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Press Release: After the disaster: How quickly can you get back to work?

Press Release

3/14/2017

DISASTER RECOVERY: AFTER THE DISASTER: HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU GET BACK TO WORK?

New program hopes to inspire companies to take important steps to save time and money
(Byron Center, MI)-March 14, 2017 - In this fast-paced, 24/7/365 world, every minute of downtime is more costly than ever. Technology is driving companies of all sizes to make decisions about Disaster Recovery that virtually eliminate downtime. Software companies like Veeam are even introducing new language to our vernacular as they’ve changed the conversation from “quick recovery” to “The Always-On Enterprise.”

A 2016 study by the Ponemon Institute found unplanned outages cost businesses an average of $8,851 per minute. “Losing access to your data can bring your company to a halt, affecting employees, customers and your reputation,” says Dirk Arends, Director Of Sales at Virtual Systems, an infrastructure company that provides IT cloud solutions, including disaster recovery from datacenter facilities in Grand Rapids, MI, Southfield, MI, Indianapolis, Oak Brook, IL and Madison, WI.

Arends says most people associate disasters with things like a tornado or an earthquake, but for businesses, the most likely disaster will come from a virus or malware. “One employee clicking on a corrupted link or website can lead to a problem that will linger in a company’s systems for months before it’s discovered,” Arends says.

While most organizations have some kind of backup plan for their data, Virtual Systems says that plan may be vulnerable as well. “If your backups are in the same location as your production environment, getting back online could take weeks if full recovery is even still an option,” says Arends.

That’s why leaders in cloud computing, like Virtual Systems and Veeam, recommend a 3-2-1 data protection plan. The plan suggests companies have three copies of the data, two different types of storage media for the data and one backup kept at an off-site location. “It’s this last step of our ‘golden rule’ that most businesses don’t do but it’s the step that can make all the difference in diverting disaster,” said Matt Kalmenson, Vice President, Cloud and Service Provider Sales, North America, at Veeam.

Virtual Systems guarantees an organization using Veeam’s cloud-enabled Availability solutions can be up and running again within four hours. “What’s the cost of not being able to do business?” asks Michael Wolthuis, Virtual Systems Chief Technology Officer. “Whether you look at it from lost productivity, lost wages or increased insurance rates, there’s a huge risk to not having a complete disaster recovery plan,” he added.

In order to help illustrate the importance of disaster recovery, Virtual Systems is participating in a $200 million cloud services program that Veeam is running through the end of March. A recent study by Veeam found 84 percent of IT decision makers would like to improve their backup and recovery times. “We’re hoping that this offer will prompt companies who have a backup plan to take this vital step to strengthen it,” said Arends.

Companies who are interested in taking part in the Veeam offer can request more information at www.vsystems.com/products/other-technology-solutions/free-draas/ or contact Dirk Arends directly at 844-2VIRTUAL ext. 5403 at Virtual Systems before March 31st.