Why Enterprise Data Backup and Recovery in Healthcare is Easier Than Ever Before
The rapid growth of healthcare data has resulted in increased backup times, shrinking backup windows, and more stringent service level agreements (SLAs) around application and site recovery.
For many healthcare IT teams running on legacy systems, the gaps between expectations and reality are apparent. Oftentimes, there is a major disconnect between system availability expectations and what IT can truly deliver. Today’s healthcare staff expect technology to make their jobs easier, but one study shows that 37% of healthcare employees are frustrated with technology at their workplace, while 19% report technology does not help with productivity.
In addition to usability concerns, legacy systems are rife with security vulnerabilities. This is notable because sensitive healthcare data is the holy grail for hackers. Keeping backup and recovery data in outdated systems only makes weak spots in patched technology more susceptible to a data breach.
As IT teams work to modernize their healthcare data centers and introduce more sophisticated healthcare IT solutions, data and information lifecycle management has become even more critical. Modern healthcare data backup and recovery can help to ensure the availability and protection of data, applications, and systems according to how they need to be accessed by employees.
The Next Phase of Smart Healthcare Data Backup and Recovery
Modern cloud backups and flash-optimized arrays offer an easier way to get built-in security and performance, while also revolutionizing healthcare data storage. IT heavyweights are shifting from legacy storage tape systems to capitalize on the supersonic deployments and boundless flexibility of modern data protection. Today’s healthcare innovators are also looking to leverage benefits that make backup easier than ever before.
7 Benefits of Modern Data Backup and Recovery in Healthcare
1. Centralized Management for User Simplicity
Today’s healthcare backup solutions, such as Commvault, Veeam, Nutanix, and HPE 3PAR, boast user simplicity for easier management, no matter where data is stored, or when it’s needed. Modern storage solutions combine hardware, software, and network into a signal package for centralized healthcare operations that transfer data instantly.
2. Lightning Fast Speeds with 99.9999% Availability
The all-in-one nature of advanced storage options means data transfer is both fast and efficient. Intelligent storage solutions such as HPE Nimble boast incredible reliability with up to 99.9999% availability under field conditions.
3. Advanced Security for Always-On Protection
While some in-house IT teams believe their data is protected because they can see their servers on-premise, the truth is that outdated technology creates vulnerabilities in systems that hackers use to access sensitive information. An unbeatable benefit of modern healthcare recovery and backup is the strong security framework solutions built within the solutions to prevent malicious activity before a data breach occurs.
4. Scalability In An Instant
Cloud-based healthcare backup allows for scalability at the click of a button. Whether your organization needs to increase data storage quickly, or decrease space as it becomes unnecessary, modern data backup and recovery makes flexibility a breeze — something that’s nearly impossible with on-premise backup solutions. Changing the amount of storage you have access to causes no disruption to your critical workloads.
5. Achieve Regulatory Compliance In The Cloud
Collecting patient data comes with unique requirements for ensuring it remains protected. HIPAA regulations mandate how organizations can store and manage sensitive data, and any company that’s in violation is fair game to face fines. Fortunately modern data backup and recovery in healthcare has built-in security features that help keep companies in compliance.
6. Significant Cost Savings Drive Cloud Adoption
Cost savings is a major benefit of switching to cloud-based data backup and recovery. Cloud-based solutions are less expensive because they eliminate hardware costs, labor costs to maintain hardware, and energy costs associated with temperature control. According to Forrester, one ComportSecure solution, Cohesity, provides an average of 68% reduction in costs related to backup and data management.
7. Utilize Staff Time For Strategic Initiatives
Instead of managing routine data backups, or maintaining the software updates needed for reliable recovery, IT resources can spend time on more engaging initiatives that drive growth for the business. This helps utilize limited technical talent, keeps employees interested in challenging work, and reduces monotony in daily responsibilities.
The benefits of advanced data backup and recovery in healthcare far outweigh the comfortability in staying with legacy systems. Patients, providers, and staff alike all expect a seamless technology experience, such as what’s provided with modern systems. By embracing updated backup and recovery technology, IT teams at healthcare organizations can accelerate their digital transformation to meet these expectations and then some.
Popular Software Solutions for Data Backup and Recovery in Healthcare
Every healthcare organization’s goals are different, making the technology selections needed a tailored choice for every business. ComportSecure specializes in several backup and recovery solutions, including the popular ones listed below. While this list is not a one-size-fits-all, it is a smart starting point to learn about common options available for advancing your technology ecosystem.
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
Boasting an all-flash architecture, HPE 3PAR StoreServ allows the consolidation of multiple workloads on a shared platform that can deliver hundreds of thousands of IOPs at very low latency.
Cohesity
Cohesity solves mass data fragmentation and ensures that data and applications are well-protected with immutability and cyber resiliency.
Commvault
Centralized management of data into one system is the key feature of Commvault, including EHR data and medical images. It provides one platform to manage, store, archive, move, and secure data for all clinical business applications.
Veeam
Enable virtual environments, including hybrid cloud with Veeam. As a Veeam Partner, Comport customizes data backup and replication to work with any infrastructure so healthcare organizations can embrace scalable data protection.
Nutanix
Nutanix HCI brings storage, compute, virtualization and networking capabilities together in a centrally managed hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI).
A Note on the Harmony Between Veeam and Nutanix
Veeam backup for Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor simplifies management, minimizes data loss, and reduces recovery times. Using an agentless approach to create an image-based backup of virtual machines, Veeam is a reliable choice for hyper-availability for Nutanix enterprise cloud.
Why ComportSecure Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS)?
As experts in healthcare data, Comport works with our clients to create a 3-2-1 strategy that is best for your particular long- and short-term patient and business data goals. ComportSecure can also help you tackle cyber-attacks by creating an “air gap” between production and off-site backups, and allows a hospital to restore from uninfected ComportSecure data in the event of a ransomware or malware incident.
ComportSecure works in conjunction with the Veeam Availability Suite and the HPE 3PAR StoreServ storage, powered by Intel® Xeon® processors, and can provide Recovery Time Objectives of under 15 minutes. When a hospital or healthcare system chooses ComportSecure BaaS, they offload Veeam backup tasks and free their IT staff and infrastructure with these benefits:
- More frequent backups minimize potential data loss
- 99.9999% data accessibility with fast restore in the event of an outage or failure
- A backup solution that covers remote locations as well as data centers
- The hospital retains control of scheduling and other backup decisions
Take Control of Data Backup and Recovery in Healthcare
As an HPE Platinum Partner, Comport Healthcare Solutions has expert knowledge and 30+ years of healthcare experience to help healthcare IT teams navigate the possibilities and perils of hospital IT and best practices.
Healthcare facilities face different challenges than other industries, and we offer services specifically tailored for evolving health information technology requirements. Our mission is to achieve the protection that your patients and clinicians expect and deserve. Our insights are based on practical experience and extensive investment in certifications, which has earned ComportSecure numerous industry awards.
Explore a better data management system by upgrading your data backup and recovery. Get started by requesting a 15-day BaaS trial managed by ComportSecure.
Author: Bill Flatley, Field CTO for Healthcare
Bill is responsible for technical strategies and recommendations for Comport’s Healthcare clients. His extensive experience includes four healthcare systems in leadership roles supporting Clinical Applications, Digital Health, and Office of the CIO as the primary liaison between IT and the business.
