ask the expert - enterprise backup

Failed Backups and unrecoverable data is unthinkable – which is why you have to do all you can to stop them happening. So why not look for a great Backup solution that’s also part of an exceptional managed service?

bluesource Backup specialist James Harris has industry leading experience with Backup technologies working on a diverse range of projects for enterprise backup and recovery solutions. Here’s James’s advice on the most common questions IT leaders ask when discussing Backup services…

bluesource Enterprise BackupChallenges and Solutions

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Enterprise Backup Ask the expert

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Consolidation

1. 2.

Failed Backups

With varying processes in different locations and in

some cases, different technologies, it can be difficult to

consistently manage backups across an organisation. I

need to be able to still meet the media needs of physical,

virtual, tape and cloud? Is consolidation into a single

platform really achievable?

James says:

• Consolidation is definitely achievable. You need to

look at what sort of technology mix will work for your

business. This will also help things like reporting and

scalability.

• Because we manage the service we ensure the design

and deployment are first class, to make management

of the service ultra-efficient and certain to meet your

needs.

Sure, there can be media, hardware or network failures.

But there are other issues too: in a busy systems

environment there’s plenty of scope for distractions and

for human errors. How can I ensure everything is robust

and that people are always on the case?

James says:

• If you’re too busy to give Backup the focus it needs you

need a partner who lives and breathes the technology

and management day in, day out.

• If failures occur, we will know about them before you do

and will probably be already working on a solution from

our 24 x 7 x 365 global service desk.

• Our statistics show we’ve dramatically increased our

customer Backup success rates and we provide a

guarantee of 98%, which is commercially covered under

our Service Level Agreement.

The key challenges

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5.

4.

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The data explosion

Beating inefficiency

Move to the cloud

Organisational changes

We’re having a data explosion. But the thing about

explosions is you can’t be sure where everything ends

up. How do I locate it? And how do we decide what needs

backing up – and to where?

James says:

• You need to get a comprehensive view of which data

sits where, who is accessing it and when it was last

accessed. We’ve done this for customers in the past

normally within a few days.

• This can help give you real stats to understand your

data growth and how to get back in control of it.

It may be backed up – but if it’s lost or hard to retrieve,

the time it takes to restore critical information can be

really damaging, even on a small scale. Do you deploy

the latest technologies such as client based data de-

duplication and synthetic Backups to bring maximum

efficiency to your Backup processes?

James says:

• Absolutely. But we know it’s about making the latest

technology really work for you and making you more

agile. We can design and deploy a comprehensive

solution that includes data de-duplication, synthetic

fulls and really smart integration with your hypervisor

platforms.

• Depending on requirements we can also integrate

other services like archive and DR to ensure your

Backup is streamlined and converged.

• With great design, that truly meets your needs, we

can ensure a high availability world-class service.

I want all the features and functionality of an on-premises

solution. I also want to keep costs down, with cheaper

storage for non-critical information. I’d like to investigate

whether I can use the cloud, and take advantage of lower-

cost infrastructure that has rapid scalability. How do I get

started?

James says:

• The new reality for Backup is you can get all the benefits

of an on-premises solution but also makes use of

cloud services, giving you a robust but scalable hybrid

solution, or within your own private cloud.

• We can help with the whole process from scoping the

data migration, working up the design, managing the

migration and new deployment pieces as a project, to

taking on the day-to-day management.

When organisations are going through mergers and

acquisitions Backup issues can be compounded. How

can I ensure my data recovery plans keep pace with

structural changes to our operations?

James says:

• bluesource can tackle this in a number of ways. First

we need to know what data is sitting where. We can

work with your compliance teams to ensure the right

data is kept in the right location and accessible by the

right people.

• We can help with large-scale data migrations and

have successfully migrated nearly 2 Petabytes worth

of data in our time.


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Although care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is correct at today’s date, no warranty, representation or other statement is given as to its accuracy. 4 of 4

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7. 8.

9.

Resources Security

Fit for purpose

Our current Backup solution needs a lot of hands-on management and maintenance. All this puts extra pressure on my team – and they have other priorities too. How can you make life easier?

James says:• If we’re managing the solution we’re taking the burden

off your team. Your team can be more productive and focus on other critical projects.

• We run a global 24 x 7 x 365 service desk to ensure that if you need someone to talk to straight away, we’re available.

Physical Backup can create security issues – but moving to the cloud can give rise to more. How can you protect your servers and networks?

James says:• Even if your data is traversing a private network it is encrypted to ensure you are meeting your security requirements.

Some technology these days seems to have been developed for its own sake. I want something practical – something that will meet our requirements now and in to the future. Is that taken into consideration with your designs too?

James says:• This is key – we can utilise a range of technologies to

provide you with a solution that is comprehensive yet consolidated. Because we work with these technologies day in and day out we know how to get the most out of them to achieve your goals.

Get in touch: we’d be delighted to help you find the answers that suit you.

bluesource services comprise:• Backup strategy and planning• Backup audits and troubleshooting• Technical design and implementation• Advanced 24 x 7 Support Services• Onsite/Hybrid/Offsite Managed Backup Services• Cloud Backup Services• Backup Appliances

James Harris is the Backup Services Director at

bluesource with industry leading experience across a

wide range of Information Management technologies.

James has helped many businesses to streamline the

way they protect information and introduce operational

efficiencies. He has worked on a diverse range of

projects from a DR as a Service initiatives for major

retail clients, to the design and implementation of

enterprise backup and recovery service for some of the

UK’s largest commercial law firms.

About bluesource

ask the expert - enterprise backup

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