Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance - Finger pointing data in binary code on a computer screen with word data loss

5 Compelling Reasons for the Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance

Reliable recovery is a non-negotiable requirement. And for mission-critical operations, data loss is inexcusable. As you consider your backup options, you will encounter the Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance, Oracle’s enterprise-class backup solution. Here are 5 compelling reasons it should be at the top of your shortlist.

1. Optimised for Oracle databases

Built by Oracle for Oracle, the Appliance offers deep integration with the Oracle database for enhanced backup options. According to Oracle, the device performs 50x faster than traditional backup solutions when using incremental backups and can deliver sub-second recovery point objectives thanks to its real-time redo transport which sends data directly from DB server memory. Virtual full backup technology accelerates recovery time by as much as 800%.

2. Ultra-high performance

Your Oracle databases continue to grow exponentially and the Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance has been designed with this fact in mind. Capacity starts at 2PB and easily scales beyond 282PB. Each appliance delivers 35TB backup and recovery throughput per hour, scaling up to 630TB in a six-rack configuration. This unprecedented capacity allows businesses to capture 6PB of database backups every hour.

3. Powerful management functions

The Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance integrates neatly with other Oracle management tools to help simplify administration. Advanced automation features can reduce database administrator workloads by as much as 80%. The tight integration between database, software and hardware reduces resource requirements, causing TCO to fall by over 30% when compared to solutions from other vendors.

4. Built-in security

Immutable, incremental forever backups are encrypted and compressed as standard, protecting data against loss, corruption, theft or misuse. The Appliance also checks all incoming and replicated backups for Oracle block correctness; any deviations or errors are immediately quarantined for further analysis, helping to stop the spread of ransomware. Backups are further protected by the Exadata architecture which has been tested and hardened to reduce attack surfaces and cybersecurity risk.

5. Reduced costs

The Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance creates savings across several domains. Consolidating enterprise-wide database protection while using database-aware compression and deduplication eliminates inefficient, standalone solutions and shrinks storage requirements by up to 40%. Automated admin tasks reduce workloads by 80%. And incremental forever backups lower networking overheads and operational costs.

As such, Oracle estimates the Appliance achieves a 62% lower total cost of ownership than rival systems. And that is before you consider the value of a system that offers zero data loss protection.

Ready to learn more about the Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance? Contact the WTL team the WTL team today to discuss how this solution could revolutionise your backup and disaster recovery strategy.

 

Office 365

Three ways your Office 365 data is at risk – and one solution to them all

Office 365 remains the world’s most popular productivity platform for several reasons. As well as providing the tools required to complete most basic productivity tasks, the subscription model helps businesses better manage their capital spend. And because files and documents are synced to the cloud, Office 365 offers some degree of improved resilience.

But there are still three ways in which your Office 365 service is as risk.

Threat 1: Ransomware

Ransomware continues to grow in popularity with cybercriminals because it works. Infecting a victim’s computer and encrypting their files is a superb way to get their attention. Demanding a ransom in untraceable digital currency in order to obtain the decryption keys is highly effective – and profitable.

In the event that computers within your network are successfully attacked by malware, your Office 365 data is at risk. As documents are encrypted, those changes are synchronised to the cloud, overwriting good data with bad.

Threat 2: Insider Threats

Every IT manager’s worst nightmare is the disgruntled employee. Whether they go out with a bang or wage a long-term guerrilla campaign, these individuals have the potential to cause lasting damage to the business.

Without add-on protections, users can delete important files and emails locally and in the Office 365 cloud. If their actions are not discovered for some time, the missing data may not be recoverable – particularly as Office 365 only retains backups for 30 days.

Threat 3: Accidents

A careless click here, a mis-key there. Deleting and overwriting emails and files is so simple, we’ve all done it before. And with every change automatically synced locally and to the cloud, the mistake is also replicated.

But the damage can be just as severe as malware or malicious activity if it goes unnoticed. Again, the 30 day ‘grace’ period provided with Office 365 deleted files may not be enough.

Cloud-based backup for your cloud-based Office 365 data

WTL offers a solution designed to counter all three of these risks. Our Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 solution uses Veeam replication technologies to copy your files and emails to our secure cloud space automatically.

Just like any other ‘true’ backup solution, Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 offers incremental backups that can be stored for months or years. So if data is deleted or corrupted, you can recover files long after the 30-day limit imposed by Microsoft.

Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 also offers a range of recovery options according to your strategic needs. Take Exchange for instance – you can restore deleted mailbox data, export a mailbox for reimport as a PST, save specific messages as MSG files or forward emails as attachments to another address.

Flexible options allow you to increase the accuracy and speed of recovery – and minimise the impact of Office 365 (temporary) data loss. For more information about Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365, please get in touch.

Office 365 Backup

6 Critical Reasons You Need a Proper Office 365 Backup Solution

Office 365 has been fundamental to the success of many business’ work-from-home strategies during the pandemic. The ability to access important corporate resources from any place on any device has helped maintain productivity as industry threatened to grind to a halt.

But now that remote working strategies are bedding in, it’s time to address the elephant in the room – Office 365’s less-than-adequate backup provisions.

Here are six reasons you must upgrade your Microsoft 365 backup provisions today.

1 – Accidental deletion

There are two types of deletion: soft deletion, and hard deletion.

Soft deletion is where an item is deleted but can still be recovered from a recoverable item mailbox (a bit like the recycling bin on your PC). A hard delete is where the item is purged from the mailbox database completely at which point the item is unrecoverable.

A proper Office 365 backup service will retain a copy of all data – even if it has been hard deleted by a user.

2 – Retention policy gaps and confusion

A retention policy gap is a period of time in which files/ accounts can be recovered. For example, if an employee leaves your company and their account is deleted, after 30 days any information will be deleted permanently. And if an employee was to go rogue and delete information, you could not recover that data if the 30-day window has elapsed.

A third-party Office 365 backup service offers indefinite retention, much like your existing on-site archiving solutions. So you don’t have to worry about thirty-day limits.

3 – Internal security threats

Employees operating from inside your company are actually a greater threat than hackers. Employees have access to a lot of company information, and security can be breached both intentionally and unintentionally. Office 365 has a major issue; it doesn’t automatically recognise the difference between a current employee and an ex-employee meaning that if you forget to disable their account, the leaver still has access to their email and data – and can maliciously delete anything they want.

External Office 365 backups will maintain a copy of everything the rogue employee thinks they have deleted.

4 – External security threats

External threats can enter the company through emails and attachments. Sometimes these are hard to detect, depending on the hacker’s level of skill and determination. Your company reputation and operations are at risk if your systems are infected with malware or ransomware.

Regular Office 365 backups will ensure that a separate, uninfected copy of your data is always available and can be recovered quickly.

5 – Legal and compliance requirements

Your organisation has a legal duty to retain certain communications and files. This information must be available in the event of a compliance audit or criminal investigation. Microsoft has built a couple of safety nets (such as litigation hold), but this solution is not comprehensive enough to meet your legal obligations. Remember, if a user is deleted, their mail, SharePoint and OneDrive contents are also deleted and may not be recoverable.

Maintaining a separate Office 365 backup removes ambiguity and risk, ensuring your data is always available when required.

6 – Managing hybrid email deployments and migrations to Office 365

Typically only new start-ups have the luxury of adopting Exchange 365 from the outset. Most businesses migrate from an on-premise email solution to the cloud at a later date – and many still retain some services on-premise.

Adopting a third-party Office 365 backup service like Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 from WTL offers additional flexibility, allowing you to backup and restore emails from a hybrid environment quickly and transparently. This ensures that no matter where your data is located, it is always recoverable.

Get help today

Leaving your Office 365 data backup to Microsoft is a significant business risk. The built-in recovery service is adequate for a file or two, but it is not suitably comprehensive to properly protect your business and its data assets – what happens if a deletion is only discovered 31 days after the incident?

Fortunately, WTL has you covered, contact us today to discuss our fast, reliable, cost-effective Secure Cloud Backup for Office 365 solution and discover how to properly protect your emails and data.