Archive for April 2010

Sundance here we come….

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

The i365 marketing team decided to mix it up a bit and have some fun by creating the first in a series of entertaining and inspiring mini-films that highlight our favorite issues of the day. The mini-films examine the dramatic struggles of two brothers, Cloud and OP (On-Premise), as they attempt to find happiness in an increasingly complex IT world. Can they overcome their preconceived notions to learn to co-exist and trust each other?

So grab some popcorn, dim the lights, sit back and find out what happens in the series premiere. And please let us know what you think. We hope you enjoy watching as much as we did creating.

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Introducing EVault for Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Yesterday we officially launched EVault for Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (EDPM) at the annual Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas. EDPM is targeted to ship in June, and we believe we’ve created a product and established a strategic partnership that will bring great value to our customers as well as disrupt the market and open up new doors for i365.

MMS is really abuzz with excitement and Microsoft knows how to put on a great show! The event opened in earnest today and we have already seen a lot of great interest in EDPM since last night’s opening reception. This all-in-one, cross-platform, Cloud-Connected data protection appliance that combines Microsoft DPM 2010 with EVault Software pre-configured on Dell Hardware is being very well received with many people commenting that they are looking to install DPM 2010 but were previously unsure how they would protect their other non-Microsoft systems.

As we speak with System Center VARs and users here in Vegas, the possibilities to offer secure and efficient on-premise and offsite data protection in the Cloud for DPM 2010 users AND protect their non-Microsoft systems at the same time is making for a very compelling use case. In addition, our other EVault on-premise and Cloud-Connected Storage data protection solutions are also generating significant interest so if you are at MMS, feel free to stop by our booth #216 to say hello and see a demo.

If you can’t catch us live at MMS then don’t worry.  Let Ed tell you more about EDPM in the video above. Enjoy!

Posted by Jay Remley

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i365 Customer Profile: Community First Data Services

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

When customers walk into their local bank, few consider the complex network of IT systems, applications and back-end data processing that goes into ensuring core systems and account processes stay up and running. Yet, that’s exactly the job of Wyoming’s Community First Data Services (CFDS). The data processing company is responsible for mainframe processing and network services such as application server management, check item processing, data and telecom services to 42 bank offices located throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Missouri.

Needless to say, that’s a lot of data. With 40+ SQL Server-based databases and several servers supporting the organization’s 1,000+ mailbox Microsoft Exchange environment, the IT team at CFDS analyzed their ability to do recover data and systems with their prior tape backup system, and realized it might require hour delays in individual file restores and up to two days of downtime for a critical system restore. After a server went down that brought several core banking functions to a halt in the interim while data was restored from tape, CFDS began looking into i365′s data protection offerings for:

  • Significantly faster restore and rebuild times that could help bring database systems or whole servers back up – even from major hardware failure
  • Longer data retention times – especially for critical systems like the bank’s Patriot Officer application from GlobalVision Systems
  • Reduced IT time spent on operations surrounding data backup or recovery
  • The chance to have a faster, more automated and reliable off-site recovery process

The EVault data protection solution quickly rose to the top of the CFDS list of possible solutions, with EVault’s DeltaPro deduplication feature of only transmitting data blocks changed from the last backup being a particular highlight.

After deciding on i365, CFDS implemented an EVault Software solution, with one disk-based EVault “vault” in its Cheyenne data center and a second offsite “vault” in Denver. Thus enabling them to protect 26 TB of data each night across 194 Windows and Linux servers in various locations.

And the results?

Both systems now reflect up-to-date, nightly backup data for the nearly 200 servers CFDS oversees in Cheyenne and the various branches. Server rebuild times have dropped from days to hours, database and file restores have gone from hours to minutes, and weekly IT time spent on backup/restore has dropped by 15 hours.

We’ll let that speak for itself :) You can read a PDF of the full CFDS case study here.

Posted by Stacie Del Castello

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Taking Data Protection to the Bank

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

As we continue to highlight new partnerships we develop at i365, we also want to share the enhancements to existing partnerships that are equally exciting.  Today we  announced our affinity partnership with the New Jersey Bankers Association (NJBA).  We have been an associate member of the NJBA for over 5 years and this validates us as an officially endorsed partner.

In working with many other NJBA members over the past five years, i365 has been able to effectively benefit NJ banks in several crucial areas including meeting compliance standards (GLBA, FDIC, SOX, SC, FFIEC, NCUA), automating and centralizing data protection systems, and securing confidential data, and working with New Jersey Banks to help enhance their disaster recovery and business continuity initiatives.

When we meet with financial organizations we end up always focused on these questions:

  1. Are your return to operation timeframes and recovery point objectives too long? Next to personnel, data is your most irreplaceable asset.  Networks, application hosting platforms and end user computing environments can be replaced readily.  Without your data, your business can not recover.
  2. Are your backup windows interfering with your production day?  Are tapes going offsite, unencrypted to a local location causing security risks? Loss or breach of data has serious impact on the financial standing of your bank as well as the reputation of its leaders.
  3. Is the backup and recovery process cumbersome for IT staff?  Do you have decentralized software, hardware and procedures in multiple locations (ie:  tape drives, tapes, backup software vendors)? With a centralized and standardized vendor and software, costs go down and benefits increase. Forward compatibility and scalability are the future, while still meeting corporate policies and compliance regulations.
  4. Are ever changing compliance regulations causing additional work and costs to your institution?  EVault disk-to-disk backup and recovery technology, coupled with consulting and educational services, provides you with data protection that helps assure compliance across the complete regulatory spectrum (GLB, SOX, FFIEC, SEC).

These conversations always lead to i365 proposing an improved process for New Jersey Banks, and all the financial institutions we work with.  We are anticipating another successful year with the NJBA, and we thank them for their confidence!

Posted by Terry Dohrmann

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i365 Partner Profile: Introducing Compuquip Technologies

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

This is the first post in an ongoing series where we profile our partners. At i365 we highly value our partners as they are integral to our business of providing on-premise and Cloud-Connected storage solutions to help small to mid-sized organizations protect and access their business data – anytime, anywhere. And one of our best kept secrets is that not only do we sell through a broad reseller network, but we also power the products and services of Managed Service Providers, Data Centers, Telcos, Application Providers, and other technology partners for more than 28,000 customers worldwide.

So without further ado, we’d like to introduce one of our newest partners, Compuquip Technologies. Compuquip, which is based in Miami, FL, has been in business for nearly 30 years and is a fully integrated IT company with cabling, professional services, Internet security, and Managed IT Services divisions supporting more than 300 South Florida businesses.

Compuquip recently partnered with i365 to add professional-grade, on-premise and Cloud-Connected storage solutions to their service offerings in order to enhance their ability to serve their Managed IT Services customers who are in need of a more efficient and effective means of backing up and recovering data. With i365’s EVault data protection solutions, Compuquip can now offer affordable online data backup options to replace out-of-date and inefficient data backup tapes still employed by many organizations as well as help clients customize a data protection and recovery plan that is reliable, automated, restores data quickly, and fits their exact needs.

We think Compuquip and i365 are a great fit as both companies focus on the small- to mid-sized business customer, and share the same exacting professional standards to deliver to customers only the highest quality of reliable solutions and service. If your organization is in the South Florida area and looking for a new data protection solution then email Brian Dosal at bdosal AT Compuquip.com or visit www.compuquip.com for more information.

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