EMC storage plan to charge by the gigabyte
EMC Corp. of Hopkinton may be the world’s largest digital data storage company. But it still can’t keep up with surging consumer demand for cheap Internet backup for photos, videos, and music.
So EMC’s Mozy Home backup service, which offers online file storage for consumers, has abandoned its longstanding offer of unlimited data backup for a flat monthly fee. From now on, Mozy Home users will pay by the gigabyte — being charged according to the volume of information they send for storage. That means higher prices for Mozy Home users, and a possible boost for EMC’s smaller Bay State rival, Carbonite Inc. of Boston.
Russ Stockdale, Mozy’s vice president of product management, said that while most of what consumers once backed up was financial records or important e-mails, millions now collect huge video and photo files made with their camcorders, digital cameras, and cellphones.
“Consumers . . . are simply generating way, way more digital content,’’ said Stockdale. “As things change, you evolve.’’
Last week, Carbonite said that it will continue providing all-you-can-eat data backup for about $55 a year. But Mozy officials say that Carbonite’s service has built-in limitations that make it unlimited in name only.
Each company allows users to install software on their personal computers that automatically transmits data files to remote storage centers, where the files are preserved. If a user’s computer is lost, stolen, or damaged, the backed-up files can be accessed over the Internet and downloaded onto a new or repaired machine.
But Mozy Home will now charge $5.99 a month to store a maximum of 50 gigabytes of data, or $9.99 a month for 125 gigs. Customers who need still more can pay an additional $2 per month for each additional 20 gigs of storage.
Stockdale wouldn’t say whether Mozy Home had been losing money. He said that data storage gear was steadily becoming cheaper, but “on the other hand, the average amount per user is growing faster than the cost of that storage is declining.’’
Stockdale said that Carbonite tries to weed out heavy users by setting limitations on its backup service. For instance, it does not back up video files unless the customer specifically orders the software to do so. Video files are among the largest files used by many consumers.
In addition, Carbonite is set to run more slowly for customers with lots of files to back up. For a customer’s first 35 gigabytes of data, the service backs up the files at up to 2 million bits per second, but the speed falls to 512,000 bits per second for backups of 35 to 200 gigabytes. Still larger backups run even more slowly.
Swami Kumaresan, general manager of Carbonite’s consumer business, said that his company’s restrictions would affect only a tiny percentage of all customers. “The purpose of the unlimited flat-fee model is not, quite frankly, to provide dirt-cheap storage to people with unlimited needs. The purpose is to keep the service simple and the price affordable to the vast majority of our audience,’’ said Kumaresan.
Adam Couture, research director for storage services at Gartner Inc. in Hopkinton, said that by repricing Mozy Home, EMC is bowing to reality. “The all-you-can-eat model, I believe, is a recipe for killing your margins,’’ he said.
Couture said millions of consumers now use high-definition video cameras. That means much larger data files to back up, and added pressure on Carbonite to rethink its pricing plan.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 
