Several weeks ago, I was vacationing in Florida just after Hurricane Milton made landfall and rendered millions without electricity, gasoline, phone service, or internet. These recent devastating storms are a stark reminder of the critical importance of disaster recovery (DR) in today’s business landscape. An irony of modernization is that our increasing dependence on technology opens the door to more business disruption. While natural disasters have long been a primary driver for DR initiatives, the rise of ransomware attacks has exposed new vulnerabilities in our increasingly digital businesses.

Disaster Recovery Is No Longer Hypothetical

The threat landscape has expanded beyond traditional concerns. In addition to natural disasters, businesses face risks from cyberattacks, power outages, and hardware failures. As the frequency and variety of potentially disruptive events increase, the likelihood of needing to rely on a DR solution becomes less of a hypothetical scenario and more of an inevitable reality. According to a 2021 survey, nearly one in three businesses experienced an outage over a two-year period, and 61% reported outages that cost them more than $100,000 at some point. Disaster recovery is also a growing concern amid compliance requirements, as data loss can lead to financial and other penalties.

Disaster Recovery Challenges

At the core of disaster recovery lies the critical ability to restore data. Data is both transformative and complex. Business leaders expect all data to always be available to foster new initiatives and projects. They want nearly everything to be retained because they see potential value in a greater array of data types. If you could simply store all data in a single cloud repository, that request would be easy enough. Unfortunately, there are many challenges:

• On-Premises Considerations: Despite the cloud trend, 37% of organizations still run data protection exclusively on-premises, and 47% for government organizations do the same.
• Regulatory Requirements: Some agencies mandate that data be kept in-house due to control capabilities and specific requirements. Others set minimum retention periods for certain types of data.
• Hybrid Complexity: Hybrid environments involve managing data and applications across both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, making DR planning and execution more complex.

According to the mentioned study, 28% of survey respondents identified meeting disaster recovery requirements as a challenge. Only data capacity and growth were of greater concern. DR is a growing challenge in the era of transformational digital data.

Businesses Turn To Hybrid DR

Hybrid computing introduces significant complexities to DR strategies:

• Organizations must carefully balance on-premises and cloud-based solutions to meet their DR needs.
• Managing complex storage implementations across different environments becomes a challenging task often requiring specialized skills and tools.
• Ensuring the security and availability of critical data across multiple locations demands a comprehensive approach to data protection and access control.

Organizations can no longer rely on traditional on-prem DR solutions. That is why they are turning to more modernized solutions, according to a :

• 63% of organizations are using cloud services for data protection.
• 41% use a hybrid cloud deployment for data protection.
• 22% exclusively use cloud-based backup services like DRaaS.

Greater Flexibility And Enhanced Resilience

In the same way hybrid has transformed enterprises, it is now changing the game for DR. The shift to hybrid DR is not just about saving time and money. It is about making your whole system more resilient. Since most companies already use both on-site and off-site infrastructure, being able to keep data in multiple places just makes sense.

One of the keys to hybrid DR is Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI). HCI provides a common management plane across hybrid cloud environments and can help to minimize the outages related to hardware and software failures through its standardized architecture. Some HCI platforms, such as Nutanix, offer multiple snapshot types for greater flexibility in disaster recovery strategies. Nutanix provides two main types of snapshots:

• Full Snapshots: Used for asynchronous replication when RPO is 60 minutes or greater, keeping system resource usage low for extended periods with multiple snapshots.
• Lightweight Snapshots (LWS): Used for NearSync replication with RPO between 1-15 minutes, reducing metadata overhead and improving storage performance by decreasing I/O operations from long snapshot chains.

This flexibility is particularly valuable as enterprises increasingly seek to minimize their RPO and RTO times, where RPO measures the interval between backups and RTO measures the time between an outage and data recovery. The inherent flexibility of the Nutanix architecture is also evident in its distributed processing capabilities as well:

• Each node has its own virtual storage controller and access to local metadata.
• This design allows replication to scale along with the system because as you add more nodes, you add more processing power for replication.
• Every node participates in the replication process, which helps prevent performance hotspots in the cluster.
• Nutanix is designed to easily stretch between on-prem and the cloud, providing an approach where you can move data and workloads around as needed. By having your Nutanix infrastructure configured in this fashion allows for a simple to use and cohesive platform that can protect your data and also orchestrate the recovery shall the need arise.

This distributed approach allows for better scalability and performance compared to traditional systems that might have centralized bottlenecks or rely on specialized hardware.

Watch: Achieve A Game Winning Strategy With WEI & Nutanix

Final Thoughts

Nutanix leverages hybrid cloud environments to provide deeper resiliency and flexibility in data retention across multiple locations. Businesses that have embraced their approach have experienced numerous benefits in the DR efforts including:

• Elastic scaling
• Efficient snapshot management
• Simplified hybrid deployment
• Improved recovery times
• Integrated ransomware protection

As part of the Nutanix Elite Partner ecosystem, WEI can deliver a comprehensive disaster recovery solution tailored to your hybrid enterprise needs. Our innovative approach leverages Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) to seamlessly integrate on-premises and cloud environments that provides the resiliency and flexibility you need to ensure that your DR strategy aligns with both your infrastructure requirements and business objectives.

Next Steps: A leading federal credit union faced aging infrastructure, rising costs, and scalability challenges that jeopardized the reliability of its critical systems. To modernize its IT environment, they partnered with WEI to deploy a Nutanix-based hyperconverged solution, replacing outdated hardware and ensuring future growth with enhanced disaster recovery capabilities. and learn how WEI can transform your IT infrastructure!

*Source: 451 Research’s Voice of the Enterprise: Storage, Data Management and Disaster Recovery 2021

The post Why Disaster Recovery Matters For Business Survival In The Hybrid Cloud Era appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

It is not uncommon for a homegrown data protection strategy to encounter scalability challenges in an evolving IT environment as demands from rapid data growth, lifecycle management, and ransomware protection inevitably surface. Such was the case for a prominent enterprise software company that was in need of a modernized approach to data protection. With assistance from WEI, the customer evaluated Rubrik’s enterprise-class backup and recovery solution, aiming for a comprehensive enterprise data protection approach that enhanced its cyber resilience against ransomware threats and ensured its
mission-critical workloads were protected at scale.

The implementation of Rubrik’s Zero Trust Architecture, centralized
management platform, and advanced recovery capabilities not only protected
the customer’s AWS and Azure environments from ransomware, but also
lowered cyber insurance premiums, decreased recovery times and simplified
their IT operations.

The Challenge: Securing Data in a Modern IT Environment

How to improve upon an existing data protection strategy while continuing to deliver the software solutions its customers required served as the primary challenge. The company’s existing homegrown data backup solution lacked appropriate database protections, leaving the company susceptible to modern ransomware attacks. The lack of visibility into their cloud workloads also hindered their ability to effectively monitor and manage their cloud backup strategy. Decentralized management tools and reporting challenges made it a challenge to manage backups at scale. These issues impacted the company’s cyber resilience and recovery speed.

Watch: CVS & WEI: Growing Together

Identifying Solutions Through WEI’s Intensive Assessment Process

WEI focused on developing deeper insights into the customer’s evolving needs of their IT environment, and through this, identified additional considerations for cost savings and optimizations. This included cloud storage costs associated with utilizing AWS Elastic Block Storage (EBS) for snapshots of the environment versus lower cost storage tiers. To address these challenges and protect the company’s data, WEI needed to transform the company’s backup and recovery strategies and deploy a more effective solution.

WEI leveraged its relationship with Rubrik, a cloud data management and data security solution provider, to help build an effective backup and recovery strategy that addressed the customer’s challenges. Rubrik’s enterprise-class backup and recovery solution provides the comprehensive data protection WEI’s customer needed to fortify its cyber resilience. Rubrik’s Zero Trust architecture offers sophisticated security features for online backups, including unalterable snapshots and both encryption at-rest and in-transit which protect the company’s mission-critical workloads against cyber threats. The solution’s advanced recovery capabilities also improved the company’s cyber resilience program, offering on-demand rapid recovery at scale.

Watch: WEI Lifts United Site Services From Paper-Based Operations

Rubrik’s centralized management platform and single-pane-of-glass interface unify and standardize data management across the software company’s AWS and Azure deployments. Rubrik’s world-class reporting resources also provide the data and essential insights to promote more informed decision making. With tiered storage options, the cloud data backup solution also allows the company to place data in the most appropriate tier to minimize storage-related expenditures.

To demonstrate the operational benefits and cost efficiency of Rubrik over AWS native tools, WEI and Rubrik partnered to conduct a proof of concept (POC) for the customer. During this process, the customer validated the technology and assessed operational improvements that were made possible by the solution. Upon exiting a successful POC, the customer purchased the solution to improve their backup and recovery strategy and achieve significant cost savings.

Measured Outcomes

Improved Backup Management Bolsters Cyber Resilience

A comprehensive enterprise data protection strategy for the client has resulted in streamlined data security to simplify IT management, reduce risk of data loss, and enhance its resiliency against cyberattacks and downtime. The company can also manage backups at scale to accelerate recovery times and elevate operational efficiency.

Substantial Cost Savings & Efficiencies

Replacing its existing AWS native cloud storage services with Rubrik’s low-cost, long-term storage is estimated to save the company approximately $27 million over five years. In addition, the company will also benefit from lower cyber insurance premiums with the new solution’s robust data protections.

Strategic Insights Support Future Planning

Rubrik’s powerful cloud management tool and single pane view offer robust, yet simplified IT management functionality that can help the customer identify optimization opportunities. With increased visibility into the cloud environment, the company can build strategic insights that can drive future planning and enable improved cost effectiveness and data security. The combination of heightened awareness and enhanced management capabilities also empowers the company’s internal FinOps team to monitor cloud spend proactively to identify and justify if rising cloud costs are necessary to support the business or if adjustments are needed for operational and cost efficiency. The savings achieved through better controlled cloud costs can be reinvested in the business to continually develop software solutions that enrich project outcomes and the customer experience.

Watch: World-Class Technology Services By WEI

Talk To WEI Today

WEI’s experienced architects engaged with the customer in meaningful conversations around backup and recovery and conducted a thorough assessment of its existing data protection landscape. Through this process, WEI gained an in-depth understanding of the company’s existing situation as well as its business-specific, forward-looking needs.

To explore the potential cost savings, operational efficiencies, and cyber resilience your company can achieve with a modern backup and recovery solution, contact WEI for an assessment of your cloud data protection strategies.

Next Steps: A shareable asset of this case study may be accessed by selecting the button below.

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Imagine your IT organization as a ship sailing the seas. Equipped with a sturdy hull, a reliable power source, and a skilled crew, you’re ready to handle any potential threats that appear during your ocean voyage. However, massive waves from an incoming storm unexpectedly hit, which destroys your ship and sweeps away everything onboard. Despite team’s intense preparation, your vessel and its crew are caught off guard for this specific disaster, leaving survival uncertain.

Although rarer than it once was, the above scenario mirrors the potential impact of a ransomware attack on your business. You may have a strong IT infrastructure to streamline many business challenges, but what if a hidden ransomware attack wipes out your data, tools, and accessibility? This happens to businesses of all sizes daily, costing millions of dollars and damaging brand reputations. As a last form or protection, IT leaders are turning to backup solutions that protect businesses from cyber threats. In this blog post, we discuss the features of a reputable backup service to ensure full-time cyber-resiliency.

Cyber Attacks Looming Ahead

Ransomware attacks are on the rise. It’s not just costly, but also jeopardizes business continuity, affect customer satisfaction, and expose you to legal and regulatory risks. found that 85% of organizations faced at least once such occurrence in 2023, and most of them more than once. Almost half of these organizations’ data was lost, so they had to restore it from valuable backups. Talk about the importance of this last resort! 

However, cybercriminals genuinely want to make sure you pay the ransom. This is why they go , even before they delete or encrypt your files or infect an organization’s network. The key to hitting your cybersecurity goals is having a reliable backup solution in place to keep business data safe. Let’s explore. 

Mastering Cyber-Resilience With A Backup Solution

Various backup solutions are available in the market with WEI being familiar with many reputable platforms. When selecting one to augment your ransomware and overall cybersecurity posture, the key features to look for in a meaningful backup solution include:

• Data Security: Ensure the chosen backup solution employs encryption for data at rest and in transit. It should also have measures in place to prevent unauthorized access or modifications.
• Malware Detection: The backup solution should include a feature capable of scanning your data for potential threats. Immediate alerts should be provided for any suspicious activity or infections.
• Automated Recovery: Look for a backup solution that facilitates quick and easy data restoration, minimizing downtime and data loss through automated recovery processes.
• Hybrid Cloud Capabilities: Opt for a backup solution that supports various environments, including on-premises, cloud, or hybrid setups. This flexibility allows seamless backup and restoration of data across different platforms.

The effectiveness of a cyber-resilience strategy lies in choosing a robust backup solution, and stands out as one of the industry’s top choices.

What Veeam Brings To The Table

The latest introduces a new layer of security and ransomware protection for enterprises. It addresses concerns on data security, malware detection, automated recovery, and hybrid cloud capabilities.

Veeam offers the flexibility to backup and restore data across different environments, and . You can use Veeam to back up object storage data to any desired location. This gives more flexibility and control over your strategy and protects data from disasters, corruption, or ransomware attacks.

The empowers organizations to:

1. Be Vigilant: The backup process uses an AI-powered built-in malware detection engine to detect and identify cyber threats. This new feature enables your team to perform proactive threat hunting, as backup anomalies are instantly reported in your SIEM tools and . If needed, reach out for a second opinion from your trusted SIEM tool before you recover, using the new . This API allows your SIEM tool to mark recovery points as clean, infected, or suspicious.
2. Be Protected: The Veeam Data platform update 23H2 enables advanced for secure data storage and transfer. This way, only you can decrypt your data, even if stolen. You can also make your backups immutable, even by ransomware, to restore your data from a safe backup during an attack. Furthermore, disconnect backups from the network and limit access only to  authorized users to prevent ransomware from reaching and compromising your backups.
3. Be Resilient: technology helps you minimize downtime and data loss. Whether your environment is on-premises, cloud, or hybrid, you have the luxury of choosing the best recovery method for your data – from granular to full – and restore operations from any point in time.

The presents a responsive suite of data security features to prepare organizations for worst-case scenarios, including the ransomware.

Final Thoughts

As a billion dollar industry, ransomware attacks cause devastating consequences for enterprise data and operations. To protect against such threats, organizations require a flexible and resilient backup solution. Veeam’s latest Data Protection update is a reliable security platform that provides a comprehensive solution to combat ransomware.

With Veeam, you can face a sea of cyber challenges with confidence. Contact us today to learn how we can help you implement Veeam’s Data Protection solution.

Next Steps: Download our tech brief titled It dives into the five steps required for a proactive and secure backup strategy.

The post Three Benefits Of Veeam’s Data Protection Update To Your Cybersecurity Strategy appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The financial services sector is dealing with new challenges as they race to digitize for a better customer experience and high-performing branch operations. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are capitalizing on the increased complexity.

To address these concerns, financial institutions are turning to SD-WAN for a more efficient and secure network setup. This accelerates digital transformation and paves the way for the implementation of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. In this article, we explore how combining a high-quality SD-WAN with a robust security strategy can address the current challenges in this sector.

Modern Challenges Of The Financial Industry

The financial industry encounters a multifaceted set of challenges that hinder digital transformation, thus affecting both operational efficiency and security. These challenges include:

1. Infrastructure And Technological Challenges

Most banks still rely on outdated multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks that connect their branches to the main office. As a result, many are experiencing network problems, especially during mergers, restructuring, and acquisitions. This puts the banking industry at a . Expanding to additional branch locations also introduces the following complications:

• Increased time and energy pressures when setting up MPLS circuits
• Insufficient network bandwidth for disaster response and recovery
• Budget constraints in the IT department that hinder network infrastructure modernization

These obstacles, along with slow and unreliable data center connections and infrastructure, hamstring the migration of crucial business applications to the cloud.

2. Cybersecurity Threats Amid Digital Adoption

Rapid technological advancements require financial institutions to and improve the overall customer experience through:

• Transitioning routine transactions to online platforms
• The integration of self-service options in branches

Additionally, with rising transaction volumes and migration to the cloud, the financial services industry has become a prime target for cybercrime, including theft of funds and personal information, DDoS attacks, and ransomware.

3. Regulatory Compliance

The financial services industry operates under designed to protect consumers from fraud and maintain transparency. Organizations must comply with these standards, even in the face of resource limitations and potential threats.

Five Benefits Of SD-WAN To Financial Organizations

To overcome these challenges, it is essential to execute a comprehensive enterprise initiative. Implementing an advanced SD-WAN platform such as HPE empowers the financial services sector to step fully into the next generation of cloud technology. We’ve summarized five proven benefits of SD-WAN below.

1. Simplified And Cost-Efficient Network Infrastructure

Legacy MPLS services limit the migration of cloud-hosted applications, and requires IT teams to backhaul traffic to main data centers for security. This results in added latency and operational difficulties for remote branches. The edge platform streamlines operations by:

• Actively utilizing cost-effective broadband internet and 4/5G LTE services
• Overcoming reliability issues through features like Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Packet Order Correction (POC)
• Implementing tunnel bonding and dynamic path control

HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect enables financial institutions to transition from complex architectures to cost-effective network infrastructure, with real-time performance monitoring.

2. Quick Expansion And Roll-Out

Traditional MPLS services are not equipped to handle the added bandwidth used to expand branches and upgrade ATMs. However, EdgeConnect delivers private line-like performance through:

• Enabling cost-effective and swift deployment within a couple of weeks
• Improving network efficiency with features like path conditioning and zero-touch provisioning

Even without previous IT knowledge, anyone from the IT team can easily set up the EdgeConnect SD-WAN appliance from any remote site.

3. Optimized Backup And Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery plans commonly involve storing remote data backups at a considerable distance from the primary site, which can result in potential latency issues. To address this, organizations can opt for additional softwares like HPE to improve backup and disaster recovery performance. This enhancement is achieved through the acceleration of the TCP protocol and the incorporation of data deduplication and compression algorithms.

The platform proves effective even with substantial data sets, significantly reducing backup time, while simultaneously expediting recovery processes and optimizing bandwidth.

4. Secured Access And Customer Data

To guarantee compliance, financial institutions must secure customer data in cloud applications. This entails shifting from the conventional practice of backhauling cloud traffic to embracing a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. , as a fundamental element of SASE, provides unified branch security, zero-trust segmentation, and automated orchestration with third-party cloud security providers. These functionalities work cohesively to streamline network infrastructure, enhance security measures, and optimize overall operational efficiency.

5. PCI DSS Compliance

Incidents of card transaction fraud losses for merchants and ATM cardholders continue to increase over the years. In response to this escalating threat, PCI DSS outlines to mitigate credit card fraud, which is now a mandatory for any organization handling cardholder data. The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform supports compliance with nine of these requirements. This kind of compliance provide a secure environment with robust data protection for financial institutions in the cloud.

Final Thoughts

In the changing world of digital finance, the increasing threat of cybersecurity demands financial institutions to prioritize secure and reliable network connections. Unfortunately, various challenges and conflicting priorities often lead to neglecting network infrastructure, especially during cloud migration.

To tackle these challenges, financial institutions need to adopt a flexible SASE approach – using EdgeConnect SD-WAN as a foundation for cloud-hosted security solutions. By partnering with experts like WEI, this strategic approach enables organizations to smoothly undergo digital transformation, cut costs, and manage cybersecurity risks effectively. If you’re ready to explore these possibilities, reach out to our team to get started.

Next Steps: Just about every business we talk with has long-term remote workforce initiatives, and security has become a larger focal point of each conversation because devices are no longer protected by the traditional enterprise perimeter. Don’t leave security to chance with your remote workforce. See how HPE Aruba Networking is solving the challenge with their Remote Access Points, and find out just how easy their RAPs are to implement and manage in our tech brief below.

The post Five Proven Use Cases For SD-WAN In The Financial Services Industry appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Every organization relies on data, and it’s crucial to keep it safe, recoverable, and secure. When it comes to data security, organizations act like vigilant guardians protecting a treasure. To shield against threats like ransomware and hardware failures, they continuously upgrade hardware and software and analyze methods to improve systems and backups. Research suggests that the best way to reduce hidden threats is by using technologies that automate infrastructure checks and implementing network segmentation.

In addressing data protection, various approaches are adopted by organizations. Some prioritize continuous monitoring, others opt for the integration of advanced security architectures, and some choose to augment their teams and centralize security decision-making. Despite the effectiveness of these strategies, challenges persist in securing data within hybrid cloud environments. This article aims to explore how to best bridge the existing security gap by securing data and hybrid cloud.

Challenges In Data And Cloud Security

Traditional data protection means copying the data that changed in various production environments during off-peak hours and storing that copy in a secondary location. The limitations of daily backups pose the following challenges:

• Outdated copies can hinder quick recovery, especially during times of cyber-attacks or natural disasters.
• Costly backup management.
• Shortages in competent and experienced IT security personnel.
• Difficulty in meeting regulatory requirements.

With data being generated at lightning speed, businesses must update their protection strategies to ensure efficient data safeguarding and recovery. To minimize concealed threats, it is essential to embrace technologies such as cloud environments, automated infrastructure, and network segmentation.

Research shows a growing inclination towards adopting zero trust and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architectures to handle vulnerabilities and user access. Prioritizing data safety demands robust measures for protection, recoverability, and security. In the face of these developments, businesses are urged to adapt swiftly and modernize their approaches for comprehensive data management.

Using Backups For Data And Cloud Security

As more organizations amplify their security measures and migrate to the cloud, more than 90% leverage the cloud for data protection. IDC predicts that by 2025, 55% of organizations will adopt a cloud-centric data protection strategy. There are several ways to boost data security, and one of the fastest-growing data protection solutions that businesses can utilize is Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS).

Driven by an increase in cloud-related spending and new cloud application deployments, BaaS solutions range from “do it yourself” options to more full-service options.

BaaS solutions have multiple benefits, including:

• Lower operational costs
• Scalability
• Ease of use
• Data security
• Disaster recovery
• Reduction of backup windows and reusing backups for other tasks
• Provision of automated reporting, monitoring, and management.

Moreover, BaaS integrates with other cloud services, such as analytics, archiving, and content delivery.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise responds to the demand for BaaS and addressing modern cybersecurity challenges through . Expanding their focus on storage software and data management, one notable offering is .

Reasons To Choose HPE GreenLake For Backup And Recovery

HPE GreenLake for Backup and Recovery is crafted for hybrid clouds, streamlining protection across diverse storage in such settings. It caters to administrators managing on-premises and cloud workloads, ensuring fast data recovery, consistent backup and encryption, and seamless restoration of operations. This bridges the security gap between on-prem and cloud environments.

The service delivers the following benefits to your IT infrastructure:

1. Simplified protection and enhanced security measures delivered as SaaS. This approach removes the complexity of managing various components traditionally associated with backup servers. HPE also manages the entire backup environment, including updates and new functionalities.
2. The Global Protection Policy guarantees uniform protection for organizational policies across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid workloads.
3. Integration and comprehensive data management with various HPE edge-to-cloud services such as , HPE GreenLake, and .
4. Data protection which extends to various storage solutions like HPE GreenLake for Block Storage, HPE Alletra, HPE Nimble Storage, and HPE Primera.
5. Ease of operation via a secure, single cloud console. This addresses security concerns with built-in encryption, backup data immutability, and dual authorization.
6. A consumption-based, pay-as-you-go model, which eliminates the need for upfront investment.

Originally designed for VMware virtual machines (VMs), the service has now expanded its protection to include Amazon EBS volumes and EC2 instances. This broader coverage makes HPE GreenLake for Backup and Recovery a dependable BaaS solution suitable for any organization.

Final Thoughts

Effective data protection is crucial. The cloud, particularly in hybrid architectures, is emerging as the primary platform for safeguarding data. This trend aligns seamlessly with cloud-based data protection, such as BaaS. IT managers seek to unify data protection across application platforms, and outsourcing routine tasks through BaaS can empower teams to prioritize essential business activities.

WEI offers expert guidance on data protection solutions tailored to your organization’s needs. Pay-as-you-go solutions like HPE GreenLake for Backup and Recovery ensure reliable protection and seamless integration into broader frameworks to simplify your operations. Contact our team for information on implementing an effective data protection strategy for your business.

Next Steps: As you begin preparing your enterprise for the move to the hybrid cloud, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss any critical steps. Download and read our free and informative checklist, now.

The post How To Navigate Modern Data Security Challenges In The Hybrid Cloud Era appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

When recording a significant event where every moment matters, would you choose a video camera or a standard camera? A video camera, complete with expansive memory, makes frame-by-frame recording possible. In contrast, a standard camera only takes occasional photos and fails to capture the in-between moments that define an event in its entirety.

For business operations to be complemented by a comprehensive disaster recovery solution, competent IT leaders would prefer a solution that is akin to the video camera analogy. In essence, it is about capturing the entire spectrum of your business processes without unnecessary gaps and blind spots. However, many organizations still use snapshot-based legacy solutions, like the mentioned standard camera, that only capture one single image at a time, potentially missing ongoing events that are critical.

CDP vs Snapshots

Zerto Disaster Recovery (DR) is a leading DR solution due to its modernized approach that utilizes continuous data protection (CDP). CDP involves the capture of all changes as they occur and replicate these changes to backup storage. Remember, continuous recording is the only way that IT leaders can ensure every single data change is captured and recovered.

Yet, there was a time in which organizations accepted less in the form of snapshot protection. Snapshots are point-in-time images of data taken at periodic intervals, capturing data or the state of a system at a particular moment. The problem is that you need more than that one moment in time, and because time is money, you are leaving money on the table when settling for snapshots. Businesses cannot afford periodic recovery. It demands continuous recovery, which is what Zerto delivers.

Recovery Point Objectives

The goal of DR is to swiftly restore an organization’s critical operations following an unforeseen incident, thereby limiting both data loss and downtime. This overarching aim is encapsulated in two key objectives:

• The recovery point objective (RPO) refers to the maximum amount of data loss an organization is willing to accept in the event of a disruption. As an example, an RPO of three hours means that in the event of a disaster, your organization can tolerate losing three hours’ worth of data.
• The recover time objective (RTO) is the duration in which business processes must be restored to avoid unacceptable consequences associated with a disruptive event. For example, a company may determine they must recover and resume functions within two hours of a disaster.

Continuous data protection enhances RPO and RTO more effectively than snapshot-based methods by endlessly capturing and replicating data changes in real-time. With CDP, data loss is minimized to almost zero in the event of a disruption, as the most recent changes are already saved, significantly improving the RPO. Additionally, since the data is continuously updated and readily available, the time required to restore operations and data after a disaster is significantly reduced. Whichever way you look at it, CDP leads to faster recovery times and that includes all the pieces to your operations puzzle.

More About Zerto

A longtime partner of WEI, Zerto stands out with its true CDP solution to offer industry-leading RPO and RTO for companies that cannot tolerate business disruption. With Zerto DR, enterprises have the capability to recover anything at any point in time, within a granularity of seconds. What makes this possible is Zerto’s unique journaling technology. This approach not only ensures continuous data availability but also results in storage efficiency by eliminating the need for frequent, heavy snapshots. Key benefits of Zerto’s CDP solution include:

• No negative impact on production performance as Zerto’s CDP process operates seamlessly without affecting the production environment.
• Simplified operations without the need for complex scheduling thanks to Zerto’s continuous and automatic data protection approach.
• Minimized risk of data loss, with comprehensive and gap-free data recording.
• Reduced management overhead for storage arrays, enhancing efficiency and reducing operational complexities.

With Zerto, you gain a robust and efficient disaster recovery solution that addresses common challenges associated with traditional data protection methods.

Zerto Protects Your Applications, Too

Data alone does not do any good if you cannot act on it. It is your mission-critical applications that work with your data and create value from it, which means backing up the application environment is a must. This pertains to not just backing up files and folders, but also your virtual machine environment. This includes items such as the preconfigured boot-order of your VMs or the network and IP address configuration of their network environment. If you want to know just how resilient Zerto is when it comes to VM environments, it can handle VM counts in the five digits. That is what you call an encompassing solution.

Choosing Zerto and GreenLake Together

Choosing Zerto’s journaling technology for effective CDP stands out as a superior alternative to traditional snapshot methods. The decision to adopt this advanced approach is just the first step however, because the next critical choice is determining how best to integrate this technology into your operational environment. This is where the partnership between HPE GreenLake and Zerto becomes pivotal, offering Disaster Recovery CDP as a comprehensive service.

HPE GreenLake, renowned for delivering flexible OPEX solutions, now incorporates Zerto’s CDP, thereby streamlining the adoption process. This collaboration enables a shift away from traditional on-premises deployment or reliance on managed service providers (MSPs), offering a SaaS-based solution that fits into a diverse edge-to-cloud platform. With HPE GreenLake and Zerto, achieving RPOs in seconds and RTOs in minutes becomes a streamlined, efficient process, enhancing your DR capabilities within the HPE GreenLake ecosystem.

The integration with HPE GreenLake also means global accessibility to Disaster Recovery solutions via the Data Services Cloud Console (DSCC). This unified console allows for the management of all mission-critical and business-critical assets in one place, offering a simplified, comprehensive view. By consolidating these functions, HPE GreenLake not only enhances operational efficiency but also optimizes expenditures. With the ease at which these as-a-service solutions can be consumed, any other way of acquiring DR may seem as archaic as, well, snapshotting your environment.

Talk to WEI to learn how HPE GreenLake and Zerto can collaboratively to ensure the relentless progression of your business activities.

The post Is There A Better Way To Consume Disaster Recovery? appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Picture this: You’ve just been involved in a minor car accident. Thankfully, you have car insurance, and while you hoped to never use it, it sits available at a moment’s notice. In the business world, that’s the essence of (DRaaS). It’s like insurance for your critical data and applications: it might seem unnecessary at first, but when disaster strikes, you’ll be grateful for the investment.

DRaaS is currently one of the leading managed services due to its unparalleled benefits, customizability, and alignment with specific business objectives. In this article, we will explore its rising popularity and the significant value it offers to enterprises.

The DR Revolution

Let’s quickly begin with the origins of the 3-2-1 rule, which can be traced back to the 1960s. It was during this period that early iterations of the computer entered our everyday world. With the 3-2-1 rule, a third copy of an organization’s most critical data would be stored off-site for disaster recovery purposes. This could be due to a natural disaster or a data breach. Though not in the form of cassette tapes or CDs, this 3-2-1 practice is still very popular today, give or take a few nuances.

Before the days of virtualization, businesses were required to uphold a second data center, which meant investing in extra servers and infrastructure. Moreover, keeping everything synchronized and managing replication across various locations was a burdensome task, particularly with physical hosts. All these factors led to the doubling of infrastructure and expenses associated with DR, making it less feasible for organizations with limited IT agility.

However, the emergence of virtual machines (VMs) and the public cloud marked a shift in the DR landscape. With the introduction of orchestration tools, workflows and recovery processes are now automated – including IP and network changes. This automation simplifies the DR process and makes it more manageable and cost-effective for businesses, allowing them to achieve resilience without the burden of excessive expenses.

As technology advanced, public cloud providers teamed up with VMs to offer , enabling businesses to run VMs in the cloud. This breakthrough led to the introduction of DRaaS to deliver flexibility and stability to workloads.

The era of hybrid cloud and the advent of modern and natural threats paved the way for newer DRaaS platforms so it is important that businesses keep their disaster recovery plans up to speed. says, “The value WEI brings to the table is the expertise in running these newer DR-as-a-Service solutions across various public cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform).”

This specialized skill set of understanding networking, security, and other ancillary services from various cloud providers enables WEI to deliver tailored solutions that meet various business requirements.

3 Reasons To Embrace DRaaS

DRaaS comes in different forms, and provides a host of benefits for any type of business, including:

• Scalability: Whether an enterprise runs 1 or 500 VMs, has 20 servers or 100 servers, understanding the business requirements allows for tailored DRaaS tiers that align with existing VM design and needs. , a network virtualization software, plays a vital role in making the service flexible by enabling multiple networks with the same IP range. This streamlines the DR process and ensures a smoother and more forecasted recovery experience for different customers with overlapping IP ranges. Of course, understanding the business requirements of DR-as-a-Service opens up new avenues of discussion where we can really get into the costing model and determine the importance of applications. The need to be recovered at all, versus the need to be recovered in a day, four hours or even a week. The quicker the recovery time, the more expensive the end solution.
• Cost-effectiveness: Moving to an operational expense model eliminates the need for a license to run it and to own and maintain physical equipment, making DRaaS a more affordable option.
• Efficiency in operations: Opting for the as-a-Service option for DR streamlines manpower allocation compared to maintaining a second data center or working through unnecessary IT personnel skill gaps The security and recoverability features of a public cloud also eliminate the need for physical site maintenance.

DRaaS is an attractive solution, but it’s not one-size-fits-all. It should always align with a business’s specific needs and requirements. The key is defining what applications need in terms of availability and recoverability.

What’s Next For DRaaS?

DRaaS is not going anywhere, and IT leaders should take note. Many WEI customers have experienced pain points that could have been prevented with a reliable and tested DRaaS plan. A robust DRaaS plan plays a critical role in minimizing the impacts of disasters, ensuring business resilience, and preparing for the future.

Business leaders should explore possible scenarios when planning to employ DRaaS. highlights these questions to start the conversation around DR:

• What am I planning for?
• How am I planning to recover my workloads should the worst thing happen?

As DR solutions have advanced to become more accessible and cost-effective, he emphasizes DRaaS’ significance as an “insurance policy” for protecting critical data and applications.

The integration of virtual machines (VMs) and personalized DRaaS in the public cloud environment provides businesses with reliable protection and peace of mind amid the ever-growing threats of ransomware, phishing, malware, and growing natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes.

Final Thoughts

At WEI, we understand that each business is unique, and with increasingly escalating cyber threats, DRaaS is becoming a top priority for companies aiming to establish robust IT infrastructures. Having this service in place is something every business will be grateful for, as it provides the assurance of enhanced resilience and protection against potential disruptions.

Whether you choose VMware on-premises or in the cloud, our dedicated professionals can offer expert advice on managing your workloads to meet your objectives and ensure you’re ready for any unforeseen circumstances.

Next steps: WEI’s Mark Gabryjelski, who has been practicing VMware since 2000, and ESX since 2002, explains in the video below why it is wise to regularly perform an optimization assessment on an enterprise’s cluster infrastructure.

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In the era of remote working cybersecurity risks, evolving IoT, increased cloud services, and revolving ransomware, businesses require reliable IT infrastructure to protect their data and ensure continuity of operations. According to Veeam’s report, 79% of IT leaders see a “Protection Gap” between tolerable data loss and how IT protects their data. Addressing this gap usually involves an upgrade of various disaster recovery services for production and protection. To tackle this concern, enterprises are better off subscribing to (DRaaS) rather than for cost efficiency, scalability, and reliability.

How Does DRaaS Work?

DRaaS is an effective cloud computing solution that provides organizations with a comprehensive and cost-effective way to back up their data remotely. Traditional disaster recovery (DR) solutions require companies to buy extra equipment and pay for maintenance costs, which is often expensive. DRaaS is different because it is economical, scalable, and reliable.

DRaaS typically involves the use of multiple cloud providers to replicate data between physical or virtual locations for disaster recovery purposes. This ensures the organizations’ continuous operations through regular backups of data and the ability to quickly deploy the necessary resources when needed, thus reducing downtime and costs in the event of an emergency.

Why Choose DRaaS For Your Business?

Through the expertise of third-party providers, DRaaS is an ideal solution for businesses looking for cost-efficient, scalable, reliable and secure data protection platforms during security threats or natural disasters – making it the ideal choice for enhancing any enterprise’s data protection and disaster recovery strategy. Our team has identified three effective reasons for your IT and business executives to consider DRaaS:

Cost Efficiency Of DRaaS

DRaaS is a better and more financially responsible alternative to traditional disaster recovery solutions. By leveraging DRaaS, companies don’t have to deal with additional equipment or maintenance costs, contributing to significant operational savings.

Based on Trends in Data Protection report, businesses that employ DRaaS protocols have the potential to save up to 70% on their IT budget. Apart from savings, DRaaS guarantees the recovery of data in the event of a disaster, which ensures business continuity. Therefore, DRaaS offers a reliable and cost-efficient way for companies to stay afloat, sustainably recover from disasters, and maintain their operations in the long run.

Scalability Of DRaaS

Traditional disaster recovery solutions require companies to invest in extra equipment and pay for maintenance costs, which become quite pricey during scale-ups. DRaaS allows businesses to scale their storage space based on changing needs. This approach utilizes scalable storage, meaning that instead of requiring the purchase of hardware and maintenance, businesses adjust storage based on their growth.

Furthermore, DRaaS enhances security measures by ensuring the safety of business data in the event of a disaster or threat. This allows businesses to remain confident in the security of their sensitive information. DRaaS provides peace of mind and eliminates the stress of data recovery and protection.

Reliability And Security Of DRaaS

Ransomware attacks affect more than annually. With data protection becoming a priority, DRaaS is a relevant solution to ensure continuous availability during a malicious event. DRaaS is a modern data backup solution that offers optimal resource allocation. DRaaS protects your data with advanced encryption and cloud computing technologies, providing an additional layer of security.

In case of a disaster, recovery time objectives (RTOs) are crucial to business continuity. Unlike traditional DR solutions, DRaaS guarantees a significant reduction of RTOs from hours to minutes or even seconds. Additionally, the built-in multi-site redundancy and uptime guarantees of DRaaS streamline workflows, minimizing the disruption to your enterprise’s productivity. As such, DRaaS is an instrumental tool for businesses with limited resources for data protection plans.

Final Thoughts

With its secure and automated backup capabilities, DRaaS provides an insurance policy against any potential threats or crises. ensures data is protected and ready to be quickly restored in the event of an emergency. Companies of all sizes benefit from using DRaaS to keep valuable data safe and secure.

At WEI, we highly recommend this option as a vital component of any business continuity and disaster recovery plan. If you’d like to assess how a DRaaS strategy will work for you, contact us today.

Next Steps: Download our tech brief titled It dives into the five steps required for a proactive and secure backup strategy.

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In the last few years, technology has continued to surge ahead, with many of these new developments taking cybersecurity to new heights. Unfortunately, the same technologies are being used by a growing number of hackers intent on monetizing your personal and professional data. This comes in the form of targeting both traditional and non-traditional devices such as edge devices and virtual cities.

We often assume cyberattacks only happen to mega enterprises such as Walmart, Meta, or Google. These assaults make the front page, but the people most often affected by breaches in data security are not big businesses or countries. Rachel Wilson, a former NSA agent and professional with over 20 years working in cybersecurity, put it best in her recent evaluation of the cybersecurity concerns today, stating, “The key thing for all of us is to recognize that now 70% of that malicious cyber activity is coming after us. It’s coming after anyone with two nickels to rub together.”

Wilson explained that cybercriminals don’t target your enterprise or data for personal reasons. They agnostically target you because you are simply vulnerable. As many cybersecurity professionals already know, it is not a question of if a malicious event will occur, but when.

Contemporary Cybersecurity Concerns

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made a lot of changes to our physical world, but the virtual landscape also saw immense changes. One published by McAfee in 2020 indicated that the pandemic saw an 81% increase in attempted cyberattacks.

Over the past two years, cybersecurity risks have greatly increased due to what Wilson referred to as the Three Rs:

• Russia – While the situation might not be as dire as some might worry, Russian cybercriminals continue to raid data around the country. Whether those attacks are organized by the government or not, tense relations between the United States and Russia have certainly increased the frequency of cyberattacks.
• Ransomware – This lucrative form of extortion often involves stealing someone’s data, encrypting it, and offering to give it back for an obscenely large fee. In 2021, this form of cyberattack dealt the most damage to the United States economy, costing U.S. businesses a total of . By some estimates, that boils down to a business being attacked once every 10 seconds.
• Resilience – Living through a global pandemic, many of us were, and still are, in a depleted mental state. This often leads to business owners and employees taking risks that make their enterprises even more vulnerable, such as keeping the same passwords, clicking nefarious links, or downloading data from disreputable sources.

These factors, along with the increased amount of remote workers using their own devices, have created ideal opportunities for criminals to compromise valuable data and breach unknown security vulnerabilities. This is particularly nerve wracking when you consider that most hackers need very little time to .

How You Can Improve Your Enterprise’s Cybersecurity

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve your chances of avoiding and recovering from a malicious event. We’ve listed a few of our favorites below:

1. Update Your Devices. This might seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised by how often people forget to keep their devices up to date. When engineers create an update for a smart device, they work out the bugs and vulnerabilities in the code. All hackers have to do is reverse engineer these fixes to prey on devices without the updates.
2. Create A Backup Strategy. If your data is compromised by a malicious event, you will need to make sure you have access to a journal-style snapshot of your data elsewhere. One of the most common strategies is the “3-2-1 Strategy.” This involves having three copies of your data in two geographically dispersed locations, one of which is removed from your network. Here, you can rest assured that at least one version of your backup is safe from a potential cyberattack.
3. Regularly Restore From Backup. If your system is down because of a cyberattack, every minute you don’t restore your server can have severe impacts on your organization’s finances. Routinely restore from backups so that it is second nature when you need it.

Performing these simple tasks can greatly improve your enterprise’s preparedness for a potential cyberattack. “These cyber threats are coming after all of us,” said Rachel Wilson. “They don’t discriminate, and that means all of us in 2022 (and 2023) need to be raising our game.”

Zerto Provides Assurance In The Event Of A Cyberattack

If you are relying on a backup system, you want to make sure you have one you can feel confident in. That is where HPE’s Zerto comes in.

Contrary to many cloud recovery systems, Zerto is software-based and not bound to a particular provider. In addition to being provider agnostic, Zerto offers strong protection against the growing concern of ransomware in the following ways:

• Cloud Mobility – When Zerto notices a change, they copy it, replicate it, and send it to the cloud space (whether that is private or personal). Most importantly, this does not interfere with production and is always on.
• Journal-style Updates – Rather than using a snapshot feature like many other backup services, Zerto checks every five to ten seconds. This means that if a cyberattack hits at 10:00:00, you can recover to 09:59:55 and lose seconds, instead of hours, of work.
• Stack Applications Into Groups – Virtual memory is not the only concern in a malicious event. Applications are also important. If there is a data set in the VM that supports an application, you can group them into a virtual protection group (VPG). This grouping allows you to recover the VMs back to the same point without compromising write-order fidelity. This allows you to test recovery without impacting your production environment.

There are steps enterprises and individuals can take to improve their security and come out the other side of cyberattacks strong. If you have more questions about how you can integrate HPE’s Zerto into your enterprise, contact WEI today.

Next Steps: WEI and HPE/Zerto recently welcomed Rachel Wilson for an exclusive IT security discussion. Rachel currently serves as the director of cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and is a former NSA senior executive. Experts from WEI and HPE also provided data protection and disaster recovery options to help combat cyber threats to your organization, data, and self. Learn more by watching the full webcast below.

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It seems like we never have enough time to get everything done that we need to do during our time off. Before you know it, the weekend’s over and there’s still items left on our “to-do” list. That’s certainly the way it is for . If you’re a backup administrator, you know the routine too well. Full and incremental backups take an enormous amount of time. They also consume a lot of resources and bandwidth. Because of their negative impact on production environments, we schedule backup jobs during off-peak hours. The problem is that window just never seems to be quite long enough and with burgeoning data repositories and an expanding application portfolio, that window seems to only get smaller. Face it, scheduling backups in the hope they complete in time without interfering with one another is stressful. Administrators can only hope the last backup job completes before users begin to trickle in Monday morning. If not, users will be competing with those same backup jobs for network bandwidth and server utilization resources and the help desk phones begin to ring.

Complexity and Cost

And then there is the complexity of everything we have to protect. Applications are increasingly dispersed across multiple VMs along with an under layer of dependencies, creating complex application chains that must be completely restored to fully recover from an incident. To address the challenge of narrowing backup windows, traditional backup vendors have created their own distributed solutions, further adding to the complexity of it all. All of this adds to the nervous question of whether a speedy recovery on demand is truly possible, whether that’s a complete restore or the granular recovery of a few files. That’s why so much time is spent monitoring the backup processes, time that could be better spent creating value for the organization. 

Zerto Eliminates the Backup Window

and protection software takes the stress out of backing up your data. There’s no need to sweat about whether the backup job will finish in time. That’s because their continuous data replication is constantly working, replicating every change that is generated within your environment in real time. No more mammoth backup streams being pushed through your network. Zerto backs up little bits at a time, creating what is referred to as recovery point objectives every few seconds. In other words, the slightest data change creates an RPO. No more intense backup processes that consume the resources of the servers you are trying to protect either.

Granular and Accurate Recovery

Let’s face it, backup restoration using point-in-time copies used in traditional backup technology is like taking a spin at the roulette wheel. It’s impossible to avoid recovery gaps as data changes since the last backup job are lost. Then there is the wasted time of restoring more data than you need to restore. Zerto eliminates these large recovery gaps and wasted labors because every data change is replicated in real time. This gives you the ability to restore your data down to the precise second. If a disruption occurred at 9:45 AM, you can restore your data back to 9:44 AM. At most, you lose windows of seconds, not hours, as is the case with traditional backups.

The ability to restore back with pinpoint accuracy is critically important for consistent recovery efforts of multi-VM applications that must be protected as one logical entity. Now you can spin up each application VM from the exact same recovery point, ensuring application consistency. Of course, not every instance calls for this type of split-second recovery. copies are still relevant for those organization needing to store data for long retention periods due to compliance requirements. For those longer retention periods, traditional backup copies are offloaded to secondary storage according to your schedule needs.

Simplified Backup Architecture

Zerto was created with simplicity in mind. It’s designed to fit into nearly any environment regardless of infrastructure because its technology is agnostic. Its purpose-built software appliance installs on any host where virtual or Kubernetes applications are to be protected so it doesn’t require dedicated hardware. It’s small footprint and low overhead components make it easy to scale out to potentially protecting petabytes of data and thousands of VMS. Despite its vast coverage potential, it doesn’t require weeks of intensive training to master it. is a single software experience that can accommodate a full slate of needs across the entire data management and protection spectrum. All of this translates into a future-proof solution and a reduced TCO.

The Power of Zerto and HPE Together

It’s easy to see how is changing the backup technology landscape. That’s why HPE recently completed its acquisition of Zerto. Says Tom Black, Senior Vice President and General Manager of HPE Storage:

“Our customers continue to face complexity in managing and protecting their data. Zerto’s best-in-class talent and technology expands HPE’s data management and disaster recovery capabilities, giving customers the ability to protect their data and recover in minutes from ransomware attacks. We are thrilled to welcome Zerto to the HPE family.” 

Zerto’s cloud data management and protection software will remain available as a standalone service, but is also available now as a service through the HPE GreenLake platform and the Data Services Cloud Console. If you’d like to learn how Zerto can help you de-stress about your backups and disaster recovery efforts, then contact us at WEI where our storage SMEs can educate you about this exciting backup methodology and architecture that is reshaping the industry.

Next Steps: Learn more about how to effectively plan for backup recovery strategies in our white paper below.

The post HPE Introduces a Less Stressful Approach to Backups appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Keeping up with the latest advances in IT technology is a task in and of itself. Once you add implementation and administering each new solution, it can become overwhelming. However, despite the hassle of upgrading, it’s a necessary to ensure that each part of your IT infrastructure is performing as optimally as possible.

After all, even if every other part of your architecture is current, just one piece with outdated software or hardware will bring the rest down and restrict performance. To combat this, regular upgrades are necessary, especially when it comes to protecting your corporate data.

Legacy backup solutions can’t keep up

When it comes to backup and disaster recovery (BUDR), there is no such thing as “good enough.” An outdated solution, which can no longer provide the coverage you need, will inevitably fail when the worst happens, leaving IT with lost data and in hot water with enterprise leaders, employees and clients.

Legacy backup solutions were designed with the past in mind, and with recent advances in cloud computing, there in an undeniable limit to what they can be adapted to. In addition, these BUDR solutions often feature slow recovery processes that are too long and labor intensive for today’s enterprise, which need to be back up and ready to go in minutes, not hours or days.

The fact of the matter is that enterprises cannot achieve the increased IT efficiencies that can be gained from utilizing the cloud, while still making use of legacy backup solutions.

For those enterprises already making use of for its simplistic and easy to manage infrastructure, the natural pick for BUDR is Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV.

Find Simplicity With Veeam Backup For Nutanix AHV

When selecting IT solutions, it’s important to consider the big picture. Will the solutions work well together? Will their features complement each other, or will they create management difficulty and unnecessary complexity?

The bottom line is just picking the best products in each category isn’t enough, they need to work together, or their individual potentials will be wasted. This is why solutions that are specifically tooled to work in tandem and benefit from each other are so valuable. is the perfect example.

Individually, both are industry leading solutions. is the innovator of hyperconverged infrastructure that set about to simplify IT infrastructure by bringing computer, storage, networking and virtualization into a single stack. The Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) is the company’s native hypervisor solution that integrates with its enterprise cloud OS stack.

is the global leader of backup and replication software that provides comprehensive backups solutions for any work load across all environments, whether it be cloud, virtual or physical. Recent features for Veeam Backup include a next-generation instant recovery engine and a new intelligent immutability mode for Cloud Tier, offering increased protection from ransomware attacks. Veeam also offers unmatched cloud portability, giving IT the ability to back up and recover to, from and within the cloud, saving time and resources.

Together, as Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV, they create a perfect mesh solution that infuses data resiliency, protection and universal access of your data and your Nutanix environment.

Increased mobility and agility

In this digital age, backup solutions need to be able to keep up with the rest of the enterprise, no matter where employees are located. To this end, Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV offers entire virtual machine (VM) restore, allowing IT to restore any virtual, physical or cloud workload. In addition, the solution offers instant recovery to your entire environment, including VMs, to offer extra speed and mobility.

By implementing Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV, IT can reduce downtime and interruptions, promoting productivity and efficiency across the entire enterprise.

Are you ready for Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV?

Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV offers enterprises the availability, simplicity and scalability they need to be successful. By emulating Nutanix’s intuitive management and user interface designs, and integrating Veeam’s fast and reliable application-aware, image-based backups, the solution offers the best of both worlds, boosting performance and productivity.

NEXT STEPS: Contact the WEI team if you have questions about how to get the most value from either solution, or ask us how our customers are using both Veeam and Nutanix to drive their business forward.

If you’re interested in further reading about backup, we invite you to read our white paper, Backup and DR for the Cloud Generation. Click below!

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As storage volumes continue to grow and enterprises make use of secondary storage to manage corporate data, they also need to backup these storage solutions. However, incorporating secondary storage into an enterprise-wide backup and recovery strategy is not always simple.

Integrated backup solutions, which have been around for some time, are purpose-built to be deployed rapidly and reduce the need for IT to manage separate silos of data. However, while they are popular for legacy infrastructure, and can also be applied to cloud and hyper-converged infrastructure, they add unnecessary layers of complexity for administrators, leading to problems with operability and access.

Nevertheless, this secondary data, which may not be needed on a day-to-day basis, still needs to be quickly accessible when the time arises, and needs to be adequately backed up to prevent data loss.

So, how can enterprises effectively backup secondary storage without burdening IT? By using with HYCU.

Making secondary storage backup simple

We’ve explained why backing up secondary storage can be complicated. Now, let’s talk about how Nutanix Mine with HYCU makes it easy.

By combining the simplicity benefits of Nutanix Enterprise Cloud, extended to secondary storage through , with backup services, you get a solution that eliminates the need for siloed infrastructure and makes backup a native service of the platform.

The solution is ideal for large organizations and service providers who are looking for a self-service option. Backup and recovery are effortless and by leveraging Nutanix Replication, unnecessary backup traffic over WAN is totally eliminated.

It offers total coverage for enterprise workloads, reduces the burden on IT by removing the need for a dedicated backup team and allows the entire backup infrastructure to be managed from one console.

Implementation is also quick and easy. The solution makes use of the interface, so IT teams already familiar with Nutanix solutions will not need additional training or resources to manage the secondary storage array. Even for those not already familiar with Nutanix, deployment is simple and the solution is built for easy management.

IT leaders will also be pleased by the overall low total cost of ownership, largely thanks to being an all-inclusive solution that does not require the purchase of additional licenses for the backup appliance.

Are you interested? Take Nutanix Mine with HYCU for a test drive

As , Nutanix Test Drive 2.5 now includes integration with Nutanix Mine with HYCU.

Nutanix Test Drive lets enterprises try out Nutanix platforms quickly and easily through a web browser. Enterprises can take a guided tour of the solution which, according to Nutanix, focuses on:

• How the physical and virtual components of Mine fit together
• The integration between Nutanix Prism and HYCU in a simplified dashboard
• The various Mine-specific and generic backup constructs within HYCU
• How to configure and execute backup and recovery

If you’d like to test drive the solution for yourself, you can get started with the webpage.

If you’d rather explore outside of the guided tour, you can close the on-screen prompts at any time. Nutanix Engineers are also available through text chat at any time to answer questions regarding the solution.

Ready to learn more about Nutanix Mine with HYCU?

Nutanix Mine with HYCU, a appliance, is built upon the foundations of Nutanix’s platform strength and HYCU’s natively integrated backup service. By combining the two, the platform provides complete coverage and offers single-pane-of-glass management. The low cost of ownership and overall simplicity of implementation and deployment makes this an ideal solution for any enterprise looking to reduce the backup burden on IT and save resources. If you’re ready to make the change now, contact WEI to begin building a custom solution for your business.

The post Backup Your Secondary Storage with Nutanix Mine with HYCU appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

When it comes to pieces of the IT puzzle where skimping or going with the option that’s just “good enough” will inevitably come back to haunt you, backup and disaster recovery tops the list.

, a global leader in backup and replication software, and , an innovator of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), have teamed up to offer Veeam Backup for Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) giving enterprises data resiliency, protection and unparalleled data access, regardless of the workload type or location.

Before we jump into the additional benefits of this partner solution, let’s talk a bit about each of them individually.

Veeam Backup Replication V10

Veeam’s is an industry-leading BUDR solution that offers availability for cloud, virtual, and physical workloads though a simple management console. Backups are easy to recover, reducing operational costs and getting enterprises back on their feet faster.

In their latest update, Veeam added a host of , including network attached storage (NAS) capabilities for data protection and recovery, storage snapshots support, and a forever-incremental backup engine.

To help enterprises defend again ransomware attacks, Veeam also added an immutable backups feature, which protects recent backup copies from unauthorized changes or deletions though S3 Object Lock.

Nutanix AHV

is a native hypervisor solution which integrates with Nutanix’s enterprise Cloud OS stack. It offers secure, enterprise-grade virtualization to give enterprises an easy way to manage storage, with the added the benefits of built-in security practices, low operational costs and optimal performance for even the most demanding applications.

To reduce the IT burden, Nutanix prioritized ease-of-use, allowing administrators to effortlessly manage storage and virtualization all from one place.

Use cases include server visualization for Linux distributions and Microsoft server and desktop operating systems, VDI and DaaS, infrastructure and databases, and remote or branch offices.

The perfect backup and data protection pair: Veeam backup for Nutanix AHV

While both solutions are effective options on their own, combining them offers enterprises a new, agentless approach for virtualized environments.

Management functionality, including job management scheduling, data compression and duplication, retention policies, and other backup and restore activities, is conducted within the AHV Proxy, leaving the Veeam backup server to operate as a repository, reducing overall complexity.

In the event of a BUDR emergency, the restoration begins with the backup data, provided by the AHV Proxy though the use of snapshots. This allows for complete file and disk level restoration and the simplicity of the solution’s design guarantees fast recovery.

The flexibility of Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV offers a host of different options for backups, including converting them into VMDK, VHD or VHDX formats for use in various virtual or testing environments. Likewise, the unmatched performance of the solution and instant recovery options reduces disruptions and downtime, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted end-user experience.

With the recent updates to Veeam Backup Replication, Backup for Nutanix AHV also has , including:

• Console integration which displays job status, start/stop/disable jobs, and the option to launch the proxy web user interface.
• No additional licenses are required for the proxy appliance as the license management is solely performed by the Veeam Backup Replication server.
• New VeeamZIP support for AHV workloads, easily accessed through the Veeam Backup Replication console.

Additionally, the restore features of the solution also underwent improvements, including the addition of live file-level recovery through AHC FLR Appliance, entire VM restoration though Veeam’s universal VMK backup file format, AHV snapshot restores and the addition of instant VM recovery.

has also been integrated within the solution, as well as support, which provides protected VM reports on AHV backups.

Ready to discover the benefits of Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV?

Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV offers enterprises a way to modernize data centers through increase agility and simplicity with the confidence is data is highly available for your enterprise users. The solution is designed for ease-of-use and centralized management, reducing IT costs and time spent administering backups.

NEXT STEPS: Have you integrated cloud in your backup and DR strategy? You might be interested in exploring our white paper, , which covers:

• Best practices for protecting and restoring your data
• Where HA and replication technologies fit in your organization
• Questions to consider when switching to a cloud solution

Read the white paper today and please contact us to talk to our backup experts with any questions about modernizing your backup or improving your data protection strategy.

The post Why Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV is a Beautiful Thing appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

WEI often works with clients in both areas of backup and disaster recovery at the same time. We find it’s often beneficial for them to be part of a single strategy since the function of backup and DR relates so closely together (recovering from some sort of event). They do have slightly different goals, however. With backup, you might be looking at a smaller data loss, such as accidental deletion or corruption of files.

With DR, you might be looking at a wider event, such as the loss of a facility, or loss of systems. Considering both backup and DR together as one strategy is helpful because it influences where you place data, where you place your disaster recovery location, and how much it costs to achieve the results you want (in both CapEx and OpEx). Both sides of backup and DR should be factored together. They may ultimately be part of one comprehensive solution.

Let’s take a look at a few common scenarios you should factor in to your backup strategy.

Backup Scenario #1: File Restores

It should come as no surprise that the most frequent restore need comes from users wanting to restore individual files. Most of the time, people have to recover from human-error events. They may have to recover a deleted file, a deleted database or an accidentally deleted email. These tend to require the backup administrator to go back in time no later than 7 days to retrieve and restore an earlier version of the file from the backup set. More commonly, we see people needing to go back to yesterday, last night or the backup from two hours ago. Having to go back later than a week, two weeks or even six months is more often a rare occurrence.

In these cases, only storing a few days’ worth of backups on local storage often covers this type of failure scenario. If your organization stores these types of backups in the cloud and gets requests for earlier than seven days ago, you may need to build in more cost to restore. Not only can this type of cloud-based restore cost you more money, it may also take you longer.

Backup Scenario #2: Server Corruption

If a server becomes corrupted, many clients tell us, “Well, we’re just going to fail over to DR.” Many don’t realize all of the implications of doing that. For example, many customers’ networks are not set up to fail an individual component or an individual server from one location to the other. Some major network changes have to happen first when a server fails from one site to another. It does no good if the server comes up in your DR site but nobody can get to it because the network isn’t configured.

A client may tell us they are really concerned about recovering quickly from server corruption, a server crash, or a ransomware attack like CryptoLocker. Based on that concern, it can change how we architect backup and DR. We may opt to have client backups sitting on fast storage so that recovery can be fast and easy. In this case, though, we may also recommend storing those backups for only 2-3 days in order to reduce the cost on that type of storage. Then, after that first few days, we may recommend tiering the backup data. This can involve sending the backups to another storage tier that stores them for 30 days.

This type of scenario might involve a holistic and hybrid backup solution that involves more than one vendor. Rarely do we find one vendor who meets all of a company’s backup or DR requirements in one solution.

Sample Scenario #3: Virtual Server Environments

This scenario also dovetails with Scenario #2. This is because so many server environments are now virtualized. The proliferation of virtual server environments brings with it new opportunities to streamline and improve backup and DR operations. Unfortunately, this proliferation also brings with it new risks: Multiple virtual server environments may now exist on a single physical server. If something happens to that physical server, its downtime impact may be much more far-reaching.

Depending on the individual recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) for each virtual server environment, WEI may recommend replicating some servers offsite to a cloud provider, while other data is handled differently. There are also newer technologies that handle virtual environments differently than traditional backup applications that were built for the physical world. Some of these methodologies may make sense, like the use of virtual machine full image backups that no longer require individual backups or backup agents for each virtual server.

Protecting business data is always #1

If you’re using laptops, PCs, or cloud software to share and store critical data, this could cause problems on two fronts. First, in today’s workplace, employees expect 24/7 access to files and data from any location and on any device. If you’re not providing this capability, well-meaning employees often resort to “shadow IT” to maintain productivity. But if these are outside the control of IT, they leave files open to attack, and your business open to liability. Second, it’s not a matter of if devices will crash or get lost or stolen, but when. And while it can be challenging to make sure that everything is backed up and you’re ready for disaster, it’s also absolutely critical. If data loss could put you out of business for a few hours, or a few days, it’s time to consider a better solution.

with Windows Server and Microsoft Azure Cloud Services provide two use-case options. Configurations optimized for file data provide a central repository for files and data with fast performance so employees can collaborate more easily and securely. Configurations optimized for backup and disaster recovery help minimize downtime by protecting data and making it fast and easy to recover when disaster strikes. Both offer edge-to-cloud computing solutions with the ability to extend your on-premises solution with flexible, secure hybrid cloud options.

Luckily, HPE’s solutions for file and backup are simple to deploy, manage, and support. They’re a one-stop shop for packaged solutions including HPE ProLiant servers, storage, software, services, and top-selling options, all tested, optimized, and validated with Windows Server and Azure Cloud Services. They are based on HPE ProLiant Gen10 servers that are equipped to meet the needs of midsize businesses. They are ideal for the midsized enterprise in that they are equipped with sufficient CPU, memory, and storage resources to enable the server to be used for file and print, backup and recovery, and hybrid file and backup.

Next Steps: Learn more about how to effectively plan for hybrid backup strategies in our white paper below.

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In order for developers to keep up with the speed of business, new innovations in storage, backup, and are being rolled out at a breakneck pace. To stay competitive, enterprises must adopt these new methods and technologies for faster restores and greater opportunities to leverage the true value of data across their organization.

When fast isn’t fast enough

In recent months, an increasing number of legacy disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) architectures are being replaced with faster, more modern flash-to-flash-to-cloud (F2F2C) technologies across industries. This change is being pushed by the need for more than just a backup: today’s enterprises need to rapidly restore critical data in the right contexts for a competitive advantage. Any time taken to backup or restore data can become a business challenge – and those that can do it fastest are better positioned to drive business value.

F2F2C is designed for the scale and use cases modern enterprise companies now require. Unlike tape-based library systems, F2F2C architecture helps organizations modernize their data protection while putting them in a position for future innovations depending on how they leverage their IT for business value.

What is Flash-to-Flash-to-Cloud (F2F2C)?

Flash-to-Flash-to-Cloud helps companies recover data rapidly, save money via cloud economics, and streamline data reuse for workloads and business priorities. It helps organizations address the demands of backup, analytics, artificial intelligence, and regulatory compliance. One study published by 451 Research declared the performance boost provided by this all-flash model to be “tenfold or greater,” and “one of the most significant changes in recent IT history.”

F2F2C’s strength comes from its hybrid approach to data availability and protection, featuring both on-premises flash for greater agility and efficiency, and safe, cost-effective public clouds for long-term storage and security. Flash-based solutions are increasingly being used for mission-critical applications, combined with the more affordable, flexible, and scalable storage model offered by the public cloud. Together, the combination allows for rapid recovery during regular operations and experimentation, with resources in the cloud readily available if on-premises resources are not.

How your enterprise can benefit from Flash-to-Flash-to-Cloud (F2F2C)

Compared to storage and recovery methods previously used by enterprises, F2F2C provides faster recovery times which allows more regularity and re-purposing for new business initiatives in next-generation IT environments. Other features include:

• Instant VM and granular data recovery on demand
• By deploying one platform, you can power all data-intensive workloads – from backup to

F2F2C supports the always-on enterprises of the future, anticipating that most environments will be virtualized and users will require instant recovery to meet both performance and customer needs. Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements will also be met with F2F2C’s scalability, reduced silos, and more opportunities to segregate environments.

Nearly 60 percent of enterprises moving toward a environment are leveraging both on-premise systems and off-premise cloud. Those among them to adopt strategies will enjoy improved local performance, more sophisticated management capabilities, greater availability, and reduced redundancy compared to their competitors.

Minimize downtime with Veeam Availability Suite and Pure Storage

recognizes the challenges faced by companies in enabling the “always-on enterprise” model that runs 24/7/365. To make things easier, Veeam is helping companies meet recovery time and point objectives (RTPO) of less than 15 minutes for all applications and data.

, which includes , offers a new kind of solution that delivers the following features:

• High-speed recovery
• Data loss avoidance
• Verified recoverability
• Complete visibility
• and much more…

It does so by leveraging virtualization, storage, and cloud services that enable the modern data center to help IT organizations save time, mitigate risks, and dramatically reduce capital and operational costs.

When paired with Pure Storage’s end-to-end data platform, companies can begin to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The platform allows the consolidation of workloads without sacrificing performance while achieving 100 percent virtualization with confidence. Pure Storage enables scale from hundreds to thousands of VMs without disruption, and is completely managed inside vCenter.

provides fast and reliable block storage for your production data, as well as local snapshots for rapid restore, while FlashBlade enables you to store large data sets with a small data center footprint and restore them rapidly.

Work with WEI on upgrading your storage and recovery

Veeam Availability Suite with Pure Storage could be exactly what your business needs to maximize their data and push the boundaries of industry innovation. Contact WEI today to begin a conversation about building your custom F2F2C solution.

NEXT STEPS: Learn best practices for backup, recovery, and DR in this hybrid world of on-premises and cloud by reading one of our most popular white papers. Click the button below to get started.

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The face of data storage in enterprise data centers has changed in the past few years with the rise to prominence of solid-state, or flash, storage. This advancement of storage technology has now become so widespread among enterprise IT infrastructures around the world that 49% of organizations surveyed by the indicated they already use flash technology, and another 38% have made plans to or are currently investigating the technology.

Flash or solid-state drive technology is seen commonly in devices from smartphones, laptops, and servers, but it has also revolutionized the storage array landscape. Of the organizations polled by ESG 63 percent reported using solid-state drives in storage subsystems today, 35 percent in all-flash arrays, and 30 percent as extended cache within hybrid storage systems.

Flash storage has increased in adoption due to its operational and economic benefits, ESG highlighted several of the following benefits from the survey respondents:

• Improved application performance
• Reduced power consumption
• Improved resource utilization
• Improved TCO
• Reduced operational expenses and improved SLAs

Better application performance isn’t flash storage’s only “plus”. Flash also brings significant decreases in power consumption over its HDD counterpart, dramatic reductions in rack and floor space, and features like data compression and deduplication that significantly maximize a healthy flash storage investment. Then there’s the decreasing cost per gigabyte of enterprise flash storage which makes it more accessible for many organizations. The timing on that is perfect because we are seeing more and more enterprise organizations struggle with accurately projecting storage needs with the exponential amount of data tied to critical applications and systems.

Data protection must adjust to cover exponential growth

Performance is a key benefit of a flash-based environment, and nearly 60 percent of current and potential users identified enhanced performance as a factor in their decision to deploy solid-state storage. But in an all-flash world, IT can’t let . By redefining the game for data storage, flash has also redefined the game for data protection by placing new requirements on the traditional mandate of speed and agility of recoveries, reliability of backup and recoveries, and increased speed or frequency of backups.

As far as features, flash storage is held to the same expectations of any enterprise environment including:

• Data deduplication for optimized storage footprint and TCO
• Application-consistent backups and hypervisor support
• Scalability
• Orchestration and automation of recovery processes
• Support of public and private cloud layers

These functions must be performed with no impact to production workloads. Data capture with tight data source storage integration is expected, as is data movement with direct data paths from primary to secondary storage. This is a commitment HPE has been working on with recent additions to its portfolio.

HPE Nimble and their 6-nines promise

According to the HPE website, is “smart enough to make 86% of problems disappear.” It leverages flash storage and predictive analytics to eliminate the app-data gap and guarantee 99.9999 percent availability.

Every second, HPE InfoSight analyzes and correlates millions of sensors from all of its globally deployed systems. As it works, it learns to predict and ultimately prevent the most common problems that can cause bottlenecks. In fact, ESG has quantified a 79 percent drop in operational expenditures related to costs and time spent managing storage.

Nimble Storage includes cloud native integration with AWS, Azure, and cloud-native API’s. () It is positioned as a very efficient family of arrays, with the ability to store more data per terabyte of flash storage than other all-flash arrays. It can also be combined with HPE Nimble Cloud Volumes for full cloud integration.

HPE Nimble delivers on more than just the sampling of benefits above. In case you missed it, HPE Nimble earned a spot in the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Solid State Arrays.

What does flash-integrated data protection look like?

(RMC) software integrates HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE Nimble All Flash Arrays with HPE StoreOnce Systems to provide a flash-integrated snapshot, replication and backup service that augments traditional backup approaches.

HPE RMC delivers the end-to-end data protection and rapid recovery that your applications demand, from the data center to the cloud, whether you use on-premises flash storage for its low latency and security, cloud for its flexibility and cost benefits, or if you employ a hybrid IT approach to achieve your right mix of storage. HPE RMC has proven benefits, such as:

• Fast – Deliver on SLAs with fast, non-disruptive, application consistent backup and recovery
• Efficient – Eliminate cost and complexity of traditional backup approaches with direct backup from HPE 3PAR and HPE Nimble to StoreOnce
• Reliable – Protect applications with the performance of snapshots and the protection of backups
• Simple – Empower hypervisor and application owners to control backup and recovery direct and seamlessly from their preferred native interfaces

HPE RMC also delivers rapid, non-disruptive backup and online recovery. The solution eliminates the backup window and enables rapid online recovery with fast, non-disruptive, application-consistent snapshots. ( This reduces the backup impact on your applications, which supports the performance of your HPE 3PAR and HPE Nimble flash deployment. HPE has really taken a holistic approach to the storage needs of the modern enterprise with these offerings, and WEI’s team of storage experts can help you determine which of these solutions (if any, or all, of them) are the right fit for your enterprise’s storage portfolio.

The takeaways

Flash storage is delivering on its promises of improved performance and efficiency, effectively changing storage and IT infrastructure in the data center as we know it. But it has also created a new set of requirements – particularly for data protection. In order to keep up the benefits delivered by flash technology, data protection processes have evolved to keep up with the sheer amount of data and speed at which it is being handled in storage.

HPE’s Nimble uses predictive analytics to recognize and resolve potential problems before they require support, and has cut expenses related to human management of storage by nearly 80 percent. With numbers like those, it might be worth taking a closer look. Contact the storage experts at WEI to learn how HPE Nimble, and HPE’s portfolio of storage and data protection solutions, can fit in your IT environment.

NEXT STEPS: Are you exploring flash storage or running into challenges managing it effectively? Check out our free download below to help you ensure you are making the right investment with flash storage.

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If a disaster were to hit your enterprise, would your data be protected? This information is the backbone of your organization so hopefully the answer to the questions is yes. However, if your disaster recovery plan is not what you would like it to be, or if it’s missing all together, it’s not too late to protect your data in the event of disaster.

Firstly, to have an effective disaster recovery plan your enterprise should follow the “3-2-1 rule.” This rule states that you need to keep three copies of your data, on two types of storage, with one copy being off-site. Getting backups off-site can be challenging, but disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) can help.

Why Your Enterprise Needs Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)

As explains disaster recovery as a service, “It is the replication and& hosting of physical or by a third party to provide in the event of a man-made or natural catastrophe.”

Where backup as a service (BaaS) requires you to pick and choose which files to store in the case of an emergency, disaster recovery as a service does not. DRaaS automatically copies and stores data in the cloud, allowing your employees to access the data they need to do their jobs even while in the middle of the disaster. This ability to work during a failure saves your enterprise from needing to shut down in the event of a catastrophe.

Disaster recovery as a service also does not require your enterprise to continually send files for backup, a requirement for BaaS. What does this mean? In the event that something happens to your servers, the data stored with a DRaaS provider, such as Veeam, is the most up-to-date information available.

Another obvious benefit of using disaster recovery as a service is that it saves your organization money and resources. A traditional DR plan involves a secondary physical location where you house a data center where your data is copied. Running a second site is costly and requires the time of your IT team to maintain – time and money that can be used elsewhere when using DRaaS.

According to , DRaaS removes the need for the following expenses:

• Owning or leasing space for a secondary data center
• Monthly costs associated with power, cooling, and internet bandwidth at the secondary site
• Purchase or lease of servers, storage, and network equipment for the secondary site
• Travel to and from data centers or on-site staff at the secondary data center

Veeam: An outstanding DRaaS Solution

WEI works with only the best in class tech partners to configure what fits your enterprise’s needs, such as . The is a backup software suite that combines the award-winning data protection and virtualization management expertise of Veeam Backup Replication and VeeamONE for VMware vSphere.

The Veeam Availability Suite provides organizations with five key capabilities that enable the “Always-On” Business:

• Rapid recovery of what you want, the way you want it
• Near-continuous data protection and fast disaster recovery
• Guaranteed recovery of file, application, or virtual server
• Backups that create an exact copy of the production environment
• Proactive monitoring and alerting of issues before impact

Veeam Availability Suite also provides monitoring and alerting tools so you can discover and be alerted to issues in your IT environment before they have a significant impact, and gives you complete visibility of the Veeam backup infrastructure.

Application-item recovery is simple and fast. Veeam allows you to zero in on exactly what you need to recover, and restore individual items directly from your backups.

By using a DRaaS provider like Veeam in partnership with WEI, you can rest assured that your vital information is protected in the event of a catastrophe. Need help figuring out which DRaaS solution is best for your enterprise? Contact us today for a personalized evaluation of your disaster recovery strategy.

NEXT STEPS: Want to learn more about Disaster Recovery as a Service? Read our white paper, , to get started.

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