The British Horse Society

The British Horse Society (BHS) faced significant risks with their existing backup and disaster recovery (DR) solution. The system was not fast enough, relied on a single 40 mbps link, and lacked the ability to retrieve individual files or quickly restore key systems. This inefficiency threatened business continuity, risking prolonged system outages and potential disruption in collecting membership direct debits.

The boxxe Group’s plan involved a comprehensive overhaul of BHS's backup and DR processes. The strategy included deploying Veeam software for local, on-site backups of users' PCs, which would then be replicated to an offsite data centre managed by boxxe. Additionally, Zerto software was implemented to replicate data every 15 minutes to another secure data centre. This approach ensured that BHS's data was stored in three physically separate and secure locations, eliminating the need for physical backup media movement and enhancing data security.

The boxxe Group team worked closely with Paul Perkins, Director of Technology at BHS, and his team to map out potential disaster recovery scenarios and response strategies. The approach focused on keeping the management of the system straightforward and user-friendly. Regular communication and collaboration ensured that the backup and DR solutions were tailored to BHS's specific needs, with a focus on reliability and speed.

The implementation of the new backup and DR solution significantly improved BHS's ability to recover data quickly and efficiently. The system's management became simpler for the BHS team, and end users found the processes easy to navigate. With backups now replicated across three secure locations, BHS gained confidence in their data protection measures. Paul Perkins noted that a major restoration was successfully completed in under four hours, far exceeding the expected recovery time.