Gen-i launches private cloud back up service

Gen-i has launched a private cloud back up service called ReadyCloud Backup with five customers on board and a further 20 in the works.

ReadyCloud Backup was a private cloud back up and restoration service and was a part of Gen-i's suite of ReadyCloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions.

The service provided businesses with robust, secure and cost effective data back up, with flexibility to scale, Gen-i said.  Data was backed up to one of Gen-i’s data centres in Auckland or Wellington, and in the event of failure, the service provided a single step restore from disk and data recovery for critical applications, Gen-i said.

Gen-i service line manager private cloud services Dan Hewitt said that a key barrier to client uptake of cloud services that the company had found  was concerns about security of data.  He said with that insight in mind Gen-i had developed a private cloud service.

“What that means is is that the client’s data is secure from the time that it’s backed up from their server to our infrastructure.”

The data was encrypted across a dedicated network connection to ensure this, he said.  This meant a business would need a Gen- WAN service, Mr Hewitt said.

Head of networked ICT services Leanne Buer said the service had just over 20 customers in some stage of the sales and on-boarding process and five already using the service.  These five clients were a mixture of corporate and enterprise businesses, Mr Hewitt said.

One of these was Noel Leeming Group.  IT manager Darrin Harper said initially Noel Leeming would back up its online web sites but was looking to migrate other service early next year. He said the group had chosen Gen-i's service because its two web sites were already running on the ReadyCloud platform.

“We knew how reliable, robust and secure that platform was, it was an easy step to begin using a backup service on that same platform.”

Mr Harper said Noel Leeming conducted trials of the service before signing up.

Mr Hewitt said demand for such a service arose from a need for a client to restore their data promptly should the need arise, for example Noel Leemings in Christchurch or when a security threat arose.

Clients could choose to purchase value-added service which involved backing up to two locations, Mr Hewitt said, for extra resilience.

The company said research had shown that 30% of IT costs were associated with backup and up to 20% of traditional on-premise restores from backups failed.

ReadyCloud Backup is a pay-for-use service model.  Protected back-up usage charges start at $1.70 per GB (excluding GST).