Not long ago, some folks from a private college reached out to us. They were already using one of our solutions to send financial aid info to the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office, but we found out they had a bigger problem brewing.
No Disaster Recovery? Big Problem.
They were running on a single on-site data center. No backup, no disaster recovery (DR) plan. Nothing. If a server crashed or a storm hit, they’d be scrambling. At first, they just wanted a simple way to copy their data somewhere safe off-site. But as we talked, they realized we could do more than that. We could build them a DR plan that actually fit their needs without breaking the bank.
A DR Plan That Grows With You
We worked with them to figure out what they really needed. We didn’t suggest a cookie-cutter setup, but something that made sense for their size and budget.
The first thing we did was dig into their systems. They had a mix of stuff—some critical apps and data they couldn’t live without, and other things that could wait if push came to shove. We documented it all and sorted out what mattered most for recovery.
Turns out, they were already using Azure Cloud for some things, so we didn’t need to start from scratch. We built their DR setup right into that existing environment. No pricey migrations, just a smooth extension of what they had.
We also got picky about what to replicate. They didn’t need every random file copied over because that would just rack up storage costs. Instead, we used TDXchange, one of our software solutions that handles secure data transfers, to move only the must-have stuff from their on-site systems to the cloud. It kept things lean and affordable.
Along the way, we made sure their setup could handle the big stuff, like redundancy if their main site went down, encryption to keep sensitive data locked tight, real-time alerts if something went wrong, and logs to prove they’re following the rules. It wasn’t flashy, but it was solid.
Disaster Recovery, Without the Disaster Costs
Now, they’ve got a DR plan they can count on. It’s tied into Azure, so it’s secure and can grow with them. They’re only replicating what matters, which keeps costs down and still meets all the strict security and compliance stuff they’re on the hook for. They know exactly what gets recovered first if disaster strikes, and it’s not some overpriced, overbuilt mess. In short, they can actually sustain it long-term.
We didn’t just slap a solution on them. We worked with what they already had and made it better, which protected their critical data without wasting a dime.
Don’t Wait for the Worst
Disasters don’t care if you’re ready; hardware fails, cyberattacks happen, floods roll in. Without a plan, you’re risking everything—data, compliance, operations. This private college dodged that bullet, and it didn’t take a fortune to do it.
If your organization’s sitting on critical data with no DR strategy, don’t wait. Whether you need a full backup system or just a way to protect the essentials, we can figure it out together. Drop us a line at info@btrade.com as we’d love to talk about what works for you.