Canadian private cloud solution provider Stage2Data has been diversifying its client product offering in the Caribbean and Canada following its recent alliance with Redstor, a global provider of cloud backup service and data protection solutions.
“Our approach to customers has changed over the past five years. Today, services like disaster recovery, security, and other cloud-based elements have resulted in greater expectations when it comes to business continuity. This increased demand on the cloud has led backup becoming fundamental to any business irrespective of industry,” says Jacques Swanepoel, chief technology officer of Stage2Data.
Robert Kellerman, marketing manager for Africa at Redstor, agrees. “It is frightening to see how many organisations still rely on traditional tape backups to keep their data safe.
“In the connected world, this is not a long-term solution when more modern, and cost-effective alternatives are available. These provide not only an efficient way of managing business continuity in the event of a disaster but does so virtually in real-time to minimise the reputational and financial impact on the organisation,” says Kellerman.
With the major vendors focusing on the enterprise market, Stage2Data is looking at strengthening its position in the small to medium enterprise (SME) segment.
“Cost-savings drive a lot of the purchasing decisions at a smaller company. These organisations are incredibly tight on budget and are looking for the best value they can get. Another challenge many of our SME customers face is that of meeting strict compliance requirements. Fortunately, Redstor takes away that worry by providing solutions built around regulatory needs,” says Swanepoel.
Additionally, many SMEs are still heavily invested in legacy systems with the volume of data stuck in older backup solutions becoming problematic for a quick turnaround time when files are lost or compromised.
“However, there is a growing realisation from these organisations that they have to embrace cloud-based solutions. This is where Redstor comes in providing us with a flexible way to meet the demands of our SME customers. We are also seeing companies move away from backing up on a per file basis. Instead, they are opting for the backup of entire virtual machines using Redstor technology,” adds Swanepoel.
“The relationship we have with Stage2Data is creating significant opportunities for both organisations. By bringing together our respective technologies that reflect the growing demand for cloud solutions, we anticipate much future success together,” concludes Kellerman.