Learn how to modernize your backups in 2012 with ESG by Kate Lewis
Over the last 12 months it’s hard not to miss all the messages from vendors that promise to modernize your backup infrastructure. I particularly like the messages from vendors that champion solutions that address one or two aspects of backup – such as deduplication, snapshots or tools for backing up just VMware and Hyper-V environments. These are quick fixes, not modern data protection. Throwing more solutions at a problem as a quick fix is the cause of backup complexity and cost. A solution that increases complexity, risk or cost is hardly a solution that will modernize your backups. Why? Because the very nature of modernization is moving forward – reducing complexity, risk and cost. Yet these vendors, ironically, still try to position themselves as the solution to backup modernization without really offering a solution that does exactly that.
So what does it really mean to modernize your backup infrastructure? How do you know if your backup infrastructure is out of date? Is it the software, hardware or network that needs updating or is it a combination of all three?
To answer these questions and more, the Backup Exec team at Symantec have teamed up with leading analyst firm ESG to bring to you the latest backup trends and give pragmatic advice on how to apply those ideas to your environment that will truly modernize your environment. On Wednesday 9th May during Symantec Vision 2012 at the MGM in Las Vegas (http://www.symantec.com/vision), Jason Buffington from ESG will be presenting on: How to modernize your backups in 2012 (session number IM B01). In this session Jason will uncover his research on the latest trends in data protection. Not only will Jason give pragmatic advice on how to apply those ideas to your environment, he’ll also uncover backup and recovery best practices that will radically improve your backup and recovery performance. From virtualization to cloud, and from dedupe to replication, Jason will squeeze everything into 55 minutes.
If you are unable to attend vision this year don’t worry! This session will be recorded so if would like to get your hands on the replay, simply reply to this post and we will send you a link to view the recording as soon as it becomes available.
In the meantime, if you have a question in relation to modernizing your backups in 2012 send it via twitter to @JBUFF. Jason will be answering these questions and more during the session.
Before I sign out, I wanted to leave you with one closing thought. While many vendors talk about modernizing backup, there is only one company who is really delivering upon that promise and that’s Symantec. If you are attending Vision, stop by the Backup Exec booth and find out how.
Have you hugged your VM lately? By Billy Cashwell
Virtualization- what can I say other than it has “virtually” changed the IT world in which we all work and play? Why is virtualization so attractive to IT administrators? In short, the answer is easy- there are many uses and benefits that we gain through virtualization. For starters, the thought of being able to have a single server’s physical footprint represent many servers on the network has been a boon to administrators looking to consolidate space and reduce operation costs. Having the ability to quickly stand up a vm copy of a major application or work server for patch testing is a benefit that allows administrators to test during business hours is simply a game changer.
So, how else can we leverage this exciting technology? Well…how about recovery? What if I said we were talking about both physical and virtual environments?
I often speak with administrators that look for ways to simply protect their virtualized assets for the purpose full recovery in the event of disaster- i.e. their backup solution is only working to back up, but not truly embrace their virtual solution. What if we began taking the approach of having the backup software actually begin using virtualization as a true extension of the recovery plan? Can we take virtualization from being a resource that is typically one that is only backed up to a resource that can be leveraged as the platform for recovery for both physical and virtual servers alike?
We at Symantec say YES! …and Backup Exec 2012 is just the catalyst needed to truly and finally unite vrtual and physical environments.
Sure, the world is going virtual in a strong way but this is not something that is going to happen overnight. Although many early adopters have moved forward to become near 100% virtualized, most administrators are still governing environments that are heavily comprised of both physical and virtual server assets. As such, administrators need a solution that is not only purpose-built to work for their entire environment but one that takes advantage of the virtual infrastructure specifically to allow them to further leverage their IT investments.
Backup Exec 2012 is just the solution to deliver the proverbial goods. Not only is Backup Exec 2012 offering a fresh and new user experience but also is leveraging companies’ existing virtual infrastructure for items including instant recovery of any physical or virtual server that is protected but also has the ability to leverage the cloud to recover, test or migrate any VMware virtual machine that is in your environment. And for good measure, imagine that when it is time to migrate that physical server to a new virtual body you simply power on the virtual copy that was created and maintained as part of the standard backup of a physical server with Backup Exec 2012? Well, its time to stop imagining- the time has come to fully realize and embrace the power and fleibility of your virtual environment- and Backup Exec 2012 is here to help you do just that.
So again I ask….have you hugged your VM lately? If not you should- it can help you in more ways than you know!
Interested yet? If so please take a few moments to visit us virtually on the web or in person at Symantec VISION 2012 in May to learn more about how Backup Exec 2012 can help you truly embraced your virtual infrastructure.
In the meantime, check out this short video on leveraging “No Hardware” recovery with Backup Exec 2012:
Planning on attending Symantec VISION US this year? Come learn more in our BE 2012 session!
Discover the power of your virtual environments with Backup Exec 2012
Session IM B15 @ Symantec Vision 2012
MGM Grand – Las Vegas – May 7-10
http://www.symantec.com/vision/welcome/?locid=las_vegas
Come join us at VISION US and learn more about:
- How to embrace and leverage your virtual infrastructure for near-line recovery, DR and sandbox testing
- Migrating to virtual? Learn about how to simply use your future and existing backups to make the process painless
- Need offsite DR for VM’s? Come see how we are leveraging the cloud for DR and much more!
At Lotus F1 Team, Information is the true currency of business but the by-product data is gold bullion
Many say that a company’s most valuable asset is its human capital. But a strong workforce without ideas is not really strong, or much of a force. So we would say human capital is nothing without information or to put it another way, knowledge. And it’s generally accepted that knowledge is power.
Power is the currency traded at Lotus F1 Team - a company that Symantec is proud to have worked in partnership with for over 15 years and an affair set to continue into the foreseeable future.
When we say power, we’re not just referring to the engines in its cars, though for sure they are some of the most powerful in the world. But before an engine makes it onto the track, hundreds of engineers and scientists pour thousands of hours into engineering & testing designs before completing a final blueprint. The blueprint is the real prize. It forms the basis of the most valuable asset a business can possess – Intellectual Property. This is the stuff that sets your business apart from competitors, which can be sold or licensed, providing an important revenue stream.
But the kind of innovation taking place on a daily basis at Lotus F1 Team produces a by-product: Data – reams of it. Anything not directly related to racing and winning is going to be a distraction but get sloppy with how you keep and manage data and you may as well had over the blueprints to your competitor in person. Lotus F1 Team has for example developed Wind Tunnel technology used by the company in the development and measurement of aerodynamic forces – known as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This is an area of research not only important to car racing but also to the aerospace, road and wind turbine industries and one pioneered and perfected by F1 over the years.
As well as building and driving fast cars, there’s also a commercial and business side too – all of which produces data and business processing that needs to be managed effectively, efficiently and securely. Ultimately, the organisation needs to know its power (information, knowledge, deals and ideas) are safe and subject to the highest integrity.
This is why we work with companies like Lotus F1 Team – because we are in the business of protecting and managing data at every level so that innovators can focus on the business they are in.
