National Development Council Protects 1 TB of Microsoft Office 365 Data and Reduces Backup Costs by 80% with AvePoint Online Services
Success Highlights
Customer Location New York, NY
Industry Not-for-profit
Platform Microsoft 365, SharePoint Online
Critical Needs
- Reduce data protection costs without compromising level of data integrity
- Automate backup of critical SharePoint Online content
- Reduce burden on IT
The Challenge
To improve access to information for more than half of its employees operating outside of its main New York City office, NDC moved all of its content to the cloud with Microsoft Office 365. SharePoint Online allows teams from opposite ends of the United States to work together much better. Internally, 100 users located anywhere between Seattle and New York can easily collaborate on loan packages and creative projects such as website redesign. The organization also benefited by reducing costs previously required for external sharing software and on-premises hardware, which were no longer necessary with Office 365.
However, SharePoint Online’s native backup capabilities presented some challenges. Backups run every 12 hours with no ability to customize the schedule, content is only retained for 90 days, and data is only restored at the site collection level by contacting Microsoft support. “We wanted a backup solution that was flexible enough to meet our business needs,” said Antonio Palumbo, Chief Technology Officer at National Development Council.
To ensure constant access to 1 TB of critical data and overcome SharePoint’s native capabilities, NDC implemented an on-premises backup solution that was ultimately not the best fit for the organization and its budget. “As a not-for-profit, we needed a solution that was more flexible and cost-effective,” said Palumbo
Chief Technology Officer, National Development Council
The AvePoint Solution
NDC implemented AvePoint Online Services (AOS), a Microsoft Azure-hosted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for Office 365 management. AOS empowers the organization to protect and manage SharePoint Online above and beyond Microsoft’s data protection SLAs. In order to ensure availability of its important data in the cloud, NDC worked with AvePoint’s technical support team to come up with a complete backup strategy to meet its specific organizational needs – including automatic full and incremental backups captured on a regular basis. “Once we figured out a schedule across weekends and certain days of the week, I never had to think about it again,” Palumbo said. “I get automatic reports when the backup is finished. If there’s ever an error, I can identify it easily and work with support to resolve it.”
With its strategy in place and access to backups without needing to contact Microsoft support, NDC is able to automate backups and achieve a level of data protection that was not possible with SharePoint Online’s native capabilities. Using AvePoint Online Services, NDC can set custom recovery point objectives, scheduling incremental backups nightly. “With AOS, we feel confident that we’re not relying entirely on Microsoft if something gets lost or if there is a data breach,” Palumbo said. “Sometimes data gets deleted by accident. If someone deletes a document library, and it isn’t noticed for a few months, then we need to have that backup available.”
With AOS' backup and restore functionality, NDC can protect data beyond SharePoint Online’s 90-day retention policy. “Microsoft’s 90-day window gives me some protection, but with AvePoint’s services, we really found the perfect fit for how we want to back up our content on Office 365,” Palumbo said. “We can run full backups on weekends and perform incremental backups on weeknights when there’s no data traffic.”
Since working with AvePoint’s technical support to create a unique strategy tailored to NDC’s needs, Palumbo has seen a clear difference in the amount of time spent on Office 365 management. Palumbo also benefits from the fact that AOS is entirely cloud-based, requiring no manual work from him for upgrades and maintenance. “Since AvePoint Online Services is a Software-as-a-Service offering, it saves me time, effort, and money by not having to schedule updates or continually check on backup jobs,” Palumbo said. “It’s reassuring to me that AvePoint handles all of the maintenance. The less I have to worry about patching and troubleshooting, the more time I have to add value to the business.”
As NDC continues to grow, so will its SharePoint Online environment. With AOS' scalability, the organization is prepared to handle the growth. “I won’t have to worry that the software can’t handle what we’re proposing on the business end,” Palumbo said. “AOS expands with our SharePoint Online data growth, so I don’t have to worry about reaching a threshold and not getting the same performance.”
The Road Ahead
With a SaaS solution in place through AvePoint Online Services, NDC’s IT department gained significant time and cost savings in having to maintain its SharePoint Online environment. Through scheduled automatic backups and support from AvePoint’s technical team, NDC is able to be more productive in other areas of the business. “AvePoint Online Services is our insurance policy,” Palumbo said. “Having it in place helps me sleep better at night knowing we can get data back at any time. It has great usability and a great pricing model that aligns well with our budget as a not-for-profit organization. Compared to our previous solution, we’re saving 80 percent of what we used to spend.”
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