Feature Focus: A Look Under the Hood at x360Recover’s Built-In and Always-On Features
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Enabling MSPs Through Automation and Innovation
Axcient created the industry’s first Chain-Free backup to solve for data bloat and eliminate the pains of legacy, chain-based backups – keeping your client’s data safe and available. While the foundation of Axcient’s business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions is Chain-Free technology, Axcient can deliver fast, dependable results because of our proprietary, built-in, and always-on features. No matter how data is deleted – ransomware or other cyberattacks, natural disaster, or by accident – x360Recover secures, stores, and retains data without limitations while delivering fast, dependable recovery with AutoVerify, AirGap, Virtual Office, and Local Cache for Direct-to-Cloud (D2C).
Read on to see how each of these features adds layers of data protection:
- AutoVerify provides intelligent, automatic, and daily backup integrity tests on protected systems with verification and proactive alerting to end “backup burn” and eliminate time-consuming manual verification.
- AirGap anti-ransomware and data loss technology separates data deletion requests from deletion mechanics to prevent malicious or accidental deletion while ensuring near-instant recovery.
- Virtual Office for self-managed disaster recovery (DR) and DR testing with virtualization of one or more systems in the Axcient Cloud temporarily replaces all impacted production infrastructure for business availability.
- Local Cache for hardware-free Direct-to-Cloud serves as a recovery acceleration layer.
Pooled, Flat-Fee Storage and Retention
All Axcient x360Recover partners enjoy pooled data storage and retention which is made possible by Axcient’s Chain-Free backup technology that eliminates data bloat and storage overages. Axcient’s pooled approach to data helps MSPs ensure long-term compliance, increases management efficiency, and provides security for all clients regardless of vertical, size, or budget.
AutoVerify for Automatic Backup Integrity
AutoVerify is our patented automation technology that performs nightly BootVM checks, providing validation of the recoverability of backup snapshots. With x360Recover Direct-to-Cloud (D2C), nightly BootVM checks are enabled for each protected system and will automatically boot the latest backup snapshot and perform AutoVerify operations to ensure that the recovered backup is healthy. AutoVerify extends the BootVM check functionality by automatically performing additional deep volume tests to check bootability, operating system health, data corruption, and file system and application integrity.
MSPs have traditionally relied on manual checks to verify the integrity of backups. The heart of the fundamental MSP value proposition is ensuring that backups are healthy and recoverable. No matter what happens in an IT environment, most MSPs position themselves as the client’s first and last line of defense. Even if there is a site-wide natural disaster or massive cybersecurity incident, such as a ransomware infection, every MSP wants to wholly and quickly deliver on its mission of recovering the client’s data and operations. Not surprisingly, therefore, MSPs have traditionally prioritized ensuring the integrity of their client backups. Axcient automates this process to eliminate the risks of human error and time-consuming manual tasks. Proactive alerting prevents critical issue impacts by letting MSPs know about potential backup health issues before they become breaking points to business availability.
Axcient AutoVerify automates vital integrity checks on a nightly basis and consolidates backup health reporting in the Axcient x360 Portal, enabling an MSP to manage by exception and proactively intervene only when problems are detected. With less reliance on manual operations, MSPs reduce the risk that something crucial to recovery is missed and threatens business continuity.
AirGap Anti-Ransomware and Data Deletion Technology
One of the greatest threats to businesses today is the plague of ransomware. Cybercriminals are relentless in their attacks on companies’ data and operational integrity, especially SMBs. Just a few years ago, ransomware attacks were relatively simple to navigate. If a client had wisely invested in highly reliable backups, MSPs and their clients could avoid the need to pay a ransom by simply restoring from backups.
Unfortunately, today’s attackers target backups, exploit long dwell times, and meticulously plan ransomware attacks with a high level of sophistication. Before unleashing encryption, cybercriminals are upping the ante and deleting their victims’ on-site and cloud-based backups in many incidents. In these scenarios, victims and their MSP providers are left powerless and pay the ransom even though payment doesn’t guarantee complete data recovery.
Enter Axcient AirGap. This built-in, always-on x360Recover feature makes it nearly impossible for hackers to destroy a client’s backups. With AirGap, when protected systems are deleted, they are not immediately removed from disk storage but are instead moved into the AirGap archive system. The protected systems are removed from the UI and any endpoint licenses are returned to the system. Deleted protected systems held within the AirGap are retained for several days before being purged by the cleanup process. This window of time is intended to provide partners with an opportunity to respond to potential attacks against their clients and ensure a successful recovery.
An MSP’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets. If a client suffers a ransomware infection and their backups are also compromised, incalculable damage can occur to the brand and reputation. Axcient AirGap is yet another feature that increases the reliability of an MSP’s backups and reduces risk, both for the client and the MSP’s reputation. However, brands and reputations are not built overnight. Therefore, it only makes sense to prepare with the right technology so an MSP can keep its promises and its clients safe.
Virtual Office
As part of x360Recover, the Virtual Office feature lets MSPs self-manage cloud recovery for both single servers and an entire office. When a cyberattack, natural disaster, or other data loss incident occurs at a local office, Virtual Office can spin up multiple servers quickly and automatically using runbooks. Runbooks allow for proactive, disaster recovery pre-planning for up to 100 servers based on the desired configuration. Additionally, Virtual Office enables anytime disaster recovery testing to prove the value of BCDR to clients ahead of the real thing. Quarterly testing shows clients how their entire office – including every server, workstation, desktop, and laptop – can be virtualized in order of necessity to maintain business availability no matter what.
Learn More About Virtual Office
Local Cache
x360Recover D2C features optional and fully independent Local Cache as a recovery acceleration layer, designed to reduce the time needed for recovering data or entire protected systems from a cloud vault. In addition to backups directly in the cloud, the Local Cache contains only block data in an efficient deduplicated storage database on an affordable, local storage device for fast local file recoveries or bare-metal restores. In the case of hardware failure or isolated outage, using Local Cache in tandem with D2C gives MSPs the ease of cloud BDR and the speed of local backup without needing a local BDR appliance onsite.
These are the Reasons Axcient is Growing
Business continuity, backup, and disaster recovery shouldn’t be complex. MSPs can utilize automation and innovation to efficiently provide proactive data protection for business survival after a data loss incident. This blog only covers the main features of the x360Recover solution. Download the full guide to see in detail how x360Recover with Direct-to-Cloud capabilities enable MSPs to deliver comprehensive BCDR services to their clients with a single platform for appliance-based or cloud deployments.
MSPs switching to Axcient benefit from a highly reliable, rapid recovery solution that is flexible to different business needs. After making the switch, most partners meet more stringent SLAs and can grow their MSP based on the unique security features, lower total cost of ownership, increased margins, and peace of mind provided to clients. The promise to keep businesses running and the critical capabilities included in x360Recover make Axcient the right choice for secure backup and business continuity solutions. Want all the details?
More Great Stuff From Our Blog:
Get another peek under the hood: A Look at Axcient’s Patented Technology, Check out some other interesting pieces from our blog: More advances in Usability and Automation: hot new capabilities in automation and usability releases for AutoVerify, failback for Hyper-V, and Local Cache in x360Recover, learn how you can ditch pricey on-site appliances with Local Cache for Direct-to-Cloud BCDR.
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