Amidata Transforms Its Data Protection Business with Quantum

Headquartered in Australia, Amidata is a managed service provider that delivers data protection services to a range of businesses. By building a backup-as-a-service offering on Quantum DXi-Series backup appliances, the company provides fast, reliable, and scalable services with competitive pricing.

More than a decade ago, Amidata’s managing director, Michael Whelan, saw an important opportunity to improve data backup processes for businesses. At the time, many companies physically moved tapes to offsite locations and then had to physically retrieve those tapes to restore data. Whelan wanted to eliminate these manual tasks by providing data backup capabilities as a service.

The initial storage platform selected for the service presented some challenges. “We started with storage that was geared more toward disaster recovery than backup,” says Whelan, “and it was very difficult to manage.” In searching for a new solution, reliability, performance, scalability, and streamlined management were all key requirements. But finding the right technology partner was also essential.

Building a Robust Backup-as-a-Service Offering with Quantum
As Amidata began exploring new storage platforms, a member of the team recommended Quantum. “We met with the Quantum team, and we were instantly engaged,” says Whelan. To build the backup-as-a-service offering, the Amidata team selected Quantum DXi-Series backup appliances. These appliances serve as the foundation for an Amidata offering that combines comprehensive backup with rigorous security and compliance plus 24/7 maintenance and support. “When we describe our Quantum-based backup service, we tell our customers that we can provide fast storage that is scalable forever—all at a competitive price,” says Whelan.

Going Beyond Typical Cloud Offerings with Managed Services
While many cloud providers offer low-cost infrastructure-as-a-service solutions, Amidata offers a fully managed service. “If you subscribe to a Quantum-based service from us, you can count on a 24/7 help desk and have a team that can provide on-site support,” says Whelan.

Working with Amidata helps businesses fully realize the benefits of moving IT out of their on-premises data center. “We want to take the backup headache away from infrastructure managers,” says Whelan. “Instead of worrying about data protection, you can focus on your core business.”

Adapting to Changing Customer Requirements
The typical configuration of the backup service has changed over the years, in part because the marketplace has become more competitive. Today, Amidata uses a highly efficient approach that helps bring pricing down. “We write data using Veeam Backup & Replication and then send that data to our Amidata cloud,” says Whelan. “With Quantum, we have that flexibility to shift our architecture.”

Launching Additional Services Based on Quantum
The backup service is not the only offering that Amidata has built with Quantum. For example, the company has a Dropbox-style solution powered by the StorNext File System. Amidata is also using StorNext for archive and unstructured data storage services that compete with public cloud offerings.

Today, the company is considering additional ways to stay ahead of rapidly multiplying public cloud offerings. Amidata is exploring ActiveScale™ object storage services for supporting unstructured data. The company is also considering the addition of the CatDV Asset Management platform for finding and retrieving content stored in the StorNext environment.

The reliability of the Amidata backup service plus an increasing willingness by clients to use offsite services have driven significant growth for the company. “With Quantum, we’ve created a reliable service and customers recognize that they can trust us with their data,” says Whelan.