title: Compressed backups in SQL Server 2005
body: <p>What is the best free way to get your maintenance plan-generated backups compressed?</p>
  
  <p>I know there are non-free tools that will compress the backups, but I'm not interested in them.</p>
  
  <p>Options:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Have a T-SQL task after the backups that will run a script through xp_cmdshell that compresses every non compressed backup.</li>
  <li>???</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Any other ideas welcome, I'd like to avoid writing a script/program.</p>