Global Data Vaulting Inc., a Toronto-based firm, this week unveiled a managed data backup service targeted at businesses of all sizes.
Called Secure Managed Backup Service, the offering allows customers to schedule data backups that can range in size from 1GB to over 200GB, said Robert Wells, a vice-president with Global Data Vaulting.
“The issue with backups now is you have businesses that require machines to be backed up that either aren’t being backed up, or they just don’t have the resources to ensure they get backed up properly,” he said.
Secure Managed Backup Service relies on software, installed by Global Data Vaulting at the customer site, to back up critical data from the customer site to Global Data Vaulting’s facilities, located at a third-party data centre. All backups take place over a Virtual Private Network connection, managed by Global Data Vaulting.
The service supports Oracle, SQL and Exchange databases. Software supported includes Windows, Novell, AIX, O/S 400, Linux, Unix, Solaris and Macintosh. Customers can set up regularly scheduled backups with Global Data Vaulting.
Backup services are available from a wide range of Canadian companies, but Wells believes Global Data Vaulting can set itself apart from the competition.
“What differentiates us from them is that being a managed service we’re involved on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “We monitor backups and can respond proactively, whereas some services put the onus on the user.”
Businesses of all sizes are moving to outsource their data backup, noted Rob Colraine, an analyst with IDC Canada in Toronto.
“Instead of taking the backup tapes home, people now feel the necessity to store something off-site,” he said.
Part of the reason is companies need to store more data than in the past, because of increasing government and financial regulations. Another reason is that business continuity and disaster recovery are more in the public eye than in the past.
“The rule is that servers can be replaced, but the data can’t, unless it’s safely backed up,” Colraine said. While a firm like Global Data Vaulting might appeal to some large enterprises, it might have more success with small and medium businesses, Colraine said, adding that larger outfits tend to prefer larger, established providers such as IBM.
Although Global Data Vaulting is launching its service this week, the company already has several test customers who have been up and running for several months. The majority of the firm’s existing customers are Canadian, although one customer is based in the U.K. and another potential customer has global operations.
In addition to managed data backup, Global Data Vaulting offers a range of business continuity and security assessment services, including a Business Continuity Survey and Network Vulnerability Assessment.
