Pillar 08 · Private Cloud, Datacentre & Backup

Private Cloud, Datacentre & Backup

Servers hosted in our own UK datacentre, backup of your 365 and server data, and a recovery plan that has actually been tested.

What it is

Most providers our size rent their cloud from someone else. We have run our own datacentre in the UK for many years, on our own hardware, which means that for the systems that cannot simply become a 365 subscription, we can host them, back them up and recover them without a third party in the chain.

Backup is the part of IT that only matters once, and then it matters completely. So we treat it as a daily job: every job checked, every failure re-run and understood, restores tested rather than assumed, and a written plan for the day you need it.

How the plan is built

  1. Which systems and services are vital, and what fails if each one stops.
  2. How quickly each one must be back, in hours, agreed with you rather than assumed.
  3. The method that meets that time: a standby replica at the datacentre for the systems that cannot wait, plain backup with restore points for the rest.
  4. A test restore, on a schedule, with the result shown to you.

Servers can live on Microsoft Azure, in our private cloud, or in your office; the plan is the same whichever you choose, from a file server to the ERP, CRM or CAD system the business runs on.

Who it is for
  • →Companies with a server or application that cannot simply move to Microsoft 365.
  • →Firms whose backup is a tick box nobody has restored from.
  • →Businesses that need to be running again the same day, and can say what that costs them if not.
What is included

In plain words

  • Private cloud servers in our UK datacentre, sized and managed
  • Your choice of where a server lives: Azure, our private cloud, or in your office
  • Backup of Microsoft 365: mail, files, Teams, with retention you set
  • Backup of servers and applications wherever they run: SQL, Active Directory, virtual machines, Exchange, SharePoint, line-of-business systems
  • Encrypted in transit and at rest; nothing on tapes or USB drives
  • A standby replica of your servers at the datacentre, started if yours fail, instead of buying disaster-recovery kit
  • Recovery plans written down, and restores tested on a schedule
  • Daily monitoring: every job checked, every failure re-run and explained
  • Business continuity at the datacentre for the systems that cannot stop
In the portal

How it shows up day to day

Backup status is not something we ask you to trust. Where you want it, the portal shows what is protected and when it last completed, in plain words.

See the portal →

Senior engineer

Designs the recovery plan and runs the restore test.

Assistant

Checks every backup job every morning and tells the engineer which one needs a look.

The same job, both sides. An engineer decides; the assistant does the running around.
2006
Established
20
Years, and counting
3
London-area offices
6
Regions with client sites
8
Services, one agreement

Live service numbers, measured weekly and dated, are coming to this strip. We publish nothing we have not measured.

Questions

Questions people ask

Why does 365 need backing up?
Because Microsoft keeps your data available, not recoverable. A deleted mailbox, a bad sync or a ransomware event needs a separate copy with its own retention. We keep one.
Where is the datacentre?
In the UK, run on our own equipment. Your data does not leave the country and we control who touches it.
How do we know a restore will work?
Because we test it, on a schedule, and show you the result. A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan.
Private, public or hybrid cloud?
Private cloud is dedicated infrastructure for your business, run by us in our datacentre. Public cloud is capacity rented from Microsoft (Azure) or similar. Hybrid is both, with the systems placed where they run best. Most of our clients end up hybrid: Microsoft 365 for the everyday, private cloud for the servers that need to stay close.
How do I know whether we are prepared?
Ask yourself what would happen if you lost all your files, stopped getting email, lost your contacts and diary, or lost a department's data. Then: is there a written recovery plan, where is it, does it work the way you think, and when was it last tested? If any answer is 'not sure', that is where we start.

Talk to an engineer about this.

A 20-minute call, no pitch deck.

020 3021 1220Book a 20-minute call