USER-MANAGED FILE SERVER BACKUP:

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1 USER-MANAGED FILE SERVER BACKUP: An ineffective solution to Business Data Protection WHITE PAPER

2 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In their latest report on endpoint user data backup (ID #: G ), Gartner highlights the issue of endpoint user data security as one of the major problems faced by IT today. One of the key problems being that IT tends to look at user data protection in the traditional sense, meaning from the centre out, instead of from the edge, inward with the main areas of risk and exposure residing on endpoint user devices such as laptops and desktops. Many organisations employ file server backup that relies on users to copy their data as per the policy onto the server. This may at face-value seem like a } quick and cost-effective solution, however, as revealed in our 2011 Data Loss survey, 87% of organisations using this data protection strategy are experiencing significant issues. While such a strategy may be an acceptable solution for a small business with user s who have minimal amounts of data on their devices, in an enterprise environment there are substantial resulting risks, costs and operational consequences.

3 3 IMMEDIATE ISSUES WITH USER- MANAGED DATA PROTECTION: The reality is that users do not follow backup policies- IT manager s almost always recognise that organisations cannot rely on the end user to diligently follow policy and backup the correct files. THE KEY ISSUES EXPERIENCED WITH USER-MANAGED FILE SERVER BACKUP ARE: 01 Users forget to backup regularly. 02 The process of selecting and then copying files to the server is time consuming. 03 As there is no central control, user s abuse storage space and backup the incorrect files such as music, movies and photographs. 04 Users don t want their sensitive or confidential data in a central location unencrypted. 05 Lack of central management and consolidated data reporting results in IT having no data control or visibility, and thus being unable to effectively protect files. Expecting users to manage their own data protection and to copy their business data to a file server has proved ineffective in most environments. Not only is business data unprotected from data loss, and accessible to unlawful parties, but there are hugely inflated storage and bandwidth costs and IT has no central control over these overheads or over the organisation s endpoint data. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH USER DATA BACKUP DOES YOUR COMPANY EXPERIENCE? 06 Inevitable loss of sensitive business data if a device is lost/stolen, resulting in the associated recovery costs & interrupted productivity. 07 Bandwidth costs are hugely inflated and there is a significant impact on the network, specifically in enterprise environments with multiple users. 08 The infrastructural impact of multiple users backing up to the file server without any data compression or central control can be detrimental to business operations. 09 Recovery of data cannot be ensured and users blame IT when their data is not available for recovery. 10 PST files are not always included or copied to the server, resulting in lost s. 11 Remote branches / users can, in most situations, not make use of the service as the daily copying of data to a central server requires significant bandwidth. Users do not consistently follow our policies 34% The infrastructure (bandwidth and storage) cannot cope with large backup volumes 12% Security concerns (users dont want sensitive information on our servers) 11% Upgrading users desktops and laptops takes a lot of time 17% There are no issues 13% High impact on user computers 13%

4 4 THE FACTS AROUND USER- MANAGED DATA BACKUP: LONG-TERM ISSUES Gartner and multiple other analysts have identified that successful and compliant data protection should not be left up to the user. THERE ARE MULTIPLE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES TO EMPLOYING THIS DATA BACKUP STRATEGY: User-managed data backup is not compliant with Data Protection Law and Corporate Governance Compliance, such as King III, Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Protection of Personal Information Act (PPI) File server backup and ineffective data protection leaves organisational data vulnerable to unlawful data access, data theft, industrial espionage and data corruption. Inability to obtain the required evidence of data loss, data leakage, industrial espionage, or any other data breaches, prevents the business from taking legal action against perpetrators. Data migration projects (such as PC refresh and OS upgrades) take a significant amount of time and require multiple IT resources as locating user business data, ensuring the correct data is backed up on the server and then restoring the data to the new machine or OS is a complicated and expensive exercise. Increased support requirements

5 5 EFFECTIVE ENDPOINT DATA PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS: BASIC OVERVIEW The requirements for effective business data protection are outlined below. Implementing a centrally managed solution such as Cibecs will assist your organisation with corporate governance compliance, gaining complete control over business data and gaining operational and costsaving benefits: 01 FUNCTIONAL Reliable & secure business data protection all laptop & desktop data is securely backed up and available for recovery. Automated and centrally managed data backup prevent any data loss & remove the requirement for user adoption. Transparent backups ensure no impact on user productivity and no change required in user behaviour. 02 OPERATIONAL Simplified data migration projects such as PC refresh and OS upgrades. Consolidated business reporting with the ability to quickly identify & address any risks. Lowered bandwidth & storage costs- infrastructure optimization. Reduced support requirements. 03 ORGANISATIONAL Business data is secure and encrypted with no possible unauthorised access to files The ability to track and monitor data changes, data loss or file corruptions Data archival that ensures corporate governance compliance and provides an audit trail of any data migration

6 6 CIBECS COMPARISON TO FILE SERVER POLICY In order to centralise endpoint data, bandwidth & storage usage are key infrastructure & cost considerations. } The diagrams below compare the storage & bandwidth required to centralize your organization s business data by copying the data versus utilizing Cibecs automated backup technology. STORAGE REQUIREMENTS TOTAL: TB PER USER: 6 GB TOTAL: 67.7 TB PER USER: 2 GB BANDWIDTH & NETWORK IMPACT TB/month 2.3 TB/month * Calculations are based on estimated daily averages. The Standard policy is based on users copying their data to a file server.

7 7 COMPARISON The following table outlines the difference between a file server policy and Cibecs as an endpoint backup solution: FILE SERVER POLICY CIBECS Backups are performed daily Dependant on user Yes All business data is included No Yes Central policy enforcement ensures that data is backed up independent of where it is stored on the user s computer Data recoverable in the event of data loss Backups are encrypted preventing access to confidential data Ability to report and monitor backups to ensure compliance Dependant on user s complying with policy No No Yes Yes Yes Cibecs offers tangible operational benefits that far outweigh the insurance benefit of data recovery in case of disaster and has been market proven to offer substantial operational benefits to IT departments, company users and business as a whole. Cibecs is the simplest way to backup and recover business data on all laptops & desktops. Find out more by visiting our Resource Center. ( resource-center/)