CASE STUDY
“ In addition to protecting Microsoft Office 365 data , we wanted to modernize and consolidate data protection for every IT system as we moved from an analog world to a digital world ,” Avancena said .
“ We chose Microsoft 365 because it ’ s a federally sanctioned system , and we chose Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 because we felt it ’ s the best and only choice for data protection . We appreciate that Veeam Software works hand-in-hand with Microsoft to make sure their shared customers have a fully integrated solution that protects the 365 ecosystem .”
Veeam backs up 2 PB of data across 1,000 virtual machines ( VMs ) from Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) 3Par StoreServ snapshots to HPE StoreOnce , which provides time-lock data immutability to increase ransomware protection .
“ What I find fascinating about ransomware is that everyone wants to get in front of the problem , which is great , but what do you do when you get hit ? Are you truly prepared ? What ’ s your Business Continuity strategy ?” Avancena asked . “ That ’ s why Veeam is our last line of defense . It preserves our business operations .”
Avancena said one of Kern County ’ s top priorities is Business Continuity , so the IT team deployed Veeam Backup & Replication next .
The Veeam solution
Veeam modernizes , standardizes and centralizes data protection for Business Continuity . Veeam also supports the county ’ s Digital Transformation and ransomware protection strategy . Additionally , Veeam verifies data recoverability to facilitate compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPPA ), the California Privacy Rights Act ( CPRA ) and Personally Identifiable Information ( PII ) law .
To ensure on-going business operations , Kern County conducts a DR test annually using Veeam DataLabs to create isolated virtual environments for backups . SureBackup tests and verifies backups for recoverability and Staged Restore scans them for malware before they ’ re restored to the production environment .
“ Recovery validation makes it easier to meet regulatory requirements ,” Avancena said . “ We never purge data , so we like that Veeam is scalable too .”
Avancena said when Kern County deployed Veeam to protect Microsoft 365 , no one knew Veeam would eventually protect every IT system .
“ Our goal was to consolidate data protection into one unified environment to protect the integrity of our government , and we achieved that goal with Veeam ,” Avancena said . “ It ’ s a good feeling knowing Veeam is our last line of defense in a disaster situation because it ’ s not a matter of whether a disaster will occur ; it ’ s a matter of when .”
ABOUT KERN COUNTY
Kern County is the third largest county in California and among the largest in the United States . Spanning nearly 8,200 square miles and located north of Los Angeles , Kern County extends into the Mohave Desert and the Sierra Nevada Mountains . Incorporated in 1866 , the county serves nearly one million residents , employs 8,500 people and has a US $ 3.5 billion budget .
“ Veeam is our standard for data protection ,” he continued . “ It simplifies and consolidates backup and DR so we have economies of scale , making IT more efficient . Veeam is an important part of a multi-faceted strategy to achieve better benefits for the county .”
Intelligent CIO spoke to Mac Avancena , Chief Information Technology Officer for Kern County , to find out more .
Are earthquakes and wildfires the biggest threats to Kern County ?
With just our overall geography , natural disasters are part of our on-going business day-to-day process . We have earthquakes and fires .
In that sense , you ’ re dealing with the perfect storm of trying to maintain Business Continuity and operations in an environment that ’ s prone to a lot of danger .
WE NEVER PURGE DATA , SO WE LIKE THAT VEEAM IS SCALABLE TOO .
The relationship that Kern County has with Veeam is such that they ’ re our last defense .
At the end of the day , everyone could talk pre-emptively what they ’ re doing around ransomware attacks and everything else , but when it does happen , or when disaster strikes , you ’ re going to rely on your trusted tried and true Business Continuity systems called backup .
58 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com