Authors: Lucas Conforti (Product Manager, IBM), Andy Hurt (CMO, Cobalt Iron) & Val Besong (Product Marketing, IBM)
Imagine waking up one morning to find your company's critical data compromised or entirely inaccessible. It's a nightmare scenario that, unfortunately, is becoming all too common in today's digital landscape. Research from IBM and Ponemon Institute shows that in 2024, the global average cost of a data breach is approaching $5 million. The stakes have never been higher for businesses to protect their information assets. In an era where data is the lifeblood of operations, safeguarding it is not just an IT concern but a fundamental business imperative.
The New Standard in Data Protection
Recognizing the urgent need for robust data protection solutions, IBM has partnered with Cobalt Iron to introduce Secure Automated Backup with Compass. This innovative Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering is specifically designed for IBM Power Virtual Server workloads, including critical applications like SAP, Oracle, and DB2 running on AIX and Linux operating systems. Powered by IBM Storage Protect, this solution delivers a seamless, automated, and secure backup and recovery experience.
"IBM Power Virtual Server clients have voiced a significant need for automated, secure, and easy-to-use business continuity solutions. Secure Automated Backup with Compass meets this demand by supporting our clients' cloud expansion journey, providing nearly effortless backup solutions for their DB2, Oracle, and SAP workloads running on AIX and Linux operating systems. It not only works for cloud-to-cloud backup, but also on-premises to cloud backup for enterprise customers who wants to have another copy in their cloud environment" said Ming Christensen, Director of Product Management (Power and SAP) at IBM.
Why Should You Care?
In a world where cyber threats are evolving rapidly, and data regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, businesses cannot afford to overlook their data backup strategies. Here's why investing in a solution like Secure Automated Backup with Compass is crucial:
1. Enhanced Security
Data breaches and cyber-attacks are not just hypothetical risks - they are real threats that can disrupt operations and tarnish reputations. Secure Automated Backup with Compass employs advanced security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, malware, and other cyber threats. By automating the backup process, it minimizes the risk of human error, ensuring that your data is consistently and accurately backed up.
2. Regulatory Compliance
For businesses operating in regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, government, and legal, compliance with data protection standards is non-negotiable. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines and legal repercussions. This solution helps you maintain compliance by providing auditable backup and recovery processes that align with industry regulations, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to focus on your core business activities.
3. Data Governance
Data loss can result from hardware failures, software corruption, human error, or natural disasters. With a comprehensive data governance framework, Secure Automated Backup with Compass ensures data is securely preserved, auditable, and compliant with regulatory requirements. In the event of a disruption, governed processes enable swift, accurate, and fully traceable recovery, minimizing the risk of data loss or corruption. By enforcing consistent and auditable backup policies, you ensure compliance, protect business continuity, and maintain customer trust through reliable, transparent data management practices.
4. Business Continuity
Downtime is costly. Every minute your systems are offline can result in lost revenue, decreased productivity, and dissatisfied customers. Secure Automated Backup with Compass enables rapid recovery of your systems, helping your business return to normal operations as quickly as possible after a data loss incident. It supports your business continuity plans by ensuring that critical applications and data are readily available when you need them most.
5. Hybrid Data Protection
With the growing importance of hybrid infrastructures, Secure Automated Backup with Compass supports both on-premises and cloud environments. This flexibility allows businesses to protect their data across multiple environments with one single solution and user experience. Whether you’re managing legacy systems on-premises or scaling operations in the cloud, Secure Automated Backup with Compass ensures that your data is protected, readily accessible, and future-proof, offering a consistent approach to data protection across your entire IT landscape.
Supporting Your Cloud Expansion Journey
As businesses continue to embrace cloud technologies, the need for instant-on, scalable, and automated data protection solutions becomes paramount. Secure Automated Backup with Compass is designed to support your cloud expansion efforts seamlessly. It integrates effortlessly with your existing IBM Power Virtual Server environment, providing a unified approach to data protection across your on-premises and cloud infrastructures.
User-Friendly and Automated
One of the standout features of this solution is its ease of use. The automation capabilities reduce the burden on IT teams by handling routine backup tasks without manual intervention. This not only improves efficiency but also reduces the likelihood of errors that can occur with manual processes. The user-friendly interface allows for easy monitoring and management of backup activities, ensuring that you have visibility and control over your data protection strategies. For over a decade, Cobalt Iron has been addressing enterprise backup challenges with proven expertise. With deployments in more than 44 countries, Cobalt Iron Compass protects critical workloads that range from just a few terabytes to over 300 petabytes per customer, ensuring reliable and scalable data protection solutions for global enterprises.
A Partnership You Can Trust
The collaboration between IBM and Cobalt Iron brings together decades of expertise in enterprise computing and data protection. With IBM's robust infrastructure and Cobalt Iron's innovative Software-as-a-Serve technology (Cobalt Iron Compass), you can trust that you're investing in a solution that is both reliable and forward-thinking.
Our confidence in this partnership is evident as IBM’s own CIO office has adopted this solution as their exclusive backup for tens of petabytes of data. With this enterprise backup solution, the CIO organization has streamlined the user experience by providing a single entry point for all application owners to manage and maintain IBM’s backup infrastructure. Approximately 400 application owners now use a unified portal to configure, schedule, create, and restore backups. The Cobalt Iron Compass portal simplifies the backup and restore processes for applications owners to protect petabytes of critical production application data.
In addition to IBM adopting Compass as their exclusive backup solution, many other global enterprises have also relied on Compass to secure and protect their critical applications and workloads for over a decade.
One such example is a global leader in the apparel and footwear industry. This company faced significant challenges with an aging and fragmented backup infrastructure. They were managing a mix of solutions, including ArcServe, TSM/Spectrum Protect, and Avamar/Data Domain, which introduced operational complexities, security concerns, and inefficiencies in recovery times. Seeking a modern, security-focused solution, the company aimed to streamline operations, enhance security, and gain support for cloud workloads, while simplifying the overall backup process.
The deployment of Compass addressed all of the company’s data protection needs. By eliminating multiple legacy backup products and tape backups, Compass provided substantial financial savings. Its industry-leading security features ensure the company is fully equipped to rapidly recover in the event of an incident. With this modernization effort, the company has realized significant business value, including improved security, operational efficiency, and a strong foundation for future growth.
Conclusion
In an age where data is both a valuable asset and a potential vulnerability, taking proactive steps to protect it is essential. Secure Automated Backup with Compass offers a comprehensive solution that addresses the critical aspects of security, compliance, data governance, business continuity, and competitive advantage. It's not just about safeguarding data - it's about ensuring the resilience and longevity of your business.
Take the Next Step
Don't leave your data protection to chance. Explore how Secure Automated Backup with Compass can fortify your business against the unforeseen and position you for continued success. Empower your business with the confidence that your data is secure, compliant, and always available when you need it.