If you're rooted, try the app "titanium backup". It can backup all your data and system data/setting so if you need to do a factory reset you can get your phone back to exactly the way it was. It also restores the market links to your apps so you will continue to get update alerts; I don't know of any other apps that have this feature. I would suggest paying for the license key because that enables batch backup/restore. If you're not rooted, for reliability I suggest spending the money on "My Backup Pro" as its created by a company instead of an individual developer-- this isn't always good but in this situation I believe it means better service and more reliability. My backup pro also allows you to backup your apps to an online server they allow you to use for no additional cost.
While I use Titanium for local backup, I do have a redundancy implemented with My Backup Pro. MBP will backup to an online site, in case of lost hardware.
You can also set MBP to schedule automatic backups, though IIRC they are only for system settings, etc and not apps. The apps have to be manually backed up with MBP to either the SD card or their online site via the app.