Sterling Data Storage Offering Cloud Backup Services

Sterling Data Storage, LLC is partnering with MSPs, IT consulting firms and IT service companies in the United States and Canada to deliver cloud backup services to businesses requiring data protection and DR.

As part of the launch promotion, there are no upfront licensing fees or capital equipment investments required by partners.

According to Gartner, demand for cloud services is expected to grow by 61% over the next 5 years, fueled by increased demand for web-based business applications and ever-growing data generation. The appeal for business use of cloud based services, specifically backup, is the ability to avoid upfront capital expenditures and ongoing resources to support the required hardware and software. MSPs and IT consulting firms benefit the same way by paying for only the cloud services they consume, leaving the expertise and ongoing maintenance costs with the cloud service provider.

The cloud backup service is available as a white labeled application that can be marked with the logo and contact information of the IT company as a way to build their brand. The brand is shown on the client’s device when the cloud backup software application is opened or used.

In a recent article published by Information Week, going to the cloud can be a big decision for a business because it means giving up direct control of company data. To solve this problem, most cloud storage providers use encryption during data transmission over the internet and in the data center. The cost of direct control can be high, preventing most businesses from hiring the expertise and building the infrastructure in-house.

"Most small and medium sized businesses lack the IT budget to afford dedicated staff members with data backup experience to select, implement and manage an automated backup solution. Leaving data exposed to natural disasters, theft or corruption is not an option. The most affordable solution is working with a cloud backup service provider," states Jim Morand, CEO and 25 year veteran of information security and technology. "We give our IT Consultant and MSP partners the chance to help the business clients they already have stay protected and in compliance with the many data protection rules and regulations."

Cloud backup adoption rates for business has been slow in the past due in large part to the complexity of the automation solutions and limitations of the programs and applications. Sterling Data Storage utilizes a delta technology which speeds the backup process so only changes in files and data sets are transmitted during the scheduled backup.

"We are in a unique position to finally give businesses what they want, a backup solution which doesn’t impact network resources. An IT consultant or MSP can see the backup status of their client’s entire network at a glance from a single browser-based dashboard and know which computers or servers need help," explains Morand.

The Sterling cloud backup service can be implemented for any size storage. There are no limitations on the amount of data stored, and, depending on the company’s bandwidth, terabytes of data can be transferred over the wire within days. A local copy of the backup can be kept onsite for rapid restore while a remote copy is kept in one of Sterling’s data centers for recovery purposes. The cloud backup program is a lightweight client application and can be installed on a client’s server, desktop or laptop computer. Once installed, the local client will automatically backup the device as long as it is connected to the internet.

Client data is remotely stored in a double encrypted data vault that meets the requirements for HIPPA, SOX and State Bar compliance. Daily, the online backup software will send a report, branded with the IT service provider marks, detailing the number of files that were backed up.

By securely storing data with a cloud backup service, MSPs and IT consulting firms have a powerful tool in ensuring BC and security for their clients. In case of data loss on a clients local computer, the service provider can restore the data in a matter of minutes over the internet.

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