Date: Thursday 19th April 2012
Location: The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4SD

To attend

Register here

Only a small percentage of organisations are getting the full benefits from their Symantec NetBackup environment.

Join Data Continuity Group (DCG) and Symantec to learn how to optimise your data backup environment. As well as presenting the features and benefits of newly launched Netbackup 7.5 and EV 10 we will discuss ways to help your organisation minimise cost, improve storage utilisation and control information risk.

The seminar will include:

• NetBackup 7.5 – A Technical Deep Dive on What’s New

      - Symantec NetBackup with V-Ray

      - Unifying backup

      - Deduplication

      - Replication

      - Snapshots and appliances in a single product

• Protecting your virtual environment with NetBackup
• Enterprise Vault 10 – latest updates
• NetBackup appliances
• Managed Services – A Service delivery option that delivers
• DCG’s NetBackup Support and Implementation Services

A fast way to address critical issues

As part of this Workshop, DCG and Symantec will help you identify ways to significantly improve operations in order to make the fastest, most significant impact on the overall health of the NetBackup environment.

DCG is accredited with Symantec’s highly recognised “Master Specialisation” in the area of data protection. This unique endorsement demonstrates DCG’s ability to better meet the needs of NetBackup users by delivering high-value services, including; consultancy, implementation and support, around their existing NetBackup infrastructure.

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Outline and Report

This event took place last week and the attached report gives an outline of the seminar and its speakers.

Information governance and the management of data is no longer just the concern of the IT department – but has become a key corporate and commercial issue. Never more has it been true to consider information as the lifeblood of the organisation. We have all become only too well aware of the catastrophic operational and financial impact to the business of losing data. Consequently, we have seen a tightening of the corporate compliance obligations now placed upon businesses to align their data strategies to much higher standards.

Information can be your greatest asset and our greatest liability. Managed properly, it can accelerate growth. Managed poorly, it can drive up costs and expose your business to risk. In the face of this, many organisations are now re-evaluating their IT solutions with regard to information management, availability, scalability, efficiency and cost; so it is particularly important, now more than ever, to assess the potential business benefits from managed services in the area of data backup and disaster recovery. The primary objective is to feel 100% confident that your most prized asset – your data – is managed, protected and recoverable, whenever and wherever you need it – and arguably the recovery component is the most important ingredient.

Most organisations are embracing virtualisation – certainly in the back office with servers, and since the turn of the year are beginning to make the shift to virtual storage and desktop service provision… The pulse of the room was typical of NCCs recent cloud and VDI events 60% doing it and 40% still evaluating and realigning their strategic thinking. Certainly it feels more a case of when than if…. The next 12-24 months will also see a major shift to Cloud services – VDR and managed services in particular playing an increasingly important role as organisations are increasingly losing any appetite for CAPEX. If you still need convincing – on what, how and where to virtualise your data backup and disaster recovery – hopefully the various formal presentations, not least the user case study outlined a clear routemap of the key drivers.

To view the complete report please click here

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Q1 – Who can see my data when it is held by a managed service provider in the cloud??

Data loss is now a reality and a sizeable chunk of all data loss incidents are either down internal or human vulnerabilities or to third party providers. You need to know whether the service provider, can see your data. Most have this ability. But, do they have the controls in place to avoid sending, copying, emailing etc etc your data? Remember they will be responsible for your data but, the liability remains with you…

Q2 – What happens if the service provider lost some of your data?

You need to ask your cloud service provider what their data protection policy is and what their audit procedures are. And then you should perform due diligence on those procedures.

Q3 – Where is my data located?

What does the third party organisation do to separate information and systems? You need to stipulate your requirements around co-location and or separation. Could your competitors – who may also be using the service – get their hands on your data? You really need to get this one answered!

Q4 – What happens in the event of data corruption?

How many copies of your data does the third party have? Do they use incremental backups and can they reconstruct an image of your data at a given point in the past from these partial backups. How far back to their backups go in calendar terms?

Q5 – How easy is it to migrate to another cloud service provider?

This all too often a question few companies ask – until it’s too late. Porting data between cloud service providers is a relatively new capability and only a small number of service providers have implemented what will become a very necessary service.

The Data Continuity Group would welcome the chance to help you understand what to look for when choosing a data protection (data backup, archive and recovery) managed service provider. Click here for more information Managed Services

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Information can be your greatest asset or your greatest liability. Managed properly, it can accelerate growth. Managed poorly, it can drive up costs and expose your business to risk. In the face of this, many organisations are now re-evaluating their IT solutions with regard to information management, availability, scalability, efficiency and cost; so it is particularly important, now more than ever, to assess the potential business benefits from managed services in the area of data backup and disaster recovery.

The primary objective is to feel 100% confident that your most important asset – your data – is managed, protected and recoverable, whenever and wherever you need it. If you still need convincing – and continue to ask why an organisation should virtualise their data backup and disaster recovery – there are many different reasons. To understand more attend a free seminar, hosted by the National Computing Centre and supported by Symantec, Dell and Data Continuity Group. The seminar entitled “Managing Data Lifecycles in the Enterprise and Cloud” will be held at the British Library on February 8th from 9.30 am – 1.30 pm and includes lunch.

Here is a snapshot of what will be discussed at the seminar:

• How to manage virtual data backup and disaster recovery.
• Understand the real issue around data security and information governance.
• Improved disaster recovery solutions.
• Improved information reliability and flexibility.
• Managed services as part of a cost containment strategy.
• Reduce capital and operational expenditure.
• Overcoming the standards challenge and meeting compliance obligations.

Click HERE to read more and register for the event.

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17^th October 2011 – UK based DCG Group, a leading managed services company specialising in data continuity, is proud to announce it has been awarded the prestigious Symantec Master Specialist Partnership in Data Protection.

Symantec recognises DCG’s significant, comprehensive and proven expertise in planning, designing, implementing and managing complete backup and recovery, archiving and reporting capabilities of information across an organisation. This achievement sets DCG apart from other providers of data continuity solutions and service providers.

By achieving Master Specialisation DCG has met Symantec’s stringent standards for advanced consulting and technical services, in particular using Symantec’s NetBackup and BackupExec products in data protection solutions.

“We are delighted to have achieved this specialisation, this demonstrates DCG’s ability to focus on helping our customers receive increased value from their Symantec investments.  Skilled IT resources can be difficult to find and retain,” said Martin Peck, DCG’s CEO.  “IT teams are under constant pressure to focus on new projects while achieving SLAs for existing systems.  At the same time, data volumes continue to grow and IT environments are becoming increasingly complex, driving up IT risk.  Through its comprehensive managed services and solutions DCG Group provides its customers with peace of mind, improved service levels and reduced total cost of ownership,” continued Peck.

FLEXIBILITY PUTS DCG IN THE NEWS

“With DCG Managed Services in place, we don’t have to worry about our data – we know it is being backed up securely and is in safe hands. Only DCG were able to offer us the flexibility in services which we need.”

Ben Dyer, Joint Head of IT at leading media group Northern & Shell.

DCG Group provides data backup and disaster recovery Managed Services to Northern & Shell, owners of Express Newspapers, Channel 5, OK! magazine and a host of other successful titles.

NORTHERN & SHELL GROUP

Northern & Shell was founded in December 1974 with the vision of becoming a significant force in British and worldwide media. That ambition was developed through a broad portfolio of magazines and broadcast interests and came of age with the acquisitions of Express Newspapers in November 2000 and Channel 5 in July 2010. Today, Northern & Shell owns four national newspapers and is a 50 per cent joint venture partner in two more in Ireland. In Channel 5 the company owns one of Britain’s leading national terrestrial television networks. It is also at the forefront of digital media as a key stakeholder in YouView, the world’s leading internet television service. Northern & Shell dominates important parts of the consumer magazine market both in the UK and worldwide, including OK! And Star! Magazines. It operates in all major areas of publishing and has diverse interests in new media, print, distribution, investment and property. As Britain’s leading independent publisher and a key player in both broadcasting and digital media, the future is brighter than ever for Northern & Shell, with the launch of the Health Lottery scheduled for this autumn.

GROWTH DRIVES NEED FOR CHANGE

Northern & Shell has offices around UK and overseas, with all operations run from the headquarters building in London. A team of 23 people run IT services for the whole group, operating at maximum levels of efficiency to provide everything from programming to front line support for an international workforce of around 2,000 staff.

Rapid growth in the business was bringing sharp increases in data volumes to be safely stored and backed up. Ben Dyer, Joint Head of IT at the Group, was looking at how best to manage backup securely in the future and provide for further growth in data volumes.

“We had previously used NetBackup on site here, managed internally, using our own hardware and purchasing necessary licences,” he explains. “However, the system was at the end of its life, already at capacity, with hardware due for replacement. We were going to have to upgrade and buy new software. We would need to continue to use internal resources to support and manage our backup.”

“We had also recently purchased a new finance system, which was not compatible with our existing backup, and the requirement from our auditors was that we must achieve a viable new solution for data backup and disaster recovery.”

OPTING FOR MANAGED SERVICES

Ben Dyer and his team reviewed the costs of investing in their own new backup system and managing it themselves but there would be major challenges.

“The costs of going out and buying a new system and operating it were high and we particularly wanted to free up internal resources,” he says. “Backup was very time-consuming for the team – a two hour task each morning changing tapes and dealing with any issues that happened overnight.”

“We need our team to be working on more high-level tasks.”

Ben decided to investigate alternative ways of managing Northern & Shell data backup, with a Managed Services provider, in order to reduce costs and save time.

A CLEAR SOLUTION

Northern & Shell maintains its products and activities as benchmarks of excellence to its readers, customers, advertisers and business partners. It was therefore important that Ben Dyer found a provider of Managed Services for data backup who would be aligned with the highest standards in its quality of service and customer focus.

After presentations from leading providers, Northern & Shell decided to award the contract for management of their data backup to DCG Group.

“DCG Group is providing a completed managed data backup and disaster recovery solution for the entire estate of Northern & Shell on an international basis,” confirms Ben Dyer. “This includes backup of all data for Express Newspapers, OK! Magazine, Star! Magazine, Channel 5, and now for the new Health Lottery to be launched this year.”

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

Essential to the operations of Northern & Shell is the building of dedicated teams with pride in what they produce and a willingness to respond to customer needs. This spirit is matched by DCG Group, who demonstrated the willingness to offer flexible services to win Northern & Shell business.

“Only DCG Group could offer us the flexibility in Managed Services which we require, with several options which we can tailor to our needs,” says Ben Dyer. “This is a big factor for us, as the expectation is that we will grow, and need to adapt services. Other suppliers could provide us with only one fixed solution.”

“DCG has already provided us with a seamless upgrade to the services estate as our data volumes have increased – it’s a great example of how scalable and flexible they are.”

“It’s a classic example of not knowing what’s round the corner. The DCG team understands our requirements, gives us options in services and a contract with flexibility.”

ACCREDITATION MATTERS

Another key factor for Ben Dyer in selecting DCG Group to provide Managed Services to Northern & Shell was the requirement of company auditors that data backup from the new finance system must be carried out to recognised standards.

“The auditors on their annual visit are looking at our finance systems to check that data is being backed up consistently and retained securely, and that we can restore data in the case of any corruption or loss,” explains Ben.

DCG proved that their technical skills and standards for data backup and disaster recovery were at the highest level.

“The fact that DCG Group holds the ISO27001 standard for information security was important for us and for the auditors,” says Ben.

COST BENEFITS

“DCG costs are also competitive in their costings,” adds Ben Dyer.

DCG Managed Services are charged on a regular subscription basis and this made it easier for Ben Dyer to get Board approval to go ahead with the DCG contract.

“It was going to be big capital expenditure project for us to replace our backup hardware and purchase new backup licences,” he explains. “It was a big advantage in winning our case with the Board that there are no big initial costs and regular predictable monthly instalments rather than a lump sum investment.”

“We are spending less and getting value for money.”

“Because of the flexibility of our contract with DCG, we know that we can adapt services as the business changes, without having to go back to the Board for increased payments.”

BUSINESS BENEFITS

“The biggest benefit for us in our contract with DCG Group is that we have freed up resources in the IT team which are expensive and which are valuable to us,” says Ben Dyer. “

“Routine backups are crucial and with the managed service provided by DCG, our IT support team are on hand to focus on business priority tasks – as a result we are getting added value from the service.”

“Also, we have peace of mind, knowing that our data backup is not only running but is being checked. DCG engineers are pro-active on any failures overnight and notify us in the morning – they fix it for us before we even know we have a problem.”

“We are comfortable our data is in safe hands and the business benefits from the cost savings as well,” concludes Ben Dyer. “Without question, I would recommend DCG Group and we are exploring buying extra services from them already.”

CUSTOMER OPTIONS

“We are committed to matching our customers’ requirements and have the technical skills to be able to offer flexibility to fast-moving businesses like Northern & Shell,” says Peter Wilks, Director, DCG Group.

www.northernandshell.co.uk

As a leader in the fast-developing world of digital television and high definition television around the world, Pace plc is using Managed Services from DCG Group to provide assured performance, secure backup and rapid disaster recovery for their vital IT systems.

With a high level of technical complexity in the business and an international scale of operations, Pace makes heavy demands on its IT systems and communications.  With constant innovation and development in the business, the IT systems have to deliver consistent, high-quality performance to users globally while data has to be secured and available for retrieval. Downtime has to be kept to an absolute minimum, so rapid disaster recovery is essential.

The Result

“Switching to Managed Services has meant that our data backup and disaster recovery strategy has become an IT overhead, rather than a cause for repeated capital expenditure,” explains David Cawthray, Director of IT.

For David Cawthray and his team at Pace, the fact that DCG provide assured service levels is a major benefit.  “DCG monitor our backups 24/7 and, if anything does go wrong, they sort it out quickly,” says David. “If any issue arises, you just ring someone at DCG and they fix it.”

“At a time of internal re-organisation, with reduced staff, it was a no-brainer to switch to Managed Services provided to this standard,” explains David. “It took one person on the team at least two hours each day to sort out all the backup tapes and fix broken backups – and now that is all managed for us.”

The Approach

For all its Services customers, DCG Group automatically refresh all software with the latest versions, so that best-of-breed, backup software is an intrinsic part of the solution.  If there is a disaster, DCG can set up a standby replacement system quickly at a customer’s site or in an offsite facility, and DCG provide with all the equipment for restores.

All customers benefit from a dedicated DCG Service Centre Engineer as part of the Service Centre helpdesk which is available 24 by 7 by 365.  The Service Centre provides proactive monitoring and reporting to all customers.

www.pace.com

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GFI provides competitive inter-dealer brokerage services in a multitude of global cash and derivatives markets, including credit derivatives and fixed income, foreign exchange and financial derivatives, equity, energy and commodities.

The business runs 24 x 7 from offices around the world and is supported by a powerful IT/communications infrastructure.

To support its international operations and provide the necessary speed of response for brokerage services, GFI Group has powerful and sophisticated IT systems carrying many terabytes of valuable commercial data as well as confidential client data. Rapid, reliable and secure data backup and recovery is of critical importance. The latest version of financial and other data has to be immediately available around the clock in offices worldwide.

The Result

GFI currently use DCG Managed Backup and Recovery services in offices from Hong Kong and Singapore to Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo and London.

“The data is generally backed up and taken straight offsite electronically but there are different requirements in some of our overseas offices,” explains Steve Gray, IT Systems Team Leader. DCG have adapted their solution, so that the backup and recovery works with varying requirements in our different offices. We also have a leased line into our DR site, so that DCG can restore the DR site as well if we have a complete system breakdown.”

“We have confidence in the backup service that DCG provide, If there is any issue, it is always DCG that alerts us before we are aware of it. We use the recovery service nearly every day to do basic restores – anything from complete file servers to individual emails. The DCG Service Centre is always available and reliable when we call them and easy to work with.”

The Approach

As DCG Group already provides Managed Services to a number of global businesses and has the technical expertise and resources this demands, they were an ideal choice for GFI. DCG were also able to tailor their Managed Backup and Recovery Service to meet the pattern required by GFI.

DCG Group were able to provide the technical excellence and flexible delivery to adapt services for GFI’s specific requirements, meeting demanding schedules and rigorous service level agreements across several time zones.

www.gfigroup.com

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As a financial institution, the Kuwait Investment Office has specific requirements connected with security, business continuity, regulatory issues and service levels.

By entrusting the management of its data to DCG Group, the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO) is able to meet its required financial and audit regulations with assured performance and quality.

As an investment organisation, there are stringent security standards KIO have to adhere to, as part of their business requirement and due to the nature of their organisation, data has to reside on their premises.  Faced with a high level of effort and time in support staff and expertise to maintain new versions of the existing data backup and archiving solution, KIO began to look at alternatives.

The Result

This important financial institution in the City of London now has a data backup and archiving solution which has been matched exactly to corporate requirements for security, business continuity, assured performance and quality.

“The main driver for us in switching to Managed Services was that we did not want to have to maintain specialist expertise in-house. The service we have from DCG guarantees our backup and, ultimately, DCG has the flexibility of installation to meet our requirements from a services point of view. We have been impressed by what DCG can provide for our business in terms of Managed Services,” concludes Tim Raworth, IT Service Manager.

The Approach

The DCG Managed Service solution for backup and recovery was implemented with a stringent Service Level Agreement.  DCG could adapt their Managed Services to fit KIO requirements, in a way that other providers could not.  The requirement for backup to be handled on KIO premises, together with the requirement for accessing long-term archive material, could both be met by DCG.

DCG Managed Services work from a base set of products with each implementation designed to fit the customer infrastructure and processes.  DCG have the engineering skill to adapt flexibly to each customer’s requirements.

www.kia.gov.kw

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