Vantage Data Recovery

Almost every data recovery company has a page on their website explaining how to choose a data recovery company.  These pages generally tell you why they are the best/only/most logical choice.  “Choose me.  Pick me.  Love me.”

I would like to go on record as saying that while I would certainly like you to “choose me”; I know that Vantage is not the only professional data recovery company out there.  So how do you choose?

First, let me ask you just how important this data is to you.  Can it be easily and fairly inexpensively recreated?  Do you really need it or would it just be nice to get it back?  If it is truly important and/or valuable to you, you need a professional service.

So how do you decide who is qualified to recover your data and who is not?  It’s really not just about cost (although I know that is always important to all of us).   Start asking questions.  Read the websites – especially the fine print.  Then make the phone calls.  Talk to them.  If there is something that you are not sure of, or that doesn’t seem clear to you, ask.  The person on the other end of the line should be able to answer to your satisfaction.  Or if it is unanswerable, explain why.

How long have they been doing data recovery?  (Not how long have they been in business, they could have been doing something else.)  What do they do besides data recovery?  Ask them.  Check up on their website at the Wayback Machine. 

Will they safely image your drive and only work with the image, or are they going to attempt recovery on the original?  Do they have a clean room for internal repairs?  Do they use proprietary software and methods?  Companies that offer drastically low prices on data recovery generally only do simple recoveries on fully functional drives that they can hopefully recover with readily available software. 

Do they actually do the work themselves, on the premises?  Many companies who advertise themselves as data recovery “specialists” are really just resellers or brokers who outsource all of the work to other firms.  Companies who outsource their services tend to have longer lead times for recovery

How long will it take to get the data back?  Do they charge extra for a quicker turn around, or discount for a more leisurely recovery?  How will the data come back to you?  Are there extra charges for returning the data to you?  (Some companies use CD or DVD and charge by the disk.)

Is there a confidentiality agreement so that you know they will respect your privacy?   Will your confidential data be secure?  Are you comfortable with who will be seeing your financial information or family photos?

Finally, the most important part of choosing a company to handle your data recovery is your comfort level and your confidence in their ability to recover your data quickly and effectively.  This is something only you can decide for yourself.  Answering the questions I have outlined above should help.�