Knowing how to protect your own backup server and what is available to meet the 3-2-1 Rule is a great step in the right direction for protecting your company. Now let’s dive into the helpful services you can get to help make your life easier. Not every company is equipped to handle off-site backups or want the expenditure for in-house staff to manage these backups. Veeam understands the need for Backup as a Service (BaaS) and has offered what we call Veeam Cloud Connect (VCC). VCC is handed by reputable service providers, which we refer to as Veeam Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) partners. These service providers not only take the pressure off a business to manage their off-site backups to better meet the 3-2-1 Rule but they also provide an extra layer of protection in the case of a ransomware attack. Below we will discuss how this is possible and why you want a service provider on your side when disaster hits.
VCSP services
There are five main offerings that a VCSP partner can provide with our products at this time: backup storage, replication target, remote management, media storage and full-site replication. The first and most commonly used is storing backups at the service provider’s location off site in a traditional style repository. This allows a customer to meet the off-site data copies required to meet the 3-2-1 Rule. In addition to storing passive copies of data, service providers can offer a target location to replicate to. This will leave dormant mirror images of virtual machines on the service provider’s hosts, providing fast recovery time in the case of a disaster. The Veeam console in the customer’s environment can be configured to allow remote management by the service provider, taking the guess work out of configuration in the provider tenant relationship. Service providers also offer backup to tape options to the remote location, helping to meet the two media types as part of the 3-2-1 Rule. There are even some service providers who can offer a complete Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) with the use of vCloud Director. Choosing a service provider can be more than a simple way to store your backups at an off-site location but can also be a great ally in disaster recovery with the smallest recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs).
Someone on your side
The day ransomware hits can be the scariest day of any company’s and administrator’s life. Having and testing plans is a crucial part of handling this type of disaster with the least amount of impact on the company. In some cases, the most well thought out plans for a company fall short due to an untrained eye to this kind of catastrophe. This is where service providers can help fill in the knowledge gaps to make sure there are no surprises when it is too late to save precious data. Service providers are often seasoned in disaster recovery scenarios and expectations from their experience with many clients. This kind of experience provides an invaluable set of hands on deck for the day you need it most.
VCSP partners are more than a location to store your backups off site. They are experts in the field of protecting your data and making sure it is there when you need it most. BaaS is exploding in the field due to the special care and peace of mind that can be offered by a service provider. Making it this far into the series, you know the tools that are available to you to help protect your company, but do you have a plan? The last article in this series will help tie the concepts together to make sure you are prepared for when ransomware attacks.
Navigation:
- First step to protecting your backups from ransomware
- The 3-2-1 rule for ransomware protection
- 3 storage options against ransomware
- How VCSPs help against ransomware
- Are you prepared when ransomware does happen?
Helpful ransomware prevention resources: