SecurStore Provides Networking Solutions Provider s2s with Online and Offsite Data Backup and Recovery
SecurStore has announced that s2s Ltd, a UK provider of network consulting and implementation services, has selected SecurStores online data backup and recovery service to ensure business continuity, even in the event of a server breakdown.
Data is the lifeblood of our business, so it was essential for us to source the most secure data backup and recovery solution on the market. We take responsibility for the critical data of our customers, through the hosting, management and monitoring of their networks, so it is vital for our business that this data is as secure as possible. said Chris Haigh, IT Director of s2s Ltd. Furthermore, our status as Cisco Gold Partners and Advanced Security Specialists means that security is always a top of mind concern for us.
s2s was previously using disk-to-tape to back up all the various systems the business runs on. Backing up and recovering data was not only a very complicated and time-consuming process, it was also very unreliable. When retrieving data from the tapes, once they had been delivered back to s2s, a lot of the data from the tapes was irretrievable. SecurStores online solution automatically transfers data offsite in real-time, eliminating the risk of having backups located onsite in case of a disaster or loss of data during transportation to an offsite location. Data is transmitted and stored offsite in a state of the art data centre on a reliable disk subsystem, which is in turn duplicated and backed up onto a second disk sub-system located apart from the primary disk sub-system. The backup service uses many defense mechanisms, such as strong authentication, data encryption, password protection and client and system side logging. It is designed to keep backed up data confidential, while retaining the ability for legitimate users at s2s to perform a data recovery when needed.
Chris continues; When we first researched the market for data backup and recovery solutions, we found they were very complex and pricey, which didnt surprise me, as we have a lot of data to back up compared with our size and we also run our business from a number of different operating systems, most of which are virtualised. We needed to find a reliable, all-encompassing solution that wouldnt break the bank and until we met SecurStore, we didnt think one existed. We were surprised and initially sceptical about how simple SecurStores online and offsite backup and recovery solution was. However, in the free backup and recovery tests SecurStore carried out on our systems at the end of 2006, all of our data was recovered from every type of system and application we use, and very quickly. There is no hardware to invest in and no costs attached with recovering data, unlike when backing up to tape.
SecurStore backs up the critical data of s2s (120GB) online on a continual basis, so that from the moment a server goes down, all the data can be quickly retrieved online. The remaining less critical 80GB of data is either backed up to SecurStores Backup Lifecycle Management (BLM) offline service, or backed up by the outsourced provider. For example, the s2s marketing data is provided by an outsourced marketing company, so this data is protected by the marketing company itself. SecurStore saves s2s money by storing the less critical data offline. The BLM tool meta-tags the less critical or older backup data before it is archived offline, so that archived backup data can easily be restored. BLM also intelligently manages the movement of data from the online storage to the BLM archive, whereby backup data which is no longer critical (i.e. not required day-to-day, older and perceived as less valuable) is automatically moved to the archive, but is still accessible.
Alexander Eiriksson, CEO of SecurStore, says; We are in a unique position of being able to provide an enterprise-level online backup and recovery service but at a fraction of the cost. A business like s2s has a lot of highly critical data to protect and because our solution is agentless and there is no need to invest in hardware, there are no additional costs - we only charge for the amount of compressed data backed up and dont charge for the management or the retrieval of data. We also ensure that we support as many systems, applications and databases as possible, so that all the data from a business is included in a single backup solution.
Due to the nature of the business, s2s runs on a variety of operating systems. Most of its servers are Linux-based and some of them are Mac-based, because many s2s employees use Apple Macintosh machines. It also has the obligatory Windows applications and operates with a SAN architecture. SecurStore also needed to take into account the fact that most of the s2s servers are virtualised and that s2s already had a NAS (network-attached storage) system in place.
SecurStore is suitable for businesses that need to protect data from a few gigabytes to terabytes. The service ensures that any data held on PCs, Macintosh computers, file servers and application/database servers is securely backed up. SecurStore supports many platforms including Windows NT/2000/2003/XP along with AS-400 iSeries, Unix and Linux. SecurStore can also protect a wide range of databases including Oracle, SQL, Exchange, Lotus Notes and DB2.
About s2s
s2s is a security specialist in the provision of network consulting and implementation services to the UK SME and mid-market business community. By following a structured lifecycle services methodology in supporting its customers, s2s is able to ensure that consistent levels of service are delivered throughout the deployment of any new technology.
Based in Crawley, West Sussex, s2s is a Cisco Gold Partner with advanced specialisations in security, unified communications, wireless LAN and a proven ability in designing, implementing, operating, supporting and maintaining large-scale networks. s2s has built a substantial business through a close association with the industry's market leader by far - Cisco Systems.
About SecurStore
SecurStore was established in 1991, and for over a decade offered extensive knowledge and expertise of IT solutions and services. In 2004, SecurStore decided to focus solely on its professional online backup service, which meets the requirements of small and medium businesses in terms of cost, security, automation and fast and reliable recovery.
SecurStore protects data for companies of all types and sizes, from only a few gigabytes for the smaller customers, to several terabytes for the larger customers. These customers have operations in many different countries within Europe.
SecurStore has operations in The United Kingdom and Iceland enabling customers to also receive offshore data protection options.
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