As data and backup disaster recovery (BDR) needs begin to evolve, so do solutions. Is snapshot technology one way for managed services providers (MSPs) to protect small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from losing data, time and money?

At the highest level, snapshot technology works by taking a screenshot of a customer’s most recent backup booted in a virtual machine. Some MSPs are leveraging snapshot technology to protect customers from the Cryptolocker virus that’s been going around since last year.

“Snapshot technology has revolutionized the BDR industry and in my opinion killed tape as a viable solution for business continuity,” Strata Information Technology, Inc. President Pete Robbins told MSPmentor.

Snapshot technology has been considered to be more reliable than tape, however, there are still MSPs backing up customer data up with the latter, regardless of the advancements in BDR technology.

“With tape, a business rarely, if ever, tests recovering a server all the way through to a boot process,” Robbins said.

With snapshot technology, snapshots are scheduled daily. If the system doesn’t boot properly, a notification is sent to the MSP for review.

“With tape, if a test was ever scheduled, the test required expensive hardware and hours of time, with snapshot technology it is now done daily, automatically,” he said.

Are you using snapshot technology for backup? If not, which alternative are you leveraging?

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