Why Managed Backup? Top 5 Reasons

INTRODUCTION

Your data is your business; and as the value of your data grows, the harder it is to protect. Complex IT environments, sheer data growth, virtualization, and cybersecurity threats all present hurdles to backing up your data successfully. That’s where we come in. We’re here to help you clear those hurdles, one by one. Here are Agio’s Top 5 reasons why Managed Backup will make your life easier and help you sleep better at night knowing your data—and your business—is safe.

1. 1. 1. 1. ALL-IN-ONE APPROACH
            Many firms apply a hodge-podge of data protection solutions over time or as needed. We get it. You don’t buy insurance until you’ve actually purchased the car, the house, the ring, etc. That approach works in life, but it doesn’t work when it comes to your IT environment. Your data lives everywhere now—on back-office servers, desktops, mobile devices outside your firewall, and even in public clouds. Your multitude of defenses becomes a safety issue. How do you know you don’t have any gaps in your protection? And do you have the staff and resources to continuously monitor and validate the backup and restore process for all of those solutions should disaster strike? A unified solution provides you with fluid, complete end-to-end protection. It’s designed to back up and recover your data from anywhere, at any time, whether it resides in the cloud or on physical or virtual machines. Access is streamlined with a centralized view of your systems, users, and devices, even when data is backed up in silos across your environment. As for ongoing maintenance, going agentless saves you a world of hurt by simplifying the installation process and eliminating downtime, disruption, and complexity down the road.
         2. RECOVERY IS EVERYTHING
            No, really; what good is a backup solution if recovery isn’t guaranteed? When the unthinkable happens (and it will), the only thing that matters is getting your data back—now. Without a single, comprehensive managed backup solution, how does your team test the restore process? At what frequency? Is there quality assurance? If any of these questions are disconcerting, not to worry; we’ve got you covered. Most robust solutions offer some sort of healing process whereby the backup repository is continuously monitored for data corruption. If corrupt data is found, the service corrects it and removes it, and, if the service is advanced enough, it does it without human intervention. But healing isn’t enough; there must be validation that data can be recovered when you need it. Successful managed backup solutions simulate real recoveries, utilizing digital-signature-based validation to ensure file integrity. Depending on your recovery time objectives (RTO), managed backup can reduce your recovery from days to hours and from hours to minutes.
         3. 24x7x365 MONITORING & SUPPORT
            This one’s a no-brainer. Unless you have an unlimited IT budget and staff, how is your team expected to keep eyes on your backups and provide support at all times? They’re not. That’s the benefit of managed backup. More important than the technology; you’re paying for the service that comes with it. If a cleaning service showed up at your home, only to leave the supplies for you to do the dirty work, you’d probably demand a refund. A solid managed backup provider does the dirty work because they know that’s where the real value lies.
         4. COST EFFECTIVE
            Managed backup includes advanced data deduplication, which reduces the amount of physical data backed up, reduces network utilization, and thereby reduces your cost. With annual data growth between 20 and 40%,1 you can understand why this is so significant. However it’s not just hard dollars you’re saving, it’s soft dollars as well. Think of the speed, efficiency, and most importantly, the proactive support that comes with managed backup. It frees up your internal resources for revenue-impacting business objectives. It’s a win-win.
         5. SECURITY & COMPLIANCE
            We saved the best for last. Five years ago, security and compliance would have been the last thing on your mind. Not so much anymore. In the last four years alone, successful cyber attacks have increased by 144%,2 and regulatory requirements are constantly shifting. First things first: ensure your managed backup provider replicates your data to at least two geographically dispersed data centers. Second, make sure they utilize AES 256-bit in-flight and at-rest encryption. Thirdly, as the customer, you’ll want control of the encryption key and authentication, and you’ll also want to look at what type of security certification the service maintains. For instance, Agio Managed Backup holds the government-approved NIST FIPS 140-2 security certification. Finally, how are your provider’s datacenters secured? Are they in a private cloud? If so, what sort of measures has the firm taken to ensure the integrity of that privacy? We take this so seriously that our private cloud is actually shielded 24x7x365 with Agio’s dedicated Managed Security service. This means if our clients are ever hacked their data is still 100% protected in our environment. We understand we’re the exception to the rule in this space, but these are serious questions you’ll want answered before signing on the dotted line.

CONCLUSION

Managed backup isn’t sexy; it’s insurance. But insurance is crucial. You need to know your data is protected end to end with the assurance of full recovery. This list will help you take the first step. It provides you with what you need, why, and what to look for in a managed backup provider. If you’d like to learn about Agio Managed Backup or just explore the differences between the various solutions you’re considering, please contact us at 877.780.2446 or at sales@agio.com. We’ve got you covered.