The power of redundancy

Jumbo jets, like Boeing 747's, rely on multiple levels of redundancy. There are backups to the backups to the backups.

There have been cases where a 747 has safely landed using the seventh level of redundancy, i.e., the first six systems failed, and the planeload of passengers lives were saved by the seventh system.

Which brings us to the question of e-mail access. Given the importance of daily--even hourly, perhaps--e-mail access, have you built redundancy into your system? How many ways do you have to access your e-mail?

If your cable modem goes down, for example, can you quickly switch to a dial-up connection? If your primary e-mail provider is down, can you access your e-mail through another service?

Guerrillas with just one way to access their e-mail might want to explore setting up a low-cost back-up alternative, "just in case."