In Depth

In Depth

Data protection, backup and archiving

• Backup maintenance: Make sure backups can deliver

  Deploying backup but overlooking the need to make sure it works is a common error. We look at the why and how of backup maintenance to help ensure you can recover from your backups  Continue Reading

• IT’s shift to the cloud: Veeam’s data protection report in detail

  With half of servers in the cloud, most backup and nearly all disaster recovery cloud-centric, the shift to the cloud is significant – but container backup is one area that is yet to settle down  Continue Reading

• Top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022

  Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022  Continue Reading

• From capex to opex: Storage procurement options bloom

  We look at the growing list of possibilities when it comes to paying for storage infrastructure, ranging from upfront purchases with upgrades to pure pay-as-you-go options  Continue Reading

• Indefinite storage: What it is and why you might need it

  Indefinite storage addresses the issue that archived data may need to be kept well beyond the lifespan of the technology it was written for  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage: Key storage specifications

  We look at the key specs in cloud storage, including availability – such as five nines – bandwidth, IOPS and latency, capacity and tiering functionality, egress charges and security  Continue Reading

• Ransomware, storage and backup: Impacts, limits and capabilities

  We look at the impact of ransomware on storage and backup, how storage and data protection can best be used to combat ransomware, and how they fit in the fight against it  Continue Reading

• The next decade in enterprise backup

  Backup set to adapt to deliver more security, ransomware protection and flash-speed restores, and deal with the complexity of multi-, hybrid cloud and container-based operations  Continue Reading

• Air gaps for backup and how they help against ransomware

  The air gap is a basic of backups and storage. We look at what’s meant by an air gap, the rise of the logical air gap, and its place in the fight against ransomware  Continue Reading

• Edge storage: What it is and the technologies it uses

  Storage is moving from the datacentre to the edge. We define edge storage, look at the characteristics of edge computing that shape it and the technologies it requires  Continue Reading

• Carbon copies: How to stop data retention from killing the planet

  Our society has a serious digital hoarding problem, which is coming at a cost to the environment. But what can be done to address it?  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage TCO: Key pitfalls and how to avoid them

  Cloud’s flexibility is part of the attraction, but it can also lead to costs that spiral. We look at key elements in cloud TCO and how to intelligently make use of the cloud  Continue Reading

• Data classification: What it is and why you need it

  To be compliant, to ensure data is optimally protected, that it is available, that it can be analysed and that it is stored most cost-effectively – these are reasons why data classification is vital to organisations  Continue Reading

• Ransomware and backup: Overcoming the challenges

  Ransomware attacks that exfiltrate data don’t nullify the value of backups to restore from, but the challenges – such as not restoring corrupted data – require careful planning  Continue Reading

• Backup maintenance: Five key points to consider

  Effective backups need to ensure all data is protected, and to track media and software changes. We look at five key things to consider  Continue Reading

• Global file systems: Hybrid cloud and follow-the-sun access

  We look at global distributed file systems that put enterprise data under a single file access namespace so that enterprises and branch offices can get to data from anywhere  Continue Reading

• Cloud-to-cloud backup: When native cloud protection is not enough

  There is a certain amount of protection built into cloud services, but it has its limits and full data protection requires that cloud data is secured with cloud-to-cloud backup  Continue Reading

• Kubernetes backup products and 10 key players

  We look at 10 key players in Kubernetes backup, why they are needed, what they offer and why you need to watch out for duplication between application teams and the IT department  Continue Reading

• APAC buyer’s guide to backup and recovery software

  In this buyer’s guide, learn more about the market for backup and recovery software and key data protection capabilities to look for  Continue Reading

• The limits and risks of backup as ransomware protection

  Backups can provide a sound means of recovery from ransomware infection, but they are not 100% certain to foil attackers. We look at the limits and risks of depending on backups  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery is an essential service for EDF with Phenix-IT

  EDF has built disaster recovery tracking, planning and testing software on a six-month upgrade cycle based on governance, risk and compliance functionality in Mega’s Hopex platform  Continue Reading

• Snapshots vs backup: Use both for optimum RPOs

  We look at snapshots and backup, the key difference, their pros and cons and how best to use the two approaches in an integrated data protection strategy for optimal RPO  Continue Reading

• Snapshots best practice: Five key things you need to know

  We look at snapshots best practice, including the way they work, why they are not the same as backups, how to avoid heavy processing overheads and key user permissions tweaks  Continue Reading

• Backup types explained: Full, incremental, differential, synthetic

  We look at backup – on-prem and cloud – and the key variants available, from full backup to synthetic full, via incremental, differential, incremental forever and reverse incremental  Continue Reading

• Storage suppliers put Kubernetes platforms centre stage

  How to orchestrate the orchestrator? Storage suppliers’ Kubernetes management platforms aim to meet storage and data protection challenge in containerised application environments  Continue Reading

• Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Maintenance and continuous improvement

  In the final article in this four-part guide to disaster recovery planning, we look at how and when to update, maintain, audit, review and continually improve the DR plan  Continue Reading

• Define RPO and RTO tiers for storage and data protection strategy

  We look at RPO and RTO in defining data protection and disaster recovery strategies and how to specify tiers that reflect the importance of different systems in your organisation  Continue Reading

• Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Staff training, incident and media management

  In the third in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we set out the key components of DR staff awareness and training programmes, as well as incident management and dealing with the media  Continue Reading

• How open source is shaping data storage management

  Open source data storage offers a great deal of flexibility, but unlocking its benefits will require strong technical resources to meet requirements such as stability, high availability and security  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage data residency: How to achieve compliance

  There’s a conflict between cloud storage and the need to comply with local laws and regulations. We look at cloud data location, data residency, data sovereignty and data adequacy  Continue Reading

• Refrigeration firm freezes legacy backup for one Cohesity cluster

  France-based Clauger had reached limits of capacity and complexity with multi-supplier legacy backup, so moved to one Cohesity cluster and gained restores that took mere minutes  Continue Reading

• Navigating PIPL: European businesses plot their next steps into China

  How does China’s strict new Personal Information Protection Law impact European businesses?  Continue Reading

• Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Setting strategy and developing plans

  In the second in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we look at how to formulate a DR strategy and develop detailed DR plans for your organisation, while taking cloud services into account  Continue Reading

• Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Assessing risk and business impact

  In the first in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we provide a step-by-step guide to building firm foundations for the disaster recovery plan, with risk assessment and business impact analysis  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage compliance pitfalls: Post-pandemic and post-Brexit

  We look at the key areas of cloud storage compliance that can trip you up, with shared responsibility with cloud providers and data residency among the most important  Continue Reading

• Cloud repatriation: Five reasons to repatriate data from cloud

  We look at key drivers of cloud repatriation, including cost, compliance, issues around latency and data gravity, reversing poorly planned moves to the cloud, and supplier failure  Continue Reading

• Immutable snapshots aim to neutralise ransomware

  Snapshots – usually immutable anyway – get functionality to stop ransomware intruders moving or deleting snapshots, so customers know they have clean copies of data to restore from  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud: Five key questions in 2021

  We look at key need-to-knows about hybrid cloud in 2021, including how it is defined, key use cases, the main pitfalls and where it’s heading  Continue Reading

• APAC expert guide to storage management

  In this expert guide to storage management in Asia-Pacific, we unpack the developments shaping storage management and key strategies to extract business value from data  Continue Reading

• French Caisse uses NetApp to move backups to object storage

  State financial arm wanted to move backups held on NAS file-based storage to object storage, so stuck with NetApp StorageGRID and achieved near-seamless migration  Continue Reading

• Dell, NetApp and Pure: Healthy results on Covid easing

  Dell’s still top of the storage supplier pile with midrange arrays doing well, but meanwhile NetApp and Pure are making gains on the rise of public cloud  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery for SMEs: Five key areas to consider

  We look at key disaster recovery considerations for SMEs, including why backup is not enough, how to create a disaster recovery plan, best-practice DR testing and DR as a service  Continue Reading

• Five ways to ensure remote working security and compliance

  A mix of on-site and remote working has become a fact of life for many organisations. We look at five key things you should consider to ensure compliance and security  Continue Reading

• Europe’s proposed AI regulation falls short on protecting rights

  The European Commission’s proposal for artificial intelligence regulation focuses on creating a risk-based, market-led approach replete with self-assessments, transparency procedures and technical standards, but critics warn it falls short of being ...  Continue Reading

• How the pandemic changed backup

  The Covid-19 pandemic forced big changes in how people work – we look at impacts on backup, including increased reliance on the cloud, plus security and compliance vulnerabilities and ransomware  Continue Reading

• Backup failure: Four key areas where backups go wrong

  We look at the key ways that backups can fail – via software issues, hardware problems, trouble in the infrastructure and good old human error – and suggest ways to mitigate them  Continue Reading

• Cloud archiving: A perfect use case, but beware costs and egress issues

  The advantages of cloud archiving are ease of use and being well-suited to potential latency issues, but IT teams need to be aware of costs and issues around moving data from and between clouds  Continue Reading

• Where now for storage? Hitachi, IBM and Pure Storage

  Part II: Storage supplier strategy in the cloud era: Hitachi, IBM and Pure Storage. We snapshot the big six hardware makers, as they take things to the cloud and as-a-service models  Continue Reading

• Where now for storage? Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE

  Part I: Storage supplier strategy in the cloud era: Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE. We snapshot the big six hardware makers, as they take things to the cloud and as-a-service models  Continue Reading

• Backup appliances the hot topic for Pas-de-Calais fire brigade

  With requirements for strict, long-duration backup and archiving, French fire brigade set out to replace optical media with a StorageCraft appliance and disaster-proof storage  Continue Reading

• The 3-2-1 backup rule: Has cloud made it obsolete?

  The 3-2-1 backup rule was made for small-scale use in the pre-cloud era when tape still ruled. Is it relevant in the 2020s, or can we repurpose its fundamental principles?  Continue Reading

• Five ways that disaster recovery changes in a pandemic

  Covid-19 has changed IT. Previously, working remotely was a business continuity measure, but now it is the norm. That means disaster recovery has to adapt to new risks and new ways to respond  Continue Reading

• Five key questions about Kubernetes backup answered

  We look at when to back up containers, what to protect, the main methods of backup for Kubernetes and the main Kubernetes backup products available in the market  Continue Reading

• APAC buyer’s guide to data management

  In this buyer’s guide, we look at the challenges surrounding why enterprises are struggling to deal with data, the use of cloud data management platforms, artificial intelligence, and recommend some best practices  Continue Reading

• Cloud DR from the Big Three: Who’s best at what?

  We look at cloud disaster recovery from AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google to see which is best for provision of turnkey solutions, breadth of portfolio and modular building blocks  Continue Reading

• Data Dynamics aims at single view of unstructured data

  Data volume is ballooning, and storage is becoming more disparate, which makes the need for a single platform to manage storage and compliance a key requirement for organisations  Continue Reading

• Robin.io aims its Kubernetes storage at databases and big data

  Cloud-native storage runs in Kubernetes and pools storage media to present it to application persistent storage needs, including snapshots and backup on top  Continue Reading

• Five key points about cloud vs in-house disaster recovery

  The cloud is well suited as a disaster recovery failover option. The key questions are about what you should keep on-site and what goes to the cloud. We look at five key points to consider  Continue Reading

• Five hyper-converged infrastructure use cases to watch

  We look at workloads ripe for hyper-converged infrastructure deployment. These include virtual servers and desktops, SMEs/remote offices, Kubernetes, and analytics and machine learning  Continue Reading

• Paris post-product studio uses Atempo Miria for live restores

  France-based À La Plage Studio decided on tape as a medium to store its visual production work, with Atempo ADA/Miria as a means to access and restore data to work on  Continue Reading

• RAID, flash and erasure coding: What works best with solid state?

  We look at RAID and flash to highlight key choices when it comes to drive data protection. What RAID levels work best with solid state and when is erasure coding a good choice?  Continue Reading

• Need to know: Five key things about backup testing

  We look at five key things to consider when it comes to backup testing – what to test, how often, making sure backups work, whether recovery is effective and ensuring processes are consistent  Continue Reading

• Backup audit: What is a backup audit and why do we need them?

  Backup and recovery are vital components to protect against data loss, whether technical or causes such as ransomware. So how can a backup audit help protect our key assets?  Continue Reading

• Erasure coding vs RAID: Data protection in the cloud era

  Erasure coding has come to prominence with its use in object storage and, by extension, in the cloud. We run the rule over its pros and cons vs RAID data protection  Continue Reading

• Top five ways backup can protect against ransomware

  Ransomware threatens to put your data beyond reach, so the best way to prepare is to have good-quality data you can restore from backup. We look at the key things to consider  Continue Reading

• Top five ways to benefit from tape today

  We look at the benefits that tape can bring, including in backup and recovery, long-term and ‘warm’ archiving, compliance and WORM use cases and ‘air gapping’ to protect data  Continue Reading

• A peek into the future of storage

  Flash-based storage is here to stay and will continue to be enhanced, even as helium and DNA are being primed for use in the distant future  Continue Reading

• Double extortion ransomware attacks and how to stop them

  As ransomware attacks increase, hackers are diversifying their tactics to get victims to hand over larger sums of money. We investigate the rise of double extortion attacks  Continue Reading

• Getting physical with datacentre security

  Whether it is natural disasters, terrorism or break-ins, datacentres will be vulnerable to a range of risks unless they are physically secured. Here’s how you can improve the physical security of your datacentre  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage costs: How to get cloud storage bills under control

  Many organisations look to the cloud to cut storage budgets, but the potential costs are many and varied. So what are the key ways to cut cloud storage costs?  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage on-site hardware: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud

  We look at the big three cloud vendors’ on-site offerings: AWS’s Outposts, Gateway and Snow hardware, Azure’s Stack and Arc appliances, and Google Cloud’s software-defined Anthos  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage 101: File, block and object storage in the cloud

  We run the rule over file, block and object storage from the big three public cloud providers: AWS, Azure and GCP. We look at what’s on offer and the use cases they are aimed at  Continue Reading

• Malaysia’s data protection practices still have some way to go

  Some Malaysian firms are not using data protection tools to the fullest potential, while others only think about data protection after a breach  Continue Reading

• What are the security priorities for the post-coronavirus world?

  The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing massive change across the business world and things may never go back to normal. What does security look like in this new world, and what will buyers be prioritising?  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Replication vs backup, and synchronous vs asynchronous

  Storage 101: Can replication replace backup? What are the pros and cons of synchronous and asynchronous backup? What’s the best way to mix backup and replication?  Continue Reading

• Contact tracing: The privacy vs protection debate

  The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated extreme measures not seen in peacetime for over 100 years. Contact-tracing apps are being developed as a tool for managing the pandemic, but are they a step too far?  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Crash-consistent vs application-consistent snapshots

  We look at crash-consistent and application-consistent snapshots and backup, how they are defined, the pros and cons of each and the benefits and limits of Windows VSS  Continue Reading

• Snapshots 101: Array vs backup software

  We run the rule over snapshots in storage arrays and backup software and find a range of capabilities that go from mere support to fully snapshot-centric approaches  Continue Reading

• A carrot-and-stick approach to fixing cyber security complacency

  With a majority of IT decision-makers holding the opinion that their employers are complacent when it comes to data protection, we look at what needs to be fixed, and how to fix it  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Snapshots vs backup

  We go over the basics of snapshots. They are a quick and accessible way of protecting data, but they are not a substitute for backup. So how do you combine the two?  Continue Reading

• NAS backup: Which suppliers have gone post-NDMP?

  NAS backup with NDMP has many drawbacks so some vendors have moved to a data management approach that tracks changes and allows for incremental forever protection  Continue Reading

• Top five compliance concerns for UK business in 2020

  We look at the top five legal and regulatory compliance concerns for UK businesses in 2020. It’s a list that includes GDPR, the DPA, PECR, PCI-DSS and the CCPA  Continue Reading

• What’s the problem with NAS backup?

  NAS backup has always been problematic, but what exactly are the issues with NDMP, and what are backup suppliers doing to make a decades-old storage staple easier to protect?  Continue Reading

• Caribbean island hospital rebuilds after hurricane with DataCore

  Hurricane Irma tore the roof off a server room and flooded IT hardware, but that was an opportunity to rebuild redundant IT using DataCore’s SANsymphony software-defined storage  Continue Reading

• Top four compliance considerations for SMEs

  We look at the key data compliance regulations that affect smaller companies – such as GDPR, the Data Protection Act, PCI-DSS and PECR – and some key industry-specific frameworks  Continue Reading

• Six disaster recovery pitfalls and how to avoid them

  We look at some key pitfalls in disaster recovery, such as failing to plan, not testing the plan, not protecting backups, poor communication and neglecting the human element  Continue Reading

• Spread of Kubernetes spurs backup and disaster recovery products

  Growth of containerised applications brings with it the need to back up and provide disaster recovery. But what do you need to protect, and who provides the products?  Continue Reading

• Do you use cloud storage for these use cases yet?

  We look at the use cases most suited to a quick transition to the cloud: backup, archiving, disaster recovery, file storage and cloud bursting – cloud storage’s low-hanging fruit  Continue Reading

• DRaaS decisions: Key choices in disaster recovery as a service

  We examine the key decisions when considering DRaaS. Whether to go full self-service, assisted or managed will depend on what you need to protect and your in-house resources  Continue Reading

• Five ways that backup has changed since the days of tape

  Back in the day, all this was tape, but times have changed, with cloud-to-cloud backup, cloud storage, virtual and physical backup appliances and myriad endpoint hardware  Continue Reading

• Top 10 storage deployment stories of 2019

  Here are ComputerWeekly’s top 10 storage deployment stories for 2019, which see quite a move away from traditional SAN and NAS to hyper-converged, software-defined storage and object storage  Continue Reading

• Five essential steps to a sound disaster recovery plan

  We walk through the key steps to develop a disaster recovery plan – from risk assessment and setting recovery objectives, to the plan itself and a testing regime to keep it fresh  Continue Reading

• Get ready for CCPA: Implications for UK businesses

  The California Consumer Privacy Act, a wide-ranging data privacy and consumer protection law, comes into effect on 1 January 2020. How does CCPA differ from the EU GDPR regulations and what are the responsibilities for UK businesses operating in the...  Continue Reading

• SME disaster recovery made easy with cloud, hybrid and HCI

  Disaster recovery is a lot easier for small businesses than it used to be, with use of the cloud, hybrid cloud, physical and virtual appliances, and hyper-converged infrastructure all among the choices on offer  Continue Reading

• Taking responsibility for security in the cloud

  From accidental leaks to full-on data breaches, maintaining security across cloud services is becoming a headache for enterprises. What questions should organisations be asking of their cloud service provider and, ultimately, whose responsibility is...  Continue Reading

• Key storage choices: Cloud vs tape for archive storage?

  Tape still has benefits, such as an ‘air gap’ that can insulate archives from threats to data integrity. But what are the opportunities for cloud in tape’s traditional use cases?  Continue Reading

• Data storage: The top five storage deployment pitfalls

  Key pitfalls in data storage include silos, under-utilisation, backup and disaster recovery, plus neglect of skills and application requirements. We ask analysts how to avoid them  Continue Reading

• Top five cloud storage pitfalls

  Cloud storage offers apparent simplicity, but unexpected costs, complexity, data movement and integration challenges can arise. We look at how to avoid common cloud storage pitfalls  Continue Reading

• How APAC firms can slay the storage management beast

  The data deluge and compliance requirements are shaping how Asia-Pacific firms are approaching storage management issues in the age of cloud  Continue Reading

• French national research centre insources with Rubrik backup

  France’s national research organisation wanted to insource IT back from Atos and built its private cloud on VMware across two locations with Rubrik appliances for backup  Continue Reading