Data security and backups for businesses are easy to ensure in theory, but how does it work in reality? The current case study shows how easily a company can decide on a solution and how particularly easy it is to implement a cloud-based solution. A case study by Rubrik.
Kelvion, a global manufacturer of industrial heat exchangers, has a complex IT infrastructure. This extends across numerous locations and a global sales and production network. Founded in Bochum in 1920, the group grew steadily over the years. The more global it became, the more challenging the backup processes became. In order to solve these challenges and increase data security, the Security Cloud section should be migrated.
“The implementation of the Security Cloud section was a gradual process. In order to raise our data security to a new level, we have gotten rid of outdated systems, especially in the larger locations, in order to replace them with more modern technology. At the same time, we set up the cloud backups. In countries with difficult import conditions, we backed up the data directly in the cloud. Today, one person is enough to monitor the entire backup process at Kelvion,” says Thomas Muth, CIO at Kelvion.
The harmonization of legacy systems
In 2020, Kelvion was confronted with a development that many multinational corporations will be familiar with: different backup systems were used at the 67 Kelvion locations around the globe - some of them centrally organized, others decentralized. Some were still based on old tape drive technologies. The diversity that has grown over the years carried risks. There was a lack of transparency and the administrative burden was significant. Maintaining control over all operations and monitoring systems became increasingly difficult, increasing security risks.
Kelvion therefore decided to harmonize and standardize the multitude of different systems. The goal was to transfer responsibility for all backup processes from the individual locations to the company headquarters. Through this strategic measure, management wanted to gain control over the entire backup process in the company and ensure the security of sensitive company data in the event of an incident.
Data resilience as the basis of data security
To solve these challenges, Kelvion's channel partner Dignum suggested the Security Cloud section. Rubrik's cloud solution is designed to strengthen companies' data resilience with its backup technology. This means Kelvion becomes more resilient to cyber incidents and always has reliable backups available to restore data and systems in the event of an emergency.
Kelvion chose the system because it lays the foundation for extensive data security based on a three-pillar model. The Business Edition of Rubrik Security Cloud enables the company to centralize its backup processes worldwide. This puts the responsibility for backup in one central location instead of being spread across all locations. At the same time, the company can expand the Security Cloud category at any time with an Enterprise Edition.
Three-pillar approach as a solution
The first pillar of the three pillars includes “data resilience”. The Business Edition enables immutable backup copies. Once written, they cannot be manipulated, deleted or encrypted, meaning they remain protected even in the event of a ransomware attack. The second component, “Data Observability,” enables continuous monitoring of data across the entire infrastructure. This involves collecting and analyzing sensitive data to identify potential threats or anomalies. “Data Remediation” is the third pillar and ensures quick and reliable recovery of data and applications in the event of an emergency.
“Rubrik's three-pillar approach, particularly encryption within data resilience, was unique on the market at the time,” explains Muth. “To this day it represents a crucial security aspect for Kelvion.”
Global implementation and local challenges
The implementation process began with thorough testing to ensure the new technology met Kelvion's needs. Hardware components from Rubrik were then successively installed at the larger locations in order to modernize the systems. This allowed Kelvion to sync and replicate locally created backups via the cloud. At the smaller locations, however, the decision was made to upload the backups directly to the cloud and thereby minimize the administrative effort. Through these measures, this was reduced to a level that a single employee can now oversee the entire backup process at Kelvion.
Rubrik's cloud solution gave the company important flexibility for global implementations. Large locations in countries such as Brazil, which have difficult import restrictions, were able to be converted to the Security Cloud category. This saved significant time and resources that would have been necessary for organization, logistics and possible challenges when importing hardware. In addition to this flexibility, Kelvion also benefited from direct support from Rubrik. Kelvion employees received extensive training from Rubrik's security experts, and the data security provider's support team was always available to quickly and easily respond to questions about the solution's operation.
Advantages of centralized responsibility
Responsibility for the entire backup process now lies at the company headquarters in Bochum. Kelvion benefits from a central control level and unified processes that ensure data protection across locations. Personnel costs and power consumption have been significantly reduced and resistance to ransomware and other threats increased, but Thomas Muth, CIO at Kelvion, sees the real advantage in unification:
“We have taken the responsibility for backup away from the branches and centralized it through the Security Cloud section. This central control level enables our security specialists to effectively ensure the protection of our data.”
Data protection = company protection
Data protection is now synonymous with business protection because the damage that cyberattacks with ransomware can cause goes far beyond the actual encryption and ransom demands. Production or entire supply chains can come to a standstill for a long time and cause immense financial damage. The resulting media coverage can have a negative impact on the organization's image and result in customers leaving. In order to counteract this commercially and protect itself against such damage, Kelvion decided on the Security Cloud category.
Satisfied with the results of the change, Thomas Muth and his team are evaluating an upgrade to the Security Cloud Enterprise Edition category. The Enterprise Edition makes it possible to counter cyber attacks even more holistically by providing additional monitoring and forensics tools. Additionally, it expands the ability to orchestrate data recovery and ensures the latest innovations in ransomware recovery.
More at Rubrik.com
About rubric Rubrik is a global cybersecurity provider and pioneer of Zero Trust Data Security™. Organizations around the world rely on Rubrik to ensure their business continuity and protection from cyberattacks and malicious insiders. The Rubrik Security Cloud solution secures data regardless of where it is actually located: on-premises, in the cloud or in a SaaS application.