Coach operator National Express has replaced back-up
tapes with a disc-based system from Thinking Safe to secure its
company data.
The coach firm, which carries more than 17 million passengers a
year, is now using the disc-based Thinking Safe system at its two
datacentres. It has replaced previous systems where company data
was first backed up to discs in servers, then streamed to tape.
This required a series of tape devices and time-consuming tape
rotation management.
National Express head of IT David Jones said the company had
considered traditional tape library systems but opted for a
disc-based system for greater speed and efficiency.
“The Thinking Safe solution has enabled us to backup all data
quickly, effectively and securely with minimal downtime on
restore,” he said.
“This helps to contain costs, by reducing the time we spend on
administration, and it allows us to invoke disaster recovery plans
much more easily.”
The Thinking Safe software integrates back-up and recovery,
snapshot copy, and the replication and synchronisation of back-up
data into a single platform. Data is encrypted to ensure maximum
security.
The effectiveness of the Thinking Safe system in a multi-site
set-up had also been a factor in its selection, Jones added.
National Express is also involved in a trial of onboard wireless
internet access systems. The trial, which started in March this
year, gives passengers travelling between London and Cambridge
broadband access via Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, PDAs or other
devices.
Coaches involved in the pilot scheme were fitted with Telabria's
mSystem Mobilap-3G, a multi-radio system that combines an 802.11b/g
access point with 3G data network access.
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