in our attempts to make the Mozy Online Backup system work and in the process we suffered significant damages because of your irresponsible actions, the flaws in the Mozy Only Backup program, and your lack of support. We struggled for eight (8) full days and were unable to attend to our business during this time period. We had no choice but to remove the Mozy Only Backup program from our computer and cancel the service.

It appears your Mozy Only Backup has not been fully debugged and tested and your customer support service is lacking the expertise and/or dedication to service necessary to gain credibility in the marketplace. We shall submit the issues pertaining to the quality and reliability of the Mozy Online Backup system and the required support services that must go hand in hand with such services to the Internet marketplace for feedback and invite you to participate in addressing the issues at hand.

I have said it before: I am very disappointed in the quality of the Mozy Only Backup service and the dismal support rendered by Berkeley Data systems.

Berkeley Data Systems has misrepresented and continues to misrepresent the program performance and support capabilities of the Mozy Online Backup system and services.

Here follows the detailed documentation of our unsuccessful efforts in making the Mozy Online Backup work which documentation will be carefully annotated and explained in the blog which I hope you will visit to post your comments.

In summary of our efforts over a period of 12 days to make the Mozy Online Backup program run successfully, a total of 22 email were exchanged between me and Customer Support at Berkeley Data Systems:
1. I sent 14 emails pleading for help and, finally, giving up and advising Berkeley Data Systems I removed the program and cancelled the Mozy Online Backup service.
2. Mozy Support responded with 5 auto response emails promising to answer not later than the next business day, none of which resulted in an answer.
3. Mozy Support responded with 3 emails, none of which resulted in any help.

In all my struggles trying to get help from Berkeley Data Systems, I have not even addressed yet the severe performance degradation of my computer when Mozy Online Backup is running.

Do you wish to learn the details of our experience? It's a long story, but I will gladly comply. Please send me an email at HDinter@GrandLifestyle.com.

With support like this, how can you sleep in peace,
trust the Mozy Online Backup program
backs up your data properly,
and your data are safe in the hands of
Berkeley Data Systems?

The bottom line: Mozy is not (yet?) fit to be entrusted with your data.

mosey —verb (without object)
1. to wander or shuffle about leisurely, stroll, saunter (often fol. by along, about, etc.
2. to leave quickly, decamp.

Saddle up and come mozy down ...