Hipskind Technology Solutions Group Deployed Quantum De-Dupe Appliances and vmPRO Software

Quantum Corp. announced that Hipskind Technology Solutions Group has deployed DXi-Series deduplication appliances and vmPRO software as the foundation of its QSafe managed cloud-based data protection service, with The Salvation Army as one of its first customers.

Hipskind, a growing regional MSP in the Midwest, wanted to extend its capabilities to include its own cloud infrastructure, recognizing that the cloud offered a way to provide critical backup, DR and BC to customers. Hipskind knew deduplication needed to be part of its solution to create an affordable cloud-based data protection offering. The company selected DXi appliances because of their variable-length deduplication algorithm, which is far more efficient than the fixed block-level deduplication found in competitive offerings. This approach allows Hipskind to store more data in a smaller space at the customer site and replicate less data over the wire, for much better utilization of QSafe storage resources. In addition, Hipskind chose vmPRO for its ability to protect VMs locally and backup data in native file format.

Leveraging Quantum Technology to Provide Multi-Site Protection
Hipskind installs either a physical or virtual DXi appliance at every QSafe customer site. Local backups are stored on the appliance and retained for most file recoveries, using the customer’s backup application. The service scales from a terabyte up to multiple petabytes and is capable of protecting many sites. DXi technology provides encryption options at the local site, in the cloud, and during replication. Hipskind also uses vmPRO technology to protect virtual servers, increasingly a challenge for IT departments that have migrated key applications to VMs. Because vmPRO software stores data in native file format, it makes standing up servers fast and easy for BC. In addition to DXi and vmPRO, Hipskind leverages Quantum’s Scalar tape solutions for customers requiring long-term retention on tape, with disk-to-tape creation taking place either at the customer site or in the Hipskind cloud.

Safeguarding The Salvation Army’s Data and Budget
Among the first to deploy QSafe was The Salvation Army. When the charitable organization began looking for a backup solution, it turned to Hipskind, which installed a DXi appliance on site, replicating to the QSafe cloud. The QSafe service provides an economical, subscription-based data protection and BC program that eliminates the need for large, up-front capital investment. The result;is an inexpensive insurance policy for The Salvation Army’s data.

Wally Lang, GM, Hipskind, said: “Quantum has been a great partner on both the technology and business side. We chose Quantum as our partner for several reasons, but the primary one is the elegance of their deduplication algorithm. They also brought in engineering support, helped us learn the products, trained our engineers and helped us build this business. It’s been a great fit.“

Ron Shoults, IT director, The Salvation Army, said: “Over time, the need to backup our storage became more important to us – that led us to engage with Hipskind on QSafe. It’s not only a critical part of our environment but also easy to work with, and you don’t always see those things go hand in hand.“

Robert Clark, SVP, product operations, Quantum, said: “Hipskind shows how MSPs can compete in the growing online backup market with leading deduplication and virtual backup technology that is efficient, scalable and simple to implement. When end users such as The Salvation Army entrust their data to Hipskind, they can be assured it resides on proven technology that provides data protection security and value.“