Keeping Your Data Safe
In simple form, backup is the copying of data (systems, applications and user-created content) to a second location, which can be restored in the event of loss of the original data.
Backup forms an integral part of a disaster recovery strategy, defining the steps needed to enable you as a business to be back up and running following a critical incident.
Regardless of where your business applications run or where your data is stored – either on-premises or in the cloud – Cloud Backup solutions from SynergyGroup will protect your data, applications and systems by making regular copies, stored in a separate physical location. Recovery is an easy process, and with SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup, your costs are significantly reduced compared with those of traditional backup solutions.
What is Cloud backup?
Delivered on Microsoft Azure, SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup service consists of two core solutions, relevant depending on the type of environment and workload to be protected – in the cloud or on-premises.
Cloud Backup for Azure Workloads
The Azure Cloud Backup service, integrated into Azure Virtual Machines (Azure VMs), is cost effective, can be instantly enabled and is simple to use. It can be switched on for both new and existing deployments of Azure VMs and the whole VM and associated data is protected. Backups are stored in the same Azure region as the Azure VM and in a second region hundreds of miles away for geographic protection.
Management is handled via the Azure Portal with no additional agents or infrastructure needed to be deployed. VM backups can be configured to run up to once per day and are application consistent to ensure everything is fully working in the event of a restore. If SQL is running on the VM, transaction logs can be backed up every 15 minutes.
Cloud Backup for On-Premises Workloads
Cloud Backup can protect on-premises physical servers and VMs running on Hyper-V and VMware. It can either integrate with an existing System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) platform or be deployed as a new Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) to provide a disk-to-disk-to-cloud solution.
Management is handled via the server console and allows for protection of applications with agents deployed to each server or through integration with the hypervisor. There is the ability to protect the entire Hyper-V or VMware VM if desired. There is increased backup flexibility as backups can be configured to run as required and backups are application aware to ensure they can be restored quickly and easily.
Why Use SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup Service?
Organisations typically choose to implement backup to protect from data loss resulting from:
- Accidental deletion or modification to data resulting from unintentional human error, such as accidently saving over a document
- Hardware failure or damage
- Natural disasters
- Malicious damage resulting from a targeted cybersecurity attack, originating from either outside the business or through an internal user
- A ransomware attack that encrypts all data with the attacker then demanding money.
Benefits of Using SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup
Easy access and total control
Implementing SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup means that there is no need to manage the purchase, storage or disposal of tapes.
Your backup data is stored securely in the cloud in a location of your choice, in any of the world’s Microsoft Azure regions. Backups can also be replicated to a second Azure region for even greater resiliency. The service offers a choice of retention options with daily, weekly, monthly and yearly recovery points.
Eliminates unnecessary costs
Your business loses the cost for tapes, tape libraries, secure off-site storage and transportation.
With SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup you pay a fixed licence fee per server and then for the storage of your backup data, monthly depending on the amount of storage used.
Fast Recovery
Data can be recovered quickly and easily as all backup points are available at all times directly through Azure and eliminating the need to request tapes and transport them to a datacentre.
Full data encryption
Backups have built in encryption, both in transit to the cloud and whilst stored there.
Who is SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup service for?
SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup service is suitable for any business of any size looking to protect their data or modernise their existing backup infrastructure.
What does SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup service provide?
SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup has been created to support any business looking to implement a cloud backup solution.
Using industry best practice and with more than 20-years’ experience in helping businesses move to the cloud, our team will work in partnership with your team to deliver your cloud backup solution. We can also provide ongoing service management of the solution.
The service comprises the following phases:
Assess
Our cloud experts will discuss your requirements with you and make recommendations as to which backup solution is best for your individual need.
We can provide an estimate of costs for the different scenarios – whether protecting data on-premises or in the cloud – and for different retention durations.
Deploy
The first step our team takes to enable Azure Backup is to deploy a Recovery Services Vault in Azure where your backup data will be securely stored.
Based on the output of the assess phase, the next steps will be:
- Where Azure based VMs need to be protected, backup jobs will be configured for each VM according to the chosen policy – i.e. depending on when the backup commences and how many recovery points are stored.
- Where on-premises workloads need to be protected, an Azure Backup Server will be deployed if required, with an agent installed on each protected server or VM. The solution will be configured as per requirements identified in the assess phase.
Optimise
Once deployed, we will engage with you to ensure that your Cloud Backup solution is working for you and that all workloads are correctly protected.
Manage
Our optional SynergyGroup’s Azure Managed Service provides monitoring of your backups to ensure they complete successfully – and we will inform you if they do not. We can also assist with regular restore testing to give you the confidence to know that your data is recoverable should you need to restore.
Why SynergyGroup?
We support you with a team of engineers and solution architects who have designed and deployed cloud solutions for over 20+ years and helped organisations of all sizes to deploy backup into the cloud.
Our experts assist at every stage of your cloud journey – from planning and assessment, to implementation, knowledge transfer and managing your cloud environment over the long-term.
We offer cross-disciplinary expertise that considers your current environment and goals to design an appropriate strategy and solution.
Next steps
If you’d like more information about SynergyGroup’s Cloud Backup service or any of the other solutions we offer, contact any of the SynergyGroup team. You can contact us on 0800 915 6666 or email myteam@synergygrp.co.uk.
