"Trust, but verify."

 - Ronald Reagan, US President during the Cold War.

Choosing a provider of data recovery services is a monumental decision. And like any monumental decision, it should be made only after careful consideration. Like President Reagan who refused to take everything the Soviets said regarding their nuclear arms at face value, one should verify claims made by professional data recovery service providers.

So, what are the things that a firm should look for in a data recovery provider before signing on the dotted line? Here are the more important things to be considered:

1. GSA approved – The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. It formulates standards for different services. Consequently, a GSA-approved provider can be considered to be of sufficiently high quality.

2. ISO certified – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international body that sets standards and consists of representatives from various national standards organizations. As with GSA approval, ISO certification ensures that a provider meets quality standards.

3. BBB accreditation – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gathers and archives information it receives about businesses from multiple sources to filter members who apply to be accredited. BBB accreditation ensures that a provider of data recovery services has no significant complaints registered against it by customers.

4. Cleanroom certification – Data recovery is a specialized activity that requires a sanitized environment, in other words, a cleanroom. A cleanroom has a controlled level of contamination that is specified by the number of particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size. Third-party certification ensures those specified standards are met for effective hard drive data recovery.

5. Client reviews – Ultimately, the best evaluator of a data recovery provider is its past and existing clientele. While client reviews are definitely important in assessing a provider, one must verify the accuracy of these reviews.

6. Years of service – The number of years a data recovery provider has been in business is an effective indicator of its reliability. If it’s not reliable, it would soon be out of business. On the contrary, a longer history means that it has been profitable for long and has earned the confidence of clients.