APSU Uses LaserVault Backup to Eliminate Tape Media for Its Clients

APSU, the most highly accredited IBM® business partner in Europe, is using LaserVault Backup to back up its clients' IBM i host systems. LaserVault Backup is a disk-to-disk (D2D) solution from Electronic Storage Corporation, an IBM Business Partner

Technology pioneer, APSU, the most highly accredited IBM® business partner in Europe, is using LaserVault Backup to back up its clients' IBM i host systems. LaserVault Backup is a disk-to-disk (D2D) solution from Electronic Storage Corporation, an IBM Business Partner and provider of storage and recovery software solutions for the IBM i.

According to Robert Poreba, Services Support Manager at APSU: "The LaserVault Backup solution provides excellent compression of data and has helped us eliminate the manual process of handling tapes for our clients. As well as providing software and professional services, we also deliver a low entry cloud service, which encapsulates full management of Power i back up. This delivers both off-site tape storage and cold-start disaster recovery. LaserVault Backup is integral to this solution and it is ideal for customers for whom an RPO (Recovery Point Objective) of the last backup is acceptable."

Prior to using LaserVault Backup (LVB), APSU's clients relied on daily back ups and quarterly full system saves to tape. APSU wanted a way to improve the back up process and free its clients of the large amount of physical handling and management required by tape media. At the same time, APSU recognized that some businesses would resort to managing tape storage themselves before using an off-site vaulting company.

APSU has been delivering cloud-based services into the IBM mid-range market for many years. Its first cloud service, Virtual Server Recovery for i (vSRi) is fully approved by IBM, and is delivered on IBM's behalf for major clients in all industry sectors, under a worldwide agreement. The service is ideal for firms for which any form of IT outage could have severe financial and operational consequences. APSU's vSRi lite solution encapsulating LVB, which is effectively a cloud based backup for IBM i, adds to its feature-rich cloud and managed IT services for IBM Power and Wintel platforms.

With the ability to back up IBM i to disk using a simple TCP/IP connection, LVB is a tapeless D2D backup system for IBM i (AS/400, iSeries, System i) users. It is designed to be easily implemented and universally affordable for companies who use IBM i systems. Using LVB, back ups can be automated and files copied for off-site back ups or quickly restored to IBM i. With an IBM i software library that implements SAVLIBLV, SAVOBJLV, SAVDLOLV, SAVCFGLV commands, the transition from an existing tape backup scenario to LVB can be achieved with virtually zero downtime.

"We sincerely appreciate the relationship we are building with APSU," states Brad Jensen, President of Electronic Storage Corporation. "Their outstanding reputation as an IBM recognized technology solutions provider is a testament to their business acumen. We look forward to working with them to provide their customers the best in storage and disaster recovery solutions."

APSU is a leader in delivering IBM solutions to the UK market. Its service portfolio covers technical consultancy, procurement, managed services, in-store and on-line retail solutions, cloud hosting and physical co-location. APSU is recognized by IBM as one of its strategic partners; the company sits on IBM's Worldwide Cloud Advisory Council; and it is the UK's only representative on IBM's Global Business Partner Advisory Council. APSU is the most highly accredited IBM business partner in Europe and became IBM's first partner to secure MSP accreditation for its Managed Services Partner program in the UK. APSU is headquartered in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and has data centers in Cirencester, Coventry, London, Newport and Warwick. www.apsu.com

Electronic Storage Corporation, founded in 1989, is the creator of LaserVault document management and backup and recovery software products, designed for seamless integration, ease of use, scalability and affordability. LaserVault software gives businesses instantaneous access to critical business records, and is used by small to large businesses representing many industries, including: financial, insurance, hospitality, manufacturing, distribution, telecommunications, government, wholesale, retail, hospitals, pharmaceutical, construction, education, and utility companies.
www.laservault.com