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ESSENTIAL
BENEFITS OF
HYBRID CLOUD5White Paper
1
Datto uniquely empowers businesses to meet their growing need for robust, yet economical backup, disaster recovery and business continuity. Datto’s Total Data Protection Platform uses a hybrid cloud architecture because it offers the best value for SMBs. This white paper offers five reasons every SMB should embrace a hybrid cloud model in today’s IT environment.
What is Hybrid Cloud?
“Hybrid cloud,” in the context of this white paper, refers to
a data protection architecture that combines on-prem and
off-prem disaster recovery as-a-service deployment models.
The on-prem component of a hybrid cloud deployment may
or may not utilise virtualisation. It may also be managed
remotely by an MSP (Managed Service Provider), rather than
by the SMB’s own IT staff.
In the case of Datto’s Total Data Protection Platform, the
on-prem component of the architecture involves backing up
data locally to a backup/disaster recovery appliance—while
also performing deduplication, compression, file conversion
and other operations as part of the backup process. These
operations reduce consumption of on- and off-site storage
resources, minimise bandwidth requirements and compress
both backup and restore times.
The off-prem component of a hybrid cloud is typically
provided on an as-a-service basis to the SMB, which means
that the SMB does not have to bear the responsibility of
managing it—and can pay for it on a subscription basis.
The use of Datto’s cloud also eliminates many operational
responsibilities and provides powerful economies of scale.
Also, the Datto cloud replicates data to multiple locations to
ensure recoverability even in the event of the most extreme
local disaster.
The result is a data backup, disaster recovery and
business continuity solution that is second to none
in terms of reliability, cost-efficiency and RPO/RTO
capabilities.
WHITE PAPER
ESSENTIAL BENEFITS OF HYBRID CLOUD BACKUP
5
2 W H I T E P A P E R
1. Superior Business Continuity
For SMBs, data protection is no longer merely a “nice-to-
have.” It is a must. There are two reasons for this. First, SMBs
are more dependent on technology than ever. If they can’t
access their customer, operational or supply-chain data, they
can’t do business. So every minute of downtime costs them
money. And if they permanently lose any data, the cost is
undeniably even higher.
Second, in a market environment where customers can easily
take their business elsewhere at the drop of a hat, even
a relatively brief IT outage can cost an SMB relationships
that may have taken years to develop. An extended period
of downtime can actually put an SMB out of business. The
ability to keep critical IT systems up and running, regardless
of a hardware failure, an extreme weather event, or other
contingency, is thus essential.
A hybrid cloud solution like Datto’s Total Data Protection
Platform safeguards business continuity for SMBs in two
important ways:
1. It ensures that all data, applications and server images
are safely stored off-site. Local backups aren’t much good
in the event of a building fire or extreme local weather.
With a hybrid solution, those contingencies won’t threaten
an SMB—because everything of business value is safely
ensconced in multiple locations: on-prem and in remote
cloud datacentres.
2. It allows data, applications and server images to be
accessed from any failover location. Business continuity
isn’t just about storing backups. It’s about spinning up
failover systems as quickly as possible. With some hybrid
cloud backups, those failover systems can start running
instantly on on-prem hardware if the problem is just a
device failure. But what sets the best business continuity
solutions apart is when a real disaster strikes. A complete
hybrid cloud solution allows an SMB to run its critical
applications off virtual machines in the cloud—which users
can access from branch offices, home PCs, laptops or any
other authorised systems—until such time as normal IT
operations can be restored. Not all solutions do this (some
simply offer cloud backup), and in fact, some may charge
extra for cloud failover. For the fastest failover time, you’ll
want a solution like Datto, which saves each backup in a
ready-to-restore VMDK file format that requires no time-
consuming conversions at the time of restore.
Bottom line: Hybrid cloud backup is ideal for SMBs
that want to fully safeguard their business data.
2. The Need for Speed
How and where business data is backed up will have a direct
impact on how fast its data can be restored. For businesses
that need access quickly – in seconds or minutes - the
need for speed become very clear.
A hybrid cloud-based backup strategy has the potential for
Hybrid Cloud Backup Overview
RECOVERY
Database
Applications
File Systems
TRANSFER viaSSL VPN
Datto Appliance(Physical
or Virtual)
ScreenshotBackupVerification
Datto Cloud
Example of Datto Hybrid Cloud Backup
3 W H I T E P A P E R
both faster backups and lightning fast restores.
• Speed of backup. How quickly a solution performs a
backup can have a big impact on a business’ entire
network. An off-site-only solution (direct to cloud) can
result in lengthy backups that slows down your network.
It can also put a business’s servers at risk during the
process. On the other hand, the option to leverage an
on-prem appliance will result in a faster local backup
process. By taking backups on a local device, and then
replicating that data offsite during a specified backup
window (usually after office hours), you save time on
backups and don’t bog down network bandwidth. Hybrid
cloud backups add speed, reliability and security.
• Speed of restore. Restoring files and systems from a local
appliance is much faster than pulling from the cloud.
With Datto, it’s even faster--we’re talking 6 seconds to
restore from our SIRIS 2 on-prem appliance. What’s more,
because each image-based backup is already saved as a
virtual file (VMDK), even cloud restores are super fast with
Datto. Most other solutions start the process of saving
backups as virtual files after the request to restore has
been made. That extra step means more downtime you
can’t afford.
Bottom line: Hybrid cloud backup has clear
advantages when it comes to speed of both backups
and restores.
3. Adaptable Capacity
SMB backup capacity requirements are notoriously difficult
to predict. After all, in a large enterprise, a new application or
data source only has minimal impact on overall backup volume
requirements. In an SMB environment, on the other hand, even
a single new IT system or resource can dramatically affect
backup volume if it’s used intensively enough.
That unpredictability—combined with the fact that business
data as a whole is growing at a rate of 60% or more annually—
presents a quandary for business owners. Underestimate
volume requirements, and you’ll have to scramble to
increase infrastructure capacity and ratchet up your costs.
Overestimate volume requirements, and you’ll overspend and
reduce your ROI.
A hybrid cloud model enables SMBs to cope with this
unpredictability in several ways. On-prem, it’s important to
look for backup hardware that can grow with a business’ data
needs. Preferred devices come equipped with hot-swappable
drive bays enabling easy field upgrades. Off-prem, it gives
SMBs access to as much capacity as they need—while also
not locking them into excess capacity if they don’t need it.
If you’re concerned about exceeding, and in turn paying for
data overages, look for a vendor like Datto that offers a time-
based cloud retention model versus a capacity-based model.
Time-based retention guarantees predictable cloud billing for
businesses
Bottom line: Hybrid cloud can adaptively accommodate unpredictable fluctuations in the volume of business data SMBs must protect.
AMOUNT OF DATA
VALU
E OF DATA
RISK O
F
LOSING
DAT
ASMBs
4. More Confident Compliance
Many SMBs are subject to regulatory mandates that require
them to:
• Protect specific data from loss or corruption
• Retain specific records for a mandated period of time
• Document successful testing of data recovery mechanisms
Hybrid cloud—especially as delivered by Datto—offers SMBs
the best means of fulfilling these regulatory requirements. To
remediate data corruption, for example, an SMB needs to roll
back to the most recent possible uncorrupted version of the
data. However, data corruption events often escape immediate
detection. That means that an SMB depending exclusively on
4 W H I T E P A P E R
local backup would have to maintain numerous incremental
versions of every file under such regulatory mandates. This
would obviously add to the cost of data protection. An off-
prem cloud solution coupled with a local backup is much
more practical for this type of multi-increment protection.
Datto’s Total Data Protection Platform goes a step further
by automatically checking backup integrity.and offering
screenshot verification Should a backup not be valid, the
screenshot reports the failure and acts as an alert for the
MSP. This provides three important benefits. First, it allows
MSPs to take immediate action. These actions can include
both restoration of the most recent uncorrupted data and
investigation of the root cause of that corruption in order to
keep it from happening again.
Second, this automatic alerting protects both the SMB and the
MSP from the data corruption that can occur in the backup
process itself. This is a non-trivial risk that can be especially
problematic when it involves data covered by regulatory
mandates.
Third, it provides a means of tangibly demonstrating to
regulatory auditors that appropriate mechanisms have been
put in place to fulfill the requirements of those mandates.
Bottom line: Hybrid cloud empowers SMBs to more
confidently comply with regulatory mandates relating to
data protection and data recoverability.
7. Better Bandwidth Management Offload (server
work and bandwidth)
The backup solution you choose can have a direct impact on
the efficient use of your network bandwidth. A cloud-based
option has the potential to better distribute the flow of data,
enabling a business to run more efficiently. Keep in mind,
however, that not all clouds are created equal. Look for a
vendor that manages its own purpose-built cloud, designed
specifically for efficient backup and data transfer.
• Optimal Server Function. With cloud-only backup
solutions, business servers are burdened with agents
that waste valuable resources to dedupe, compress
and encrypt each backup utilising the business server’s
own valuable resources. Having a dedicated local
backup device offloads work from the server to prevent
these workloads from interfering with a server’s main
production.
• Improved Use of Bandwidth. A hybrid cloud solution
results in a better use of a network’s precious bandwidth.
Because the initial backup occurs on a local appliance
through a local area network, the backup happens fast.
After the backup to the local appliance, the cloud backup
can be managed so that it happens once a day after
business hours. You’re not eating up valuable network
bandwidth during operating hours. By using a hybrid
cloud solution, bandwidth use can be optimised with
some solutions allowing for aggressive local RPOs and
bandwidth-friendly cloud RPOs at the same time.
Bottom line: Hybrid cloud means your business will
have more control over server function and managing
valuable bandwidth.
5
Datto’s Total Data Protection Platform
Not all hybrid cloud based backup solutions are the same.
While many possess the inherent benefits of having both
a local and off-site backup strategy, not all deliver a
comprehensive solution that also provides fast recovery and
always-on business continuity.
Datto delivers business continuity that approaches high
availability … at the price of a simple backup.
By saving backup images directly to VMDK format, Datto
solutions ensure that SMBs can boot up their backup VMs
from a local appliance or the Datto cloud in mere seconds—
instead of minutes or hours. The result is a competitively
differentiated recovery time objective (RTO) that better
safeguards SMB business data and gives MSPs a powerful
sales advantage.
Datto also ensures the security of customer data with AES 256
encryption both in transit and at rest in our SSAE 16-certified
data centres. Datto also safeguards customers’ data integrity
with Screenshot Backup Verification™—a proprietary
technology that delivers tangible proof of backup success.
Our business is to keep businesses running – no matter
what.
For more information about Datto’s Total Data Protection
Platform, please visit www.datto.co.uk
Regional OfficesNorwalk, CT +01 (0) 888 294 6312Boston, MA +01 (0) 800 571 4984 Toronto, CAN +01 (0) 877 811 0577 Reading, UK +44 (0) 118 402 9606
©2015 Datto, Inc. All rights reserved.6/12/15
EMEA HeadquartersDatto Europe Ltd.250 Longwater Avenue, Green ParkReading, RG2 6GB, UKemeapartners@datto.com www.datto.co.uk • +44 (0) 118 402 9600
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