We’re attending all of the Symitar regional user’s group conferences from Lansing, Michigan to Portland, OR.  Come by and say hello in the vendor hall!

Simpler-Webb to Present at Microsoft Event

Simpler-Webb’s Andy Webb will present on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 & Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite at an upcoming event in Austin, TX along with SpeakTECH, presenting SharePoint and Office 2010. Email info@swinc.com to register!

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Have a Nortel phone system and want to upgrade to Cisco Unified Communications? We’ve got your number! Communications are so much more than picking up the phone. Everything has become unified and integrated, including your work voicemail, mobile phone, email, IM and presence. Simpler-Webb has the wide range of expertise to solve your communication challenges regardless of the root cause. Our communication, networking, server, & security experts help you navigate through the noise so communication is clear. Contact us today!

BLOG
Tired of tapes? Switching to Simpler-Webb Managed Backup can save you money. Check out this blog by our backup guru, Robin Moore, and consider a backup solution from Simpler-Webb. From off-site replication to fully managed backups, we deliver a range of technologies to suit your situation. 

Tapes, Disk, Onsite, Offsite, Unmanaged, Managed? Making sense of your backup needs.
by Robin Moore, MCSE, MCITP: Windows 2008, MCTS: Exchange 2007 at Simpler-Webb, Inc.

I recently spoke with a client considering a change to their backup infrastructure.  They were still using tape and performing nightly rotations.  Using backup tapes was a hassle and expensive to maintain. And, they didn’t have an  auto-loader, so the cost of human error was high (e.g. a server crashed because Sally forgot to insert the new backup tape last night). Together, the client and I started weighing the costs and considerations of tape versus disk backup and performing administration in-house versus a managed solution. We’ll call the client, ExampleCo, Inc.

ExampleCo has 10 servers and 500 GB of data, and they need offsite backups and a disaster recovery plan to keep their business protected. To back up this data with tape, they need:

1. Backup Software. For this example, we used pricing for BackupExec and ten server backup agents.
2.  A Server. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Most backup vendors require a dedicated server for backups.
3. Tape Drive and Tapes. Our example assumes a single tape drive and enough tapes to back up 500 GB of data for 45 days. This includes 6 daily, 3 weekly, and 1 monthly backup. Tapes have an estimated lifespan of 2 years, and must be replaced after this to ensure data integrity.
4. A person to manage & monitor backups. For this example we estimate a part time employee spending 5 hours per week at $25/hour managing the backup system. This includes monitoring backups, swapping out the tapes, and updating the infrastructure as it grows and changes.
5.  Offsite tape rotation. Companies like Iron Mountain offer tape rotation and pickup services. We have assumed a moderate $80/month for this service.
6. Test Restores. Whether or not you have compliance regulations requiring you to document test restores, it should be done 1-4 times per year to test the validity of backups and to update restore processes so that in case a disaster does happen, you are prepared.  We have estimated test restores at a rate of 32 hours per year (four test restores can easily take eight hours each if you are restoring all applications on your network).

All of this can be pretty expensive. Year 1 will have the highest overall expenses because that is the year the system is implemented and the hardware and licensing is first purchased. Years 2 and 3 are maintenance years, so costs are lower, but tapes still have to be replaced each year and the backup software licensing renewed. Over a three year period, ExampleCo will invest almost $60,000 in their backup infrastructure, as shown in the table below:

The alternative of course is disk backup. Disk backup systems are the latest and greatest technology and are quickly replacing tape backup systems because of the many advantages the offer, such as:

• Deduplication. Disk backup systems seek out and remove duplicate blocks of data. If Sally saves a word document that says “backups are awesome!” the backup system would back that up. Now if the next day Sally goes in and changes her text to “backups are awesome?” then instead of backing up the whole document again like a tape system would do, the disk backup system would only back up the changed data block. In this case, the changed data is a question mark. Even though only this one block was backed up, Sally’s document can be restored from either day. Deduplication greatly reduces the amount of backup data that must be stored.
• Compression. Compression on disk can be as good as 2:1, further reducing the backup footprint. Databases and media files like music and pictures don’t get quite that compression rate, which is why it is so important to write down what data is critical and what isn’t before implementing a new backup architecture.
• Smaller Backup Windows.  Less data to back up means less time. Every backup on a disk system is a full backup, so you get full recoverability without spending your entire weekend getting a full backup of your environment on tape.
• Reliability. Disk specifications and protocols don’t change the way tapes do. If you backup something to tape now, you better hope you still have a way to read that tape in 2 years when you need the data back. Disk does not expire and can be protected by RAID configurations and hardware warranties. In addition, you eliminate some of the human error associated with tape backup, such as forgetting to put a new tape in the drive before going home for the night.

Having a disk backup system onsite is great, but now what do you do about offsite backups? You could continue to send some tapes offsite, but then you aren’t experiencing any of the disk backup benefits.  You could also implement a second disk backup system at your disaster recovery site, but then you have the expense of another set of backup licensing, not to mention power and cooling, for a system that you will only use in a disaster scenario. 

In ExampleCo’s case, they wanted to eliminate the need for tapes and take advantage of the benefits of disk backup, but they didn’t have the budget or the bandwidth to manage a new on-site disk system. I suggested considering a managed backup model. Simpler-Webb offers three managed backup solutions:

·         Offsite Replication only solution

·         Fully managed backup service with remote data store in our secure location, administration,  monitoring & reporting performed by our team of backup experts

·         Customized managed backup for those in need of blended solution - a backup system on-site at their location, which is replicated off-site to a second backup system  residing at and managed by  Simpler-Webb.

Given ExampleCo’s needs, we analyzed the costs for subscribing to 3 years of Simpler-Webb’s fully managed backup service, which is priced at $2 per GB of protected data per month or $12,000 a year for their 500 GB.

Note: This does not include a multi-year or multi-service discount.

For ExampleCo, it was a good fit starting with a savings of $20,876 over a three year period. ExampleCo’s backups will be stored offsite over an encrypted connection using our disk backup system with source-based deduplication. They can restore their backups at any time, and never again have to hassle with tapes or offsite rotations. In addition, our fully managed backup service includes 24x7x365 staff, something they couldn’t achieve in-house, to monitor backups and remediate problems, run test restores every quarter and provide monthly reports to help ExampleCo monitor and assess the health of their overall backup environment.

So whether you are looking to add a DR site to your existing backups, or replace your tapes with a robust disk system, Simpler-Webb can help. We can walk you through the process, offer advice on best practices, weigh options and answer your backup and restore questions. Give us a call to get started!

 
Brad Jones, Account Executive focusing on Managed Backup

What is your official job title?  My official title is Account Executive; but a better description would be the “Managed Backup Hunter”

What’s your job like on a daily basis?  I am responsible for working with new storage, backup and business continuity clients outside of Austin.  So, I spend part of my time building client relationships and determining the right solutions that solve their business problems.  The other time is spent looking for new leads and opportunities.

 What do you consider to be your key attributes?  Honesty, integrity, passion and humor 

How long have you been doing this type of work?  I have been selling IT and managed services for over 14 years.

What do you like to do most when you’re not at work?    I enjoy outdoor activities – biking, running, golfing, getting out on the lake - especially when I can enjoy them with my family.

How long have you been at Simpler-Webb? 2 months

Tell us about your family. My family consists of my wife, Mindy; 10 yr old stepson, Seth; a chocolate lab named Porter and a mini dachshund named Charlie. 

Are you a native Austinite? If not, where are you from?  I am originally from NC, but moved to Austin for work 10 years ago and have no desire to be anywhere else.  

VIDEO
Case Study of Managed Backup: Livestrong Foundation

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