A blog by Richard May, CEO at virtualDCS.
In today’s digitally driven world, data resiliency is paramount. It’s not just about backing up the data, but about recovering it and returning to a ‘business as usual’ status as efficiently as possible.
Microsoft 365 is no exception to this and with the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats and regulatory requirements, having a robust backup solution for your Microsoft 365 environment is not just a luxury – it’s a necessity. This is where CloudCover 365 can help.
Following on from a competitive session we hosted in late 2023 with Pierre Hiller, Senior Director of the Veeam Competitive Intelligence Team, I wanted to write a blog to delve into some of the reasons why CloudCover 365 stands head and shoulders above others in the marketplace. You can also click on this link to view a full recording of this session.
virtualDCS and Veeam: A Legacy of Innovation
To start, it’s important to discuss the underlying technology behind CloudCover 365, and at the heart of the virtualDCS CloudCover service range lies a formidable partnership between virtualDCS and Veeam. This alliance dates back to 2008, with virtualDCS adopting a unique ‘Veeam plus’ approach, enhancing Veeam’s leading data protection software to elevate data protection to new heights.
This relationship has solidified virtualDCS as an industry leader in data protection, resulting in accolades including being a ‘Best in Show’ Veeam Innovation award winner, the Veeam Platinum VCSP status and vital ‘enterprise’ and ‘reseller ready’ competencies for Microsoft 365 backup services – competencies technically and commercially vetted by Veeam itself.
If you’d like a further breakdown of these accreditations and why they are important, take a look at one of our earlier blogs “decoding Veeam accreditations, what they mean and why they are important.”
CloudCover 365: Redefining Data Protection Standards for Microsoft 365
So why does CloudCover 365 stand out as an undisputed leader in Microsoft 365 backup and data protection? Well, to put it simply, it does much more than others available in the marketplace.
Complete backup for Microsoft 365
Delivered “as a Service” CloudCover 365 offers a fully web-based Microsoft 365 backup solution for those providing managed backup services to clients, or as a versatile multi-tenant option for Enterprise organisations. As standard, CloudCover 365 offers backup for Exchange, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, including files, chats, messages, document libraries and more. For a full list of what’s protected, visit CloudCover 365 – Microsoft 365 Backup.
Leading, integrated Azure Backup
As a business, protecting application data, such as emails, SharePoint data and OneDrive files is only part of the solution. To achieve true resiliency, you also need to consider how data interacts within the environment. Your business runs on processes, workflows, and policies that keep them efficient, secure, and compliant – these are retained within Entra ID and to be truly resilient, they also need to be protected.
Entra ID protection (CloudCover Guardian for Azure) is available as part of CloudCover 365 and helps to ensure that a business has everything it needs to return to productivity as soon as possible after an incident. This is the first Entra ID backup service of its kind to market, with no other like it.
Protect the data that’s important to your business, with differential Backup frequencies and custom retention.
CloudCover 365 provides innovative, granular backup and restoration tools, with the ability to deploy personalised backup frequencies across different jobs. For Enterprise organisations, the importance and RPO of data varies across each data set, and a comprehensive Microsoft 365 backup solution should be able to reflect this.
For example, the mailbox of a CTO will generally have a much higher RPO than a part-time work experience student’s mailbox. This customisability is available within CloudCover 365.
Granular, Flexible Backup and Recovery
On invoking a backup and recovering data, users also have multiple restoration options available – from PST to local zip file, restoration back to the original location, the ability to send it to someone else, or even via a one-time encrypted S3 link.
A backup frequency to suit every organisation
We’re pleased to say that CloudCover 365 currently offers more backup time slots than any other Microsoft 365 Backup solution in the market, where organisations can backup and protect data up to 12 times a day, providing a 2-hour RPO window.
Advanced Search and Ease of Recovery
Finding a specific piece of data in a time-pressured situation can be daunting. To alleviate this, CloudCover 365 offers advanced search functionality as standard, enabling IT administrators to search on a per-user basis, across all protected item types. With comprehensive search capabilities, locating crucial information is just a few clicks away – many Microsoft 365 Backup alternatives charge per end user for improved search functionality.
Compliance and Immutability
CloudCover 365 protects organisations against Ransomware attacks and insider threats through its leading immutability features. There is also the option to deploy a second immutable Microsoft 365 backup copy to a secondary data centre location.
Platform location
One important element to note is that in many other Microsoft 365 backup services, information is often backed up to the same platform it’s protected on (Azure to Azure). This means that when the platform is affected, the backup is affected – rendering the organisation inoperable.
CloudCover 365 backs up data on its own independent Cloud platform, with the secondary immutable copy also stored on another separate platform.
Advanced insider threat protection
External security threats are difficult to recover from, but internal threats can be detrimental. To help organisations bolster their defences against insider attacks from administrators or disgruntled employees, CloudCover 365 offers 30 days of insider threat protection as standard.
Reduced support times and end-user restoration
CloudCover 365 puts the power of data in the users’ hands. By enabling end-user restoration functionality, individuals can log into the portal and restore their lost information from the latest backups. This saves IT administrators time, reducing support workloads and overheads.
Cost-effective “as a Service”
Offering complete flexibility, CloudCover 365 can be accessed on a pay-as-you-go or unlimited plans designed around organisational priorities, and costings are calculated on a per-user basis.
virtualDCS believes in data freedom, which is why CloudCover 365 does not charge for Ingress and Egress fees, unlike alternatives in the market.
Support
In the event of any issues or concerns, CloudCover 365 provides unparalleled support, which is also available through a real-time online chat functionality. As the only Microsoft 365 Backup service to offer this, users are assured that they receive a prompt resolution on the rarity that any issues should occur.
Why CloudCover 365 for Microsoft 365 data protection?
CloudCover 365 isn’t just a backup solution; it’s a comprehensive data protection ecosystem designed to safeguard your most valuable asset.
With a relentless focus on innovation, unparalleled support, and a commitment to excellence, CloudCover 365 sets the gold standard for Microsoft 365 backup solutions.
Explore Microsoft 365 Backup data protection with CloudCover 365 today.
