# IBM expands cloud disaster recovery services



## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

IBM has announced two cloud-based disaster recovery services for businesses: the IBM SmartCloud Virtualised Server Recovery and the IBM SmartCloud Archive.

Backup and disaster recovery are two services that enterprise IT organisations are increasingly assigning to the cloud, rather than to physical offsite facilities. IBM's new services were announced at the Cloud Leadership Forum conference in California.

IBM's SmartCloud Virtualised Server Recovery is the next generation of the 2-year-old SmartCloud Managed Backup service, which the company says is now in use by hundreds of clients.

Virtualised Server Recovery differs from the Managed Backup service in that it will use a single standardised virtualised server environment worldwide, says Allen Downs, a director of IBM's Global Technology Services. In contrast, the Managed Backup cloud service was designed for each customer.

Downs says that SmartCloud Managed Backup clients will still be supported, and in cases where the standardised architecture won't work for a client, IBM may even sign on new Managed Backup customers. The new service relies on VMware and IBM's best practices cloud architecture. It lets users monitor their backup and recovery and can be delivered in a public, private or hybrid cloud environment.

Virtualised Server Recovery is available in three levels: Gold, Silver and a basic. Gold and Silver can be used for both backups and cloud test/dev uses. The Gold level features continuous backup and a one-minute failover SLA. Silver relies on backup data.

Users can choose to back up their data directly over the cloud, or to use an on-premise appliance that will act as a gateway to the IBM cloud. In any case, should disaster strike, users can fire up their servers and data in the IBM cloud via a portal. IT staff need not travel to an offsite location.

The IBM SmartCloud Archive is geared toward privacy and regulatory compliance, and supports the e-discovery necessities of advanced search, indexing and retrieval. It offers users a document and records management system that can archive, find and retrieve both structured and unstructured content.

The Virtual Server Recovery service is priced per VM and the Archive product, like the older Managed Backup service, is priced per gigabyte.


IBM expands cloud disaster recovery services - Techworld.com


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