Tag Archives: CEO

Asigra named SearchStorage’s Backup & Disaster Recovery product of the year

February 14, 2012 backuptech

Backup Technology would like to extend it’s congratulations to Asigra after they were named Search Storage’s Backup and Disaster Recovery product of the year 2011.

After being founded in 1986 by the current CEO, David Farajun, Asigra has continually led the market with unique features, product innovation, support and scalability. The Asigra software has been integral to all of Backup Technology’s Cloud Backup and Virtual Disaster Recovery services since 2005, in which time we have managed to create a global customer base protecting over 8 PetaBytes of data with individual customers exceeding 50 TeraBytes, this simply would not have been possible with any other backup and recovery solution.

Asigra were chosen from hundreds of very impressive product entries, SearchStorage’s judging panel then selected an exceptional group of 48 finalists. In turn the 18 winners were then selected from among the finalists based on innovation, performance, ease of integration, ease of use and manageability, functionality and value.

In recent years Asigra has appeared for the first time in Gartner’s prestigious Magic Quadrant and become increasingly prominent in analyst insights produced by organisations such as CRN, Forrester and the 451 Group. Such recognition validates Asigra’s credentials to all existing partners and customers, whilst also raising it’s profile amongst organisations who are experiencing problems using outdated tape backup solutions or other less scalable or robust Online Backup Services.

One of the key benefits of the Asigra solution which was highlighted by Storage Magazine is that it can be deployed as an on premise Private Cloud solution or as a Fully Managed Public Cloud service depending on a clients Data Protection and Disaster Recovery requirements.. This flexible approach has allowed Backup Technology to create bespoke Asigra Private Clouds for organisations such as The Government Offices, British Red Cross and Cheshire Police whilst Public Clouds are utilised by the likes of Liverpool Football Club, LK Bennett and Suzuki.

One of the judges even commented “There’s nothing like Asigra Cloud Backup in the market for enabling backup and recovery as a service.”

Asigra not only leads on features but also performance. SearchStorage highlighted the many performance enhancements included in version 11 such as “400% improvement in throughput over previous versions, support for 10 Gbps local-area network (LAN) interfaces, and data read/write acceleration with multi-threaded data dedupe, parallel processing for read I/O and data throughput, multiple overlapped I/O and delta differencing.”

“Our goal is to focus organizations on what data protection is really all about, data recovery,” said David Farajun, CEO for Asigra. “We are thrilled that Storage Magazine has recognized the unique advantages our solution brings. Asigra offers a multi-dimensional solution that can reside in and protect physical and virtual environments simultaneously while being device agnostic to protect all instances of data throughout an organization, substantially reducing data protection management requirements.”

2012 promises to be a record year for Asigra and Backup Technology. We hope that this is also the first of many awards this year, after over 26 years of pioneering the market Asigra certainly deserve it.

GE; Microsoft Announce New Developments in Healthcare

January 25, 2012

Need more proof that the cloud is the future of healthcare?� How about this:� General Electric and Microsoft � two big names in cloud-based healthcare technology — have recently announced plans to create a joint healthcare venture designed to address important changes in the healthcare industry.

The new company, which has not been named yet, will enable doctors and healthcare facilities to share patient information, streamline and manage new payment models, and shift focus from single-patient care to continuous population management, said Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE.

�The global healthcare challenges of access, cost and quality of care delivery are creating a new focus on the performance and accountability of healthcare delivery systems � in every country, at every level of care,� Immelt said in a joint press release issued by GE and Microsoft.� �This venture will demonstrate what is possible when leading companies with complementary capabilities work together to meet a common goal.�

GE and Microsoft are both known for producing a wide range of products and services related to healthcare.� The new joint venture will give users in the healthcare industry the option to mix-and-match some of each company’s most popular and widely-used products, including electronic data-sharing platforms like Microsoft Amalga and GE Healthcare eHealth, as well as Microsoft expreSSO, Microsoft Vergence, and GE Healthcare Qualibria.

�Combining Microsoft�s open, interoperable health platforms and software expertise with GE�s experience and healthcare solutions will create exciting opportunities for patients and healthcare providers alike. Working together, GE and Microsoft can help make healthcare systems more intelligent and cost efficient while improving patient care,� said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

In addition to streamlining communication and making it easier to access patient data, the new company � which is still awaiting regulatory approval before it launches early this year �� is expected to cut down on healthcare-related infections by helping medical professionals more quickly identify patients who are especially at risk.� Additionally, the new venture should make it easier for patients and their doctors to co-manage diseases and chronic conditions by sharing and tracking home testing devices.

What do you think of this announcement?� What’s your take on healthcare and the cloud?� Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Why Unlimited Backup Quotas are Unrealistic.

January 10, 2012

I recently came across a video interview where the CEO of a �business solution� online backup company was asked how an unlimited data storage plan is possibly profitable.

He came back talking about de-duplication and the fact that data was being stored on their servers rather than on the customer�s site. He then concluded by shrugging his shoulders and saying �The future is bright so give us all your data.�

For a start de-duplication is not a differentiating factor which other software is missing. Secondly the whole point of off-site backup is to get data offsite, so the second part of his answer did not make any sense. So what is the secret to companies offering unlimited storage?

The model which such companies use is that the few users which utilise a large amount of storage will be balanced out by those that use little storage.

The other part of the model which is talked about in the interview is economies of scale. The more customers which join the more storage costs fall.

So the short fall is that someone is going to place all your business data (an unlimited amount) on the cheapest hardware which they can get through bulk purchasing. Then hope that the law of averages work out so that other companies will not eat too far into their unlimited quota.

In this scenario profits rely on making hardly anything per customer but having millions of customers. However when you see this model failing for the likes of Mozy in the consumer market, it does not bode well for the business market. Mozy was one of the original pioneers in the space and unlimited storage is a great concept. However as people create an ever increasingly large digital footprint, it is simply unrealistic.

Tread carefully when considering an unlimited service, especially when it comes to protecting your business data.

What Are Your Digital Assets Worth To You?

November 10, 2011

A survey in the States has revealed some shocking results demonstrating that Americans have a tendency to not bother backing up their data.

The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research and found that 51% of Americans have experienced a computer crash leading to them loosing all of their digital files.

More than one-third admitted they had never backed up their computers or haven�t done so in the last twelve months.

A staggering 40% of Americans admitted that they would have no way of recovering, recreating or repurchasing such data.

�It is interesting to contrast the way people insure their treasured possessions, like their home and their car, with the ways in which they leave often-irreplaceable digital assets unprotected. Most have experienced at least one major disaster, yet are still not taking simple steps to protect the contents of their computer� David Friend, CEO of Carbonite.

The most common files to be stored by Americans are photos and music. Fifty- five percent of those surveyed stored photos and 46% stored music.

Eighty-two percent of people keep only electronic files on their personal hard drive with the majority of these keeping files nowhere else.

Putting a value on digital data is often difficult but the survey made some interesting comparisons. For instance 50% of Americans would rather loose an entire year of vacation time than loose all of the files on their computer. Thirty-four percent would rather give up wine and beer for a year. Thirty-eight percent would rather loose their wedding ring. Sixty-two percent would pay as much as $500 to retrieve their documents and files while 27% said that they would pay whatever it took.