In my role at Veeam, I have the privilege of working closely with state, local, and education (SLED) organizations across the U.S. Every day, I hear first-hand the challenges IT teams face including tight budgets, aging infrastructure, rising cyberthreats, and the constant pressure to meet compliance mandates. It’s not easy. In fact, with 87% of U.S. state and local governments reporting at least one cyber incident in the past two years, the stakes have never been higher.
At Veeam, our mission is to deliver modern data protection that meets the realities of today’s public sector. We understand the complexity that SLED institutions are dealing with, and we’ve built our solutions with those realities in mind.
Key Challenges Facing SLED IT Teams
SLED IT environments are anything but simple. Here’s what I see time and again:
- Cybersecurity risks are escalating. Ransomware attacks are more targeted and more disruptive than ever, and the public sector remains a prime target.
- Compliance is tough but necessary. Whether it’s CJIS, FERPA, HIPAA, or FISMA, there’s no room for error.
- Hybrid environments are now the norm. You’re managing on-premises systems while migrating to the cloud, and that increases complexity.
- Budgets are tight. There’s little room for waste, and IT investments need to be strategic.
- Staffing is limited. Many teams are short-handed or in transition, making modernization even more difficult.
How Veeam Supports SLED Resilience
This is why I’m proud of the approach Veeam takes. We don’t just sell backup; we help organizations build resilience. Here’s how we do it:
- Immutable backups using /write once, read many (WORM) technology to protect against ransomware and tampering.
- Built-in compliance tools that simplify audit prep with automated reporting and real-time dashboards.
- Unified multi-cloud support across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, since we know you’re managing it all.
- Transparent, scalable pricing with agentless solutions that stretch every dollar further.
Veeam Cyber Secure Program: Strengthening Public Sector Cyber Resilience
We also created the Veeam Cyber Secure program to help our customers take a proactive stance against cyberthreats. It’s a comprehensive security posture review and readiness program that includes:
- Architecture reviews aligned with zero trust principles and insurance requirements.
- Regular threat assessments to find and fix vulnerabilities before attackers do.
- Access to our incident response experts in the event of a breach.
- Full documentation and testing to verify that recoveries work when it matters most.
SLED Success Stories with Veeam
The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the impact our work has on communities, including:
- In Birmingham, AL, the city saved over $100,000 in IT costs while strengthening disaster recovery (DR) with Veeam.
- The City of Phoenix restored critical services within minutes after a server failure and cut their data protection costs by 30%.
- At University of Illinois Hospital, our Cyber Secure program helped them pass a demanding HIPAA audit and improve their recovery service level agreements (SLAs).
Expert Advice for SLED IT Leaders
If you’re in a SLED IT leadership role, here are a few strategies I consistently recommend:
- Embrace Zero Trust. Reduce risk by segmenting access and using multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere you can.
- Follow a 3-2-1-1-0 backup model. It’s the gold standard: Multiple copies, different media, one offsite, one immutable, and no errors in recovery tests.
- Harden your backup environment. Encrypt your backups, segment your storage, and run restore drills regularly.
- Modernize in stages. Start with cloud-based backups for SaaS apps and build from there with unified policies.
- Invest in your people. Simulate ransomware scenarios, train on incident response, and make sure your team knows how to use the tools they have.
Building Resilience in SLED with Veeam
As someone who’s worked with SLED organizations across the country, I can tell you that resilience is achievable. Even with limited resources and complex environments, there’s a path forward. Veeam is here to help you build it.
If you’re ready to take the next step in protecting your institution’s data, I encourage you to check out our guide Modern Data Protection for the SLED Community to learn more.
FAQs:
- What specific cyberthreats do SLED organizations face?
SLED institutions are targeted by ransomware, insider attacks, and supply chain threats. With 87% of U.S. government entities reporting cyber incidents in the past two years, ensuring resilient data protection has never been more critical. - How does Veeam help SLED meet compliance mandates like CJIS, FERPA, HIPAA, or FISMA
Veeam includes built-in compliance tools like automated reporting, real-time dashboards, encrypted and immutable backups, and DR testing to simplify audits of CJIS, FERPA, HIPAA, FISMA, and more. - What does hybrid data protection look like for SLED?
SLED IT is now managing on-premises, virtual, and multi-cloud workloads. Veeam delivers unified protection across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud and fully supports hybrid environments with consistent policy, recovery, and visibility. - What is the Veeam Cyber Secure Program and why is it valuable for SLED IT?
The Veeam Cyber Secure program offers architecture reviews aligned with zero trust, proactive threat assessments, incident-response support, and recovery testing. - Can Veeam protect SLED data while keeping federal certifications like FedRAMP?
Yes. Veeam’s public-sector offerings are available through FedRAMP-authorized channels, such as Constellation GovCloud, which aligns with federal security controls and simplifying deployment across state and local jurisdictions. - How affordable is Veeam for budget-conscious public sector agencies?
Public entities often operate with tight budgets. Veeam addresses this with transparent, scalable pricing and agentless backups. We help agencies to stretch dollars further without unexpected licensing or hidden costs.