PMS International Opts for Synerway

PMS International Group
PLC chooses Synerway SAS backup solutions
to secure data protection, application and DR requirements.

PMS International specializes in products for the mass market providing high
volume products. Their product range includes toys, housewares, giftware,
stationery, novelties, sundries and electronic gadgets. With a workforce of
300, PMS is Europe’s largest supplier of licensed plush toys to the amusement
and leisure industry.

The Basildon, Essex warehouse facilities house more than 500,000 cartons during
the peak season. The facility incorporates a 20,000-square foot repacking and
labelling area and over 15,000 square feet of showrooms.

The Backup Challenge
Early 2012, PMS International tested, purchased and installed a 32TB
Synerway Appliance and LTO-5 tape library to protect their heterogeneous IT
system comprising Linux, Windows and Mac OS machines.

PMS International IT manager Pete Smith details in this interview why PMS chose
Synerway data protection and restoration solutions to secure their IT infrastructure and how this choice has helped the IT Team to save
time on day to day activities.

What was your backup solution prior to Synerway? Were you facing specific
issues?
"We were using an in-house solution that
we implemented about 5 years ago consisting of a Windows server with
off-the-shelf backup software installed on it backing data up to a 16-tape
LTO-2 library system. The backup system was sequential so as data growth
continued throughout the years, the backups would queue up and frequently it
was taking more than 24 hours to complete a daily backup so we had to move onto
twice-weekly backups. Restoration was a time-consuming process and would often
involve manually re-loading older tapes into the library, even for quite recent
backups."

How did the Synerway installation / training process go?
"We had the kit shipped to us in advance
of the install date so we could get it racked and in place at our leisure –
very useful for a busy IT Deparent. The on-site setup and training process was
held over two and a half days with informative presentations about how the
backup solution would fit into our environment and also assistance with loading
software on to our servers."

How has Synerway changed your backup environment / processes?
"The backups are now considerably faster
and our daily server protection is easily achievable because backup jobs run
concurrently. Restorations can now be achieved in minutes rather than hours. Reports on backup status
and available storage/tapes are automatically emailed to the IT Department
rather than us having to manually or periodically check."

Have you had any restoration requests the Synerway installation has had to
handle?
"Two days after the Synerway solution
went live we had a request to restore some emails within a user’s mailbox – a
good and successful test. We have also restored file and folders from our file
server which had been removed in error."

How might Synerway help PMS in future backup projects?
"We could potentially expand to have a
second appliance at our Manchester site."

Do you see other benefits of the Synerway solutions?
"One of the major benefits of the
Synerway solution, and certainly something that appealed to the whole PMS IT
Deparent is that it runs on a Linux platform. This means that there is little
or no overhead with licences, updates, patches, virus etc. that would occur
with many rival solutions."

Partners Profiles:

• Access Information Security (AIS) Ltd began working with PMS in June 2011 when their backup project came
  under review. A variety of backups solutions were reviewed and dismissed. It soon became clear that an average backup solution would not suit the
  complexity of the PMS’ network and how critical is was to them to be able to
  back up quickly, retain the data and have a fast and secure DR process. AIS recently added Synerway to their portfolio and were confident that this
  flexible backup solution would meet all PMS’ requirements.
• Tekdata Distribution Ltd, based in
  Stoke, Tekdata Distribution is one of the UK’s most experienced IT
  distributors. Backup and data protection is a key component of Tekdata’s
  portfolio and Synerway an integral part of this offer.

Synerway designs and supports a range of data backup and restoration appliances
dedicated to IT protection.

Many SMEs, local authorities and multi-site
corporate clients use Synerway appliances on a daily basis to protect their information systems.