Simplify and streamline your data backups

Data is the lifeblood of business. That is why organizations understand the importance of backing data up regularly to protect it from being irrevocably lost. According to Gartner, though, a third of all businesses will replace their backup and recovery solutions over the next couple years to address issues with cost, complexity, and capabilities.

There are a number of moving parts involved in a successful data backup and recovery solution. It’s important that it backs up data frequently enough to minimize the potential loss from a catastrophic event, and that it be able to capture all of the sensitive data you need. At the same time, it needs to be fast and efficient to back up data with minimal impact to network bandwidth and productivity. Perhaps the most important aspect of a backup solution, though, is that it be able to recover and restore data quickly in the event of a disaster.

IBM understands the need for customers to backup and protect data, and it created Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) Operations Center to help organizations address that need. IBM created an infographic that highlights the features and benefits of TSM Operations Center, and points out how it beats rival solutions in a number of key areas.

TSM Operations Center focuses on three things: simplicity, scalability, and efficiency. The infographic notes that TSM Operations Center allows you see that your data is backed up from any browser-based device, and that it makes multisite replication and failover easy. It contrasts TSM Operations Center against EMC Avamar, which relies on multiple products with disparate user interfaces and more complex administration.

There is an argument to be made that the cloud offers an ideal data backup platform, but cloud backup introduces some potential issues as well. On the one hand, the backup data is stored safely offsite by default when you back up to the cloud—so you know the backup data is protected from whatever catastrophic event affects the original data. The cloud also offers ubiquitous access, and virtually unlimited scalability.

The downside is that backing up over an Internet connection can be slow and inefficient. TSM Operations Center provides a hybrid solution that allows customers to reduce infrastructure costs by up to 38 percent, while also enabling cloud backups through OpenStack and vCloud integration.

When it comes to scalability, IBM claims that TSM Operations Center enables each administrator to manage twice as many backups, and that it can backup 500 VMware images in as little as 15 minutes. The infographic explains that one TSM server can replace seven CommVault backup servers, and that the manual disaster recovery process for CommVault is complex and challenging to audit.

TSM Operations Center can reduce the storage capacity required for backups by up to 95 percent according to the infographic, and it can restore files from snapshot backups in just a minute or two. IBM compares TSM Operations Center with Symantec NetBackup, and points out that Symantec uses up to nine times the backup and media servers to protect the same data, and that Symantec requires full backups more frequently, which wastes server and network resources, and can impact productivity.

You know you need to back up your data. Not all backup solutions are created equally, though, so make sure you invest the time to weigh the options and choose the backup platform that simplifies the process, and ensures your data is safe as efficiently as possible.

This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM’s Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.