| Not long ago, the thought of sending private and | | | | media at a climate-controlled facility. |
| critical data across the Internet was radical and | | | | The real cost of tape is the high cost of your loss of |
| dangerous. In addition, leaving that data in the hands | | | | productivity when you have to wait four to twenty |
| of a third party was unthinkable. | | | | four hours for tape to arrive before you can even |
| Now, the most logical choice for a small to mid-sized | | | | begin the restore process. |
| business is to outsource data protection to managed | | | | That is, if you can even get the tape... |
| backup or remote backup, service providers. They | | | | A CTO in Houston expressed his frustration with |
| are companies whose mission is to make sure your | | | | tapes in the following story: |
| data is protected, safe off-site and restorable when | | | | I heard the hurricane warning like everyone else. I |
| you need it and where you need it. | | | | knew I was prepared since we did disaster recovery |
| The savings from outsourcing and Internet services | | | | drills quarterly. I just activated our plan by calling my |
| are being realized today | | | | warm data center site to activate my DR plan. Then, |
| Many organizations outsource some portion of their | | | | I called Iron Mountain to have my tapes delivered to |
| IT today. Whether it is their email or CRM package, | | | | me. They were closed due to the hurricane warning - |
| they understand when used properly, the Internet is | | | | strike one. |
| a safe and secure way to transfer and use data. | | | | Thinking quickly, I forced a manual backup of all my |
| Remote backup has been around for many years. | | | | data using my tape system. It felt like it took |
| Until recently, it only protected small amounts of | | | | forever, but it was really only about 8 hours. |
| priceless data. Simply put, it was expensive. Flash | | | | Incidentally, my family left town when the first |
| forward 10 years, and remote backup has hit the | | | | warning was issued so they were on their way to |
| main stream for both the enterprise and the small | | | | safety. |
| medium business market. | | | | My backups finished, so with my newly made backup |
| Encryption solved the initial hurdle of data privacy | | | | set in hand I called FedEx. I positively absolutely |
| many years ago. Organizations recognize that with | | | | needed my tapes delivered overnight to my "warm" |
| the right technology, transmitting data over the | | | | data center located in Arizona. FedEx and all other |
| Internet is secure. | | | | common carriers were closed due to the hurricane |
| The next big hurdle to mass adoption was price. Just | | | | warning - strike two. |
| a few years ago, remote backup solutions were for | | | | Then, I grabbed the tapes, jumped in my car and |
| large companies with big budgets. High prices were a | | | | headed out to meet my family in Dallas. As it turns |
| function of high costs. | | | | out, so did a million other Houstonians, so I was stuck |
| The reduction in the price of bandwidth means every | | | | on the freeway with tapes in hand - strike 3. |
| business has a broadband connection to the Internet. | | | | The storm actually turned away from Houston so I |
| Since remote backup service providers use a huge | | | | dodged a bullet. I was spending money and thought I |
| amount of bandwidth, their costs go down as | | | | had all my bases covered. It took the threat of a |
| bandwidth prices decline, and they pass the savings | | | | real natural disaster for me to find out how wrong I |
| on to their clients. | | | | was. |
| Another factor contributing to the decline in remote | | | | Another company was caught off guard when their |
| backup service prices is a reduction in data storage | | | | office was padlocked after a hurricane. Power was |
| costs for Storage Area Networks (SAN) and | | | | out and the office building management locked the |
| Network Area Storage systems (NAS). Data storage | | | | door. It took five days to get access to the building |
| has never been more economical. | | | | and 10 days to restore power. This was in a "Class |
| Add to that the fact that backup and monitoring | | | | A" office building. |
| technologies have made network operations centers | | | | Caution, if you need to get backup tapes or servers |
| much more automated. This automation allows | | | | out of your building, plan and communicate directly |
| backup service providers to be more efficient and | | | | with the property manager before a disaster strikes. |
| keep labor cost down. | | | | With remote backup services, your data is instantly |
| Further, a professional remote backup service | | | | transmitted a safe distance away and is always |
| provider will help you segment your data by its value | | | | available for immediate restore. |
| to your organization. Some business data must be | | | | Your data, where you need it. |
| available immediately while other data can be | | | | With the right remote backup provider, the |
| retrieved after a few days. Treating each class | | | | configurations for replication are limitless. Some |
| differently reduces the overall cost of your data | | | | remote backup service providers can replicate your |
| protection plan. | | | | data to your disaster recovery location. This reduces |
| These factors, combined with the true cost of a | | | | recovery time from "hours and days" to "minutes and |
| severe data loss event, have created the perfect | | | | hours." |
| time for remote data protection. The consequences | | | | Understand your needs and the services available. |
| of server downtime can be fatal in today's | | | | Thousands of remote backup providers exist. Each |
| "Information Age." | | | | promises great service, data protection and restore |
| In fact, according to the National Archives and | | | | capabilities. The reality is, only about five companies |
| Records Administration in Washington, "93 percent of | | | | supply the technology that powers the business class |
| all companies that lost their data center for 10 days | | | | remote backup service providers. Most of the |
| or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within | | | | providers resell the service of other providers, while |
| one year." | | | | some actually license the technology and use their |
| A remote backup service provides better protection | | | | own operations team and data storage systems. |
| while reducing your cost. With remote backup, you | | | | The five companies divide into software-only |
| eliminate the labor associated with administration of a | | | | companies Asigra and Avamar (now owned by EMC) |
| tape-based system, agents and software costs and | | | | and service providers like i365, a Seagate company |
| the fees for off-site transportation and tape storage. | | | | (formerly Evault), Iron Mountain Digital (formerly |
| The largest cost savings comes when it is time to do | | | | LiveVault). While many other backup software |
| a restore. Many studies indicate tape restores work | | | | companies exist, these are the most respected for |
| less than 30 percent of the time. | | | | the enterprise environments. |
| A study conducted by Storage Magazine reported | | | | When selecting a remote backup service provider, |
| that of the businesses that tested tape restores, 50 | | | | make sure you work with a professional firm that will |
| percent found their backups fail to recover. The | | | | take the time to understand your recovery needs. |
| failure rate may increase if your "off-site location" is | | | | Backup is a means to and end. If the recovery |
| an employee's car or house. | | | | doesn't meet your business needs, backup is a waste |
| In order to be effective, a tape-based solution must | | | | of money at any price. |
| employ a bonded off-site service that stores your | | | | |