Netsurit has launched a disaster recovery (DR) and backup solution for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) enabling them to migrate from using tape backups to using an online backup and restore solution that mitigates risk and ensures quick recovery in the event of a loss of data.
Rian van der Walt, Netsurit technology director, says according to research from Veritas Software Corp, 97% of companies would be unable to continue normal operations if their data centre were to be taken out. Furthermore, 38% have no idea how long it would take to resume a bare-bones operations if such an event took place.
And according to Gartner, a company has a 93% chance of being out of business within five years if it suffers a major data loss.
"Tape backup has been the traditional method of storing data because of the high bandwidth costs in this country. Tapes are problematic because they age and become unreliable over time and there is often human error in the backup process," Van der Walt says.
In the event of data loss, the tapes have to be brought back from an offsite storage facility and they only save data - they don't backup the actual applications on the server.
"This means that if a company's data centre was taken out by a fire they would have to buy a new server, re-install all the applications and then restore the data from tapes. This process can often take days, which means that even if all the information is recovered, the loss in revenue from the downtime could be significant," he says.
DR goes digital
There are two offerings in Netsurit's solution - the full DR option and the 'backup only' option, Van der Walt says.
The 'backup only' option allows the SME to back up the data from its server(s) over the Internet to a secure data storage facility in Randburg, thereby eliminating the need for tape backups. This data is then backed up a second time to Netsurit's offices in Sandton, ensuring full redundancy.
"What this means is that should the company's server be knocked out or suffer partial data loss, the company is able to retrieve all its data to the last incremental snapshot. Once the server is up and running correctly, all the backed up data is restored and the company can continue operating as usual with minimal downtime. This process is far more reliable and more efficient than using a tape solution," he says.
The same process is followed to retrieve a single file, should it be corrupted. For example, the financial director might be working on an Excel spreadsheet that contains the company's budgets for the year, and it somehow becomes corrupted so that it no longer opens. Netsurit's online 'backup only' solution allows the financial director to get his spreadsheet back in a fraction of the time it would take if it was stored on tape.
The full DR solution incorporates all the elements of the 'backup only' solution with an onsite component as well. This onsite component is a backup server that Netsurit places at the client's premises with specialised software that allows this backup server to precisely mirror the client's server(s).
"If the client's server crashes, the Netsurit backup server takes over with minimal downtime for the client. This gives the small business owner enough breathing space to get a new server installed and the original data reloaded onto the machine, thereby allowing the client to return to normal business operations as quickly as possible in order to minimise loss of productivity," Van der Walt says.
Included in Netsurit's DR solution are other services such as around-the-clock remote monitoring and management, with full reporting on performance and backup activity so that the client is completely aware of the performance of the solution at all times, Van der Walt adds.
The advantages
The time taken to back up, but more importantly to restore the data, is far less with our DR solution than it is with tape backups, van der Walt says. Furthermore, the information is no longer stored on physical tapes at an offsite location; instead backups take place via the Internet. Most importantly, this solution removes dependence on human intervention (and possible error) that is an inherent weakness in tape-based backup solutions. "Given that most SMEs are giving their employees mobile access to their servers and are increasingly doing work internationally, business now occurs at any time from any location in the world.
"Our DR solution ensures that all our clients' information is protected and available to them ensuring it's always business as usual," he says.
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