Networking has always been one of the most complex parts of any IT solution, and whether you are connecting into a remote site, connecting branch offices together or extending on-premises networks to the cloud, there is traditionally a high level of complexity and cost that's involved in establishing a reliable networking solution. When it comes to networking during a disaster, the level of complexity and margin for error is magnified. In relative terms, it has become easy to back up, replicate and then recover workloads, but getting access to those recovered systems remains a cumbersome process.

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A little over two years ago, I was at the Microsoft Technology Center in Manhattan, and I noticed that all of the engineers and technical people I was working with that day seemed a little stressed. I took the opportunity over lunch with the chief architect to find out what was going on. Microsoft had decreed that anybody in a technical role had to take and pass the Microsoft Exam 70-533, Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions. I also found out that many had already taken and failed the exam.

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Veeam produces the world’s best Availability solutions. Over the last two years, our customers have become increasingly interested in Availability solutions in the cloud, specifically in Microsoft Azure. Veeam has always been and continues to be hardware agnostic. We always let our customers choose their preferred hardware, or in this case cloud provider. With that said, Veeam has built six show-stopping innovations for our customers who are looking to use Veeam with Microsoft Azure to strengthen their Availability story in the hybrid cloud.

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Today most big storage providers offer some form of long-term physical tape library storage, which enables customers to utilize a cost-efficient cold storage option. But, there can be a few key issues faced with physical tape library storage. The first is complexity that surrounds exportation and management. The second is the cost of upgrading – old tapes are slow and unreliable but new ones are not cheap.

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As a flight instructor, I always advise my students to avoid the cumulonimbus cloud, which is associated with thunderstorms that create unpredictable conditions and make flying difficult and dangerous. Throughout a 100 years of aviation history, flying in or near this type of weather often makes headlines in the news; with some instances worse than others.

When discussing cloud strategies with Veeam customers, from migration to data backup to the cloud, I am reminded of the unpredictable weather conditions associated with flying in the clouds, especially when a customer raises a concern about the cost of cloud computing.

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Cloud is a viable option for many use cases, including but not limited to storage, critical workload management, disaster recovery and much more. And as we have covered in our previous concerns related to this series, it can also be made secure, reasonably priced, and migration can be simplified. We found one of the major cloud concerns in last year’s end user survey to be customization. Let’s dive into where customization and the cloud meet.

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In this cloud blog series, we’ve talked about how secure backups can be in a cloud environment and what the cost may be of not leveraging the potential of DRaaS. The next step would be to start thinking about how to migrate your infrastructure or backups/replicas to the cloud and at what scale it has to be done. We will review the main points that you need to consider and check prior to initiating your move into the world of cloud.

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Cloud computing is hardly a new player of the IT world. Its ever-growing market share and popularity within the IT community derives from combining flexible prices with the Always-On Availability of infrastructure resources. It brings out a whole new world of possibilities for your business, while reducing the long-term costs of maintaining your own infrastructure. Yet, despite the obvious cost advantages of moving data to the cloud, pricing is still a top concern, as Veeam discovered from our recent 2016 cloud end-user survey (see chart below).

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Media coverage on the various versions of encryption Trojans are coming fast and furious. These threats are meant to extort money out of the infected and are otherwise known as ransomware.

Trojan malware like Locky, TeslaCrypt and CryptoLocker are the variations currently used to attack companies. The breach gateways are often security loopholes in web browsers and their plugins or inadvertently opened email attachments. Once inside the company, the ransomware can spread at breakneck speeds and begin to encrypt valuable data. The FBI recommends companies implement a solid ransomware backup and recovery strategy for effective protection against data loss caused by CryptoLocker or any other Trojan.

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As the CTO for OGD ict-diensten, a Dutch managed service provider (MSP), I try to spot market opportunities for my region early and often. We live in a new paradigm where software is eating the world, so it’s crucial for me to keep up with new technology whenever and wherever possible. This is why I attended and presented at VeeamON 2015 and learned about the much-anticipated Veeam Availability Suite v9 and all the awesome new features it delivers for MSPs. Read more