From disaster risk to resilience: A cloud-based solution
A privately held investment firm was struggling with disaster recovery (DR) tools and processes that were not keeping up with the needs of their business. Outdated tools and processes hindered their ability to meet recovery time and point objectives (RTOs and RPOs). They needed a solution to ensure business continuity without excessive costs.
The challenge: upgrade on-premises equipment or move to the cloud?
The company was evaluating whether they should move to a cloud-based disaster recovery model, or if they should invest further into expanding their on-premises data centre environments. While there is always a desire to make the most of earlier on-site investments, they were also aware of the challenges of this approach. It is inflexible, hard to scale, and comes with the high costs of procuring and maintaining duplicate compute, storage, and network infrastructure – all without knowing how often it will be utilized in practice.
They needed to ensure their data is protected and recoverable. In case of a disruption, they need to meet or exceed their required RTOs and RPOs by minimizing data loss and downtime.
The solution: a cloud-based approach
As part of proposing a solution, Bell first worked with the company to understand their critical infrastructure needs. Based upon this consultation, the company transitioned to a cloud-based DR solution using Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE). This strategic move leveraged existing VMware expertise within the organization, minimizing the learning curve and ensuring a smoother transition. This also addressed interoperability challenges, avoiding the need for application rewrites or significant changes to their operating models.
Testing and automation: ensuring resilience
Even the best disaster recovery strategy needs to be tested frequently to ensure quick and efficient recovery in the event of a disruption. Prior to the transition to the cloud, however, the complexity of testing and potential disruption to their source environment(s) had made the company hesitant about conducting frequent disaster recovery tests.
In response to this need, Bell designed and implemented easy-to-use, non-disruptive testing procedures. This ensured quick and efficient recovery validation. Further, Bell implemented infrastructure-as-code automation to assist restoration of production environments – streamlining the recovery process and significantly reducing the potential for human error.
Results: improved operational resilience
The new cloud-based DR solution improved operational resilience. They now have a cloud-based disaster recovery solution to help them achieve their RTOs and RPOs, minimizing downtime and data loss. They also enjoy meaningful cost savings by reducing the need for duplicate infrastructure and licensing.
Why Bell: Partnership and expertise
The company selected Bell for their recognized leadership in data protection and security. Bell's deep expertise in cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions was also key factor as was their well-established relationship with Google Cloud and VMware.
Learn more about Bell's disaster recovery solutions and how we can help your business. Contact your Bell representative or explore our disaster recovery solutions.