NAKIVO Delivers Microsoft 365 Backup for a Collectibles Dealer
Business Challenge
Downies has been around for 85 years as a family-run business specializing in coins, stamps, banknotes, model cars, and other collectibles.
Downies operates from multiple locations with a wide range of IT services, including its SAP environment. The business has three main sites, with all servers located on the one site. All servers are virtualized using Microsoft Hyper-V. Virtual machines run Microsoft Active Directory, Dynamic Host Confguration Protocol (DHCP), as well as time and attendance, payroll, and ERP systems. The ERP system, the most critical for Downies, consumes the most resources and runs across 7 VMs.
Mostly, Downies uses backups for recovery of individual files. However, the business also needs to ensure that if a disaster happens, systems are up and running quickly. The business cannot afford downtime for longer than a day. If data is unavailable for more than a week, the whole business would have to shut down.
Downie’s previous VM backup solution became outdated and required regular maintenance and monitoring. Moreover, additional software was needed to perform various tasks. Backup jobs regularly failed and required manual intervention. Other software was used to perform backup to tape and backup to disk.
The company needs to back up about 25 VMs and 70 Microsoft 365 mailboxes, as well as replicate critical servers to a secondary site. Downies decided to search for a new solution that can provide all the functionalities under one roof as well as offer time and money savings.
Solution
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is an all-in-one data protection solution for virtual, physical, cloud, and SaaS environments. The product protects business data and applications with industry-leading features. “NAKIVO Backup & Replication has good reviews on multiple websites and offers all the needed functionalities, ranging from backup to disaster recovery, in one simple solution,” says Hamid Osmani, IT Manager at Downies. “The support service has also been good with a quick response time. The installation process was simple and rapid. I had to look at the technical documentation to do some of the setups, but I was able to back up servers in no time after that.”
“We have installed NAKIVO Backup & Replication on an individual server with storage. The tape drive is also connected to the same server, so the tape jobs can run, during business operating hours and will not cause any congestion on the network,” says Hamid. “Our replication server is offsite, and this will be our disaster recovery site if something critical was to happen to our primary site. Currently, we are backing up 10 workloads fairly quickly. Our production server is backed up every two hours and the development servers are backed up once a day.”
NAKIVO Backup & Replication provides fast backup and easy recovery for Downies, as well as offers VM replication and backup for Microsoft 365. “Recovery of individual files, via the browser is what we find extremely handy for us. Also, being able to back up to disk and to tape, setup VM replication to the remote site, and back up Microsoft 365 mailboxes is incredible because everything can be done from the same web interface,” says Hamid. “Business continuity is key for us and with VM replication, we can recover a server in no time at all. Since moving to Microsoft 365, we did not have a solution that supported Microsoft 365 backup. Now, we have achieved complete protection of our Microsoft 365 data from a centralized web interface, and do not need any additional tools.”
Results
“NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a robust data protection solution that provides multiple functionalities with minimal workarounds. With the product, we have backup to disk, backup to tape, VM replication, and Microsoft 365 backup, all from the same centralized web interface,” says Hamid. “With the product’s technical support, we are always taken care of in terms of receiving answers to our questions. NAKIVO Backup & Replication helped Downies maintain business continuity and achieve results much quicker and without the need for constant maintenance and monitoring. In terms of cash spent, we saved nearly 20%, but the time savings are a much bigger advantage for us.”
About Downies Company
Established in 1932, Downies is an Australian family-owned company with over 85 years of experience. Specializing in numismatics, Downies is the largest distributor for the Royal Australian Mint and Perth Mint, as well as having exclusive distribution rights for many mints around the world. Downies is dedicated to helping people collect the things they love. For more information, visit www.downies.com.