ss drake backup software
SUCCESS STORY
Microsoft Exchange Recovery is No Longer Taxing at Drake Software “Veeam is one of the pillars of virtualization, and it’s the reason we virtualized Exchange. With Veeam we can back up our Exchange VM once a day rather than once a week like before, and we can recover Exchange items in minutes. Prior to Veeam, recovering Exchange items was a full-day event.” — James Hubbs Senior Network Administrator Drake Software
The Business Challenge INDUSTRY: Software and Internet
COMPANY:
Drake Software provides tax preparation software to 45,000 professional tax preparers in the United States and files 24 million state and federal tax returns electronically each year. Founded in 1977 in Franklin, North Carolina, Drake Software was a leader in electronic tax filing before the IRS implemented the practice in 1986.
CHALLENGE: Before virtualizing Microsoft Exchange, Drake Software had to re-evaluate its backup strategy.
IT does much more than support Drake Software’s business—IT is Drake Software’s business. Not only does the company develop tax preparation software, it also files tax returns electronically. Drake Software virtualized nearly all business-critical applications on VMware vSphere, excluding Microsoft Exchange, which remained on a physical server. When it was time to refresh Exchange, the IT team considered virtualization for two reasons. Exchange could only be backed up once a week because the backup tool put too much strain on the physical server. And, recovering items in Exchange put too much strain on the small IT team. Restoring a mailbox or email could take an entire day. Team members had no choice but to tell employees they could no longer restore Exchange items because the process was too time-consuming. They had to focus on data center operations. The Exchange dilemma led team members to re-evaluate their virtual machine (VM) backup strategy. They backed up their VMs and their physical servers with the same tool. (Exchange was backed up with a different tool). VM backup and recovery were slow because agents were required in each VM to be backed up. Drake Software decided to resolve its backup woes with the same criteria it used to choose Cisco UCS as the new data center platform. “We chose Veeam Backup & Replication for the same reasons we choose Cisco UCS,” said James Hubbs, Senior Network Administrator for Drake Software. They are bestof-breed solutions that provide rock-solid stability.” Veeam Backup & Replication and Cisco UCS help companies such as Drake Software minimize risk, decrease downtime and adapt to business changes easily. Hubbs and his colleagues like the way Cisco’s converged infrastructure integrates with Veeam, enabling them to set up channel assignments for backup, which they couldn’t do with their previous blade servers.
The Veeam Solution Drake Software uses Veeam® Backup & Replication™ to back up and recover 170 VMs that are hosted on the Cisco UCS server platform, including the VM that runs Exchange. “Veeam is one of the pillars of virtualization, and it’s the reason we virtualized Exchange,” Hubbs said. “With Veeam we can back up our Exchange VM once a day rather than once a week like before, and we can recover Exchange items in minutes. Prior to Veeam, recovering Exchange items was a full-day event.”
SUCCESS STORY
SOLUTION: Veeam Backup & Replication™
RESULTS: • New strategy delivers fast, easy backup and recovery • Affordable solution is easy to deploy and use • Proven technology puts backups to work
About Veeam Software Veeam® enables the Always-On Business™ by providing solutions that deliver Availability for the Modern Data Center™ which provides recovery time and point objectives (RTPO™) of less than 15 minutes for all applications and data. Veeam recognizes the challenges in keeping a business up and running at all times and addresses them with solutions that provide highspeed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified protection, leveraged data and complete visibility. Founded in 2006, Veeam currently has 25,000 ProPartners and more than 111,500 customers worldwide. Veeam’s global headquarters are located in Baar, Switzerland, and the company has offices throughout the world. To learn more, visit http://www.veeam.com.
Drake Software uses Veeam Explorer™ for Microsoft Exchange to gain instant visibility into Exchange backups. The IT team can browse, search and selectively export items (mailboxes, emails, notes, contacts, etc.) directly from a backup. A similar recovery feature is available for Microsoft SharePoint, which Drake Software will utilize if SharePoint use increases among employees. In addition to replacing the tool that backed up Exchange, Veeam replaced the tool that backed up the other VMs. Not only are backup and recovery faster and easier with Veeam, Drake Software saves on VM backup storage because Veeam has builtin deduplication and compression. “Veeam meets all of our backup and recovery needs, is reasonably priced and simple to deploy,” Hubbs said. “We have daughter companies that are in the process of virtualizing their physical servers. When they complain about backing up the remaining physical boxes, we say, ‘Go ahead and virtualize them. Backup and recovery with Veeam will be gravy.’” The IT team’s next step is to take advantage of Veeam’s Virtual Lab. Virtual Lab is an isolated environment outside of production that enables several capabilities. The first is recovery verification. Veeam automatically starts a VM backup or replica in a Virtual Lab and verifies its recoverability. The second capability is universal application-item recovery. Veeam starts an application in a Virtual Lab directly from a backup or a replica and restores application objects back to production. The third capability combines testing, training and troubleshooting. The IT team can test software upgrades in a Virtual Lab before putting them into production. Virtual Lab also serves as a training area and as a safe place to troubleshoot issues.
The Results New strategy delivers fast, easy backup and recovery Veeam Backup & Replication was built for virtualization and provides modern data protection for Drake Software. Veeam replaced the tool that backed up the physical server running Exchange and the tool that backed up VMs. “Veeam impressed us so much that we decided to virtualize Exchange for better backup and recovery,” Hubbs said. “Veeam succeeded in doing exactly what it promised with our Exchange backups, and now we trust Veeam for our entire virtual environment.” Affordable solution is easy to deploy and use Veeam Backup & Replication is agentless, so Drake Software doesn’t have to waste time and money deploying agents and their updates in VMs. With a single license and from a unified console, Veeam protects the virtual environment with fast backup and granular recovery. Proven technology puts backups to work From a Veeam backup, Drake Software can verify its recoverability, restore individual objects from any virtualized application and test software updates before putting them into production. “If you’re not already using Veeam, you’re missing out,” Hubbs said. “Just like VMware vSphere and Cisco UCS, no one was ever fired for purchasing Veeam. Veeam really does deliver.”
Learn more
www.veeam.com © 2014 Veeam Software. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 10132014
Download free trial www.veeam.com/backup
Microsoft Exchange Recovery is No Longer Taxing at Drake Software “Veeam is one of the pillars of virtualization, and it’s the reason we virtualized Exchange. With Veeam we can back up our Exchange VM once a day rather than once a week like before, and we can recover Exchange items in minutes. Prior to Veeam, recovering Exchange items was a full-day event.” — James Hubbs Senior Network Administrator Drake Software
The Business Challenge INDUSTRY: Software and Internet
COMPANY:
Drake Software provides tax preparation software to 45,000 professional tax preparers in the United States and files 24 million state and federal tax returns electronically each year. Founded in 1977 in Franklin, North Carolina, Drake Software was a leader in electronic tax filing before the IRS implemented the practice in 1986.
CHALLENGE: Before virtualizing Microsoft Exchange, Drake Software had to re-evaluate its backup strategy.
IT does much more than support Drake Software’s business—IT is Drake Software’s business. Not only does the company develop tax preparation software, it also files tax returns electronically. Drake Software virtualized nearly all business-critical applications on VMware vSphere, excluding Microsoft Exchange, which remained on a physical server. When it was time to refresh Exchange, the IT team considered virtualization for two reasons. Exchange could only be backed up once a week because the backup tool put too much strain on the physical server. And, recovering items in Exchange put too much strain on the small IT team. Restoring a mailbox or email could take an entire day. Team members had no choice but to tell employees they could no longer restore Exchange items because the process was too time-consuming. They had to focus on data center operations. The Exchange dilemma led team members to re-evaluate their virtual machine (VM) backup strategy. They backed up their VMs and their physical servers with the same tool. (Exchange was backed up with a different tool). VM backup and recovery were slow because agents were required in each VM to be backed up. Drake Software decided to resolve its backup woes with the same criteria it used to choose Cisco UCS as the new data center platform. “We chose Veeam Backup & Replication for the same reasons we choose Cisco UCS,” said James Hubbs, Senior Network Administrator for Drake Software. They are bestof-breed solutions that provide rock-solid stability.” Veeam Backup & Replication and Cisco UCS help companies such as Drake Software minimize risk, decrease downtime and adapt to business changes easily. Hubbs and his colleagues like the way Cisco’s converged infrastructure integrates with Veeam, enabling them to set up channel assignments for backup, which they couldn’t do with their previous blade servers.
The Veeam Solution Drake Software uses Veeam® Backup & Replication™ to back up and recover 170 VMs that are hosted on the Cisco UCS server platform, including the VM that runs Exchange. “Veeam is one of the pillars of virtualization, and it’s the reason we virtualized Exchange,” Hubbs said. “With Veeam we can back up our Exchange VM once a day rather than once a week like before, and we can recover Exchange items in minutes. Prior to Veeam, recovering Exchange items was a full-day event.”
SUCCESS STORY
SOLUTION: Veeam Backup & Replication™
RESULTS: • New strategy delivers fast, easy backup and recovery • Affordable solution is easy to deploy and use • Proven technology puts backups to work
About Veeam Software Veeam® enables the Always-On Business™ by providing solutions that deliver Availability for the Modern Data Center™ which provides recovery time and point objectives (RTPO™) of less than 15 minutes for all applications and data. Veeam recognizes the challenges in keeping a business up and running at all times and addresses them with solutions that provide highspeed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified protection, leveraged data and complete visibility. Founded in 2006, Veeam currently has 25,000 ProPartners and more than 111,500 customers worldwide. Veeam’s global headquarters are located in Baar, Switzerland, and the company has offices throughout the world. To learn more, visit http://www.veeam.com.
Drake Software uses Veeam Explorer™ for Microsoft Exchange to gain instant visibility into Exchange backups. The IT team can browse, search and selectively export items (mailboxes, emails, notes, contacts, etc.) directly from a backup. A similar recovery feature is available for Microsoft SharePoint, which Drake Software will utilize if SharePoint use increases among employees. In addition to replacing the tool that backed up Exchange, Veeam replaced the tool that backed up the other VMs. Not only are backup and recovery faster and easier with Veeam, Drake Software saves on VM backup storage because Veeam has builtin deduplication and compression. “Veeam meets all of our backup and recovery needs, is reasonably priced and simple to deploy,” Hubbs said. “We have daughter companies that are in the process of virtualizing their physical servers. When they complain about backing up the remaining physical boxes, we say, ‘Go ahead and virtualize them. Backup and recovery with Veeam will be gravy.’” The IT team’s next step is to take advantage of Veeam’s Virtual Lab. Virtual Lab is an isolated environment outside of production that enables several capabilities. The first is recovery verification. Veeam automatically starts a VM backup or replica in a Virtual Lab and verifies its recoverability. The second capability is universal application-item recovery. Veeam starts an application in a Virtual Lab directly from a backup or a replica and restores application objects back to production. The third capability combines testing, training and troubleshooting. The IT team can test software upgrades in a Virtual Lab before putting them into production. Virtual Lab also serves as a training area and as a safe place to troubleshoot issues.
The Results New strategy delivers fast, easy backup and recovery Veeam Backup & Replication was built for virtualization and provides modern data protection for Drake Software. Veeam replaced the tool that backed up the physical server running Exchange and the tool that backed up VMs. “Veeam impressed us so much that we decided to virtualize Exchange for better backup and recovery,” Hubbs said. “Veeam succeeded in doing exactly what it promised with our Exchange backups, and now we trust Veeam for our entire virtual environment.” Affordable solution is easy to deploy and use Veeam Backup & Replication is agentless, so Drake Software doesn’t have to waste time and money deploying agents and their updates in VMs. With a single license and from a unified console, Veeam protects the virtual environment with fast backup and granular recovery. Proven technology puts backups to work From a Veeam backup, Drake Software can verify its recoverability, restore individual objects from any virtualized application and test software updates before putting them into production. “If you’re not already using Veeam, you’re missing out,” Hubbs said. “Just like VMware vSphere and Cisco UCS, no one was ever fired for purchasing Veeam. Veeam really does deliver.”
Learn more
www.veeam.com © 2014 Veeam Software. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 10132014
Download free trial www.veeam.com/backup
