Data Backup: How to Combine Backup and Data Security
Welcome, everyone, to this webinar on "How to Combine Backup and Data Security". My name is Frédéric REVEL from PI Services, and I’m joined by Yoann.
Hello everyone, I’m Yoann JARDIN from BeMSP, and I’ll be presenting a solution from Datto.
Very well, let’s get started. I’ll begin with a brief introduction to PI Services in just two or three minutes.
Who are we at PI Services?
We’ve been in existence for over 25 years as architects and managers of Microsoft infrastructures. We support a wide variety of client types and are able to assist you comprehensively through a three-pillar offering:
Audit and infrastructure consulting – primarily focused on pre-sales phases, architecture design, support in choosing solutions, and scoping documents.
Integration and deployment – where we implement new platforms, provide knowledge transfer, and deliver full technical documentation, including architectural, configuration, and operational documents, so that your teams can fully manage their infrastructure.
Managed services and support – which is broken down into three key areas: operational maintenance (MCO), request management, and level 2 and 3 support. We’ll now look at those in a little more detail.
In terms of managed services, we can support you in three ways:
Ad hoc request management – intervention on demand, tailored to specific issues and delivered by the appropriate expert.
Support contracts – where we provide level 2 and 3 support for your infrastructure teams, assisting with incident resolution, advice, and even level 1 support for end users.
Full operational maintenance – managing all or part of your information system across various domains including infrastructure, workstations, networking, and security.
And within that security pillar, we address several areas: antivirus, anti-spam, firewalls, strong authentication, and, of course, data backup – which is the focus of today’s session.
I’ll now hand over to Yoann.
Thanks, Frédéric.
I’ll be talking about a solution called Datto BCDR, which provides optimal data protection compared to other options. I’ll explain why that is.
To begin, let’s look at the kinds of questions organisations usually ask themselves when thinking about backup solutions.
A common starting point is:
“I’m going to implement image-based backup.”
This is somewhat old-fashioned. The main issues with this approach are:
Restorations are often slow and complicated, especially when large volumes of data (terabytes) are involved.
You might need physical devices like USB drives or external disks – which introduces a “DIY” feel.
These systems often don’t allow for regular, reliable testing – which is risky. If you attempt to restore and are faced with a blue screen, you may realise your backup has been unusable for weeks without knowing it.
Another question people often ask is:
“Should I build my own disaster recovery plan?” (or PRA in French – “Plan de Reprise d’Activité”)
This DIY approach involves combining software, local hardware, and, ideally, a cloud component. But there are risks:
Responsibility is spread across multiple actors: if something goes wrong, do you contact the software vendor, the hardware provider, or the cloud host?
Hidden costs: initial setup might seem cheap, but you’ll need experts, maintenance, licences – costs can add up quickly.
Lack of scalability: if your business grows and your data increases rapidly, your solution may no longer be suitable.
Some people still rely on external media (RDX tapes, LTOs, etc.). But these are:
Prone to failure (magnetic degradation, like old VHS tapes).
Easily affected by disasters (e.g., fire or flooding).
Often poorly managed (e.g., tapes not stored offsite).
That’s why Datto BCDR (or Datto Siris) helps you sleep soundly at night when you need a reliable, comprehensive backup.
The Datto Siris product range is scalable – from small appliances for under 1TB of data, up to rack-mounted solutions with SSD drives for high-performance environments (e.g. heavy database usage). There are also:
Virtual Siris versions
Image-based Siris, where you install the Datto OS on an existing server
And support for non-Windows systems, thanks to their universal backup agent.
What does Siris actually do?
It can virtualise your systems locally, in just a few minutes.
Backup points can be as frequent as every five minutes.
Each point can be tested and verified, including:
Screenshots of restored systems
Application checks
Ransomware detection based on file behaviour
Backups are replicated hourly to the Datto cloud (or a private datacentre of your choice), and Datto’s cloud includes geo-redundancy and immutability (the last backup cannot be deleted by an attacker).
If your infrastructure is destroyed (e.g., by fire), Datto can restore your systems directly from the cloud, establishing VPN tunnels and spinning up your most critical VMs within their datacentre, allowing business continuity until you rebuild locally.
This Datto cloud is purpose-built for backup and recovery. It’s:
Hardened with daily penetration testing
Access-protected via two-factor authentication
Proven in the US market (over 10,000 recoveries per month)
Scalable with infinite retention if required
Let’s now look at the Datto management interface.
You get:
A central portal to view all appliances
A dashboard with key information (IP address, data usage, backup status)
The “Protect” tab where you configure backup settings per server:
Backup frequency and hours
Local and cloud retention
VSS usage and volume exclusions
Verification settings (including custom scripts and service checks)
Advanced options like Rescue Agent (lets you back up even while running on a virtualised backup)
Restore options include:
File restore: granular recovery of files/folders
Volume restore via iSCSI, preserving NTFS permissions
Local virtualisation (instant recovery from the backup appliance)
Cloud virtualisation (if local infrastructure is lost)
Hypervisor integration (restore directly to Hyper-V/ESX)
Bare Metal Restore via bootable ISO
Rapid Rollback (restore only the changed/corrupted files)
You can also export recovery points as VHD/VMDK formats.
Datto also offers:
Device migration tools to seamlessly upgrade appliances
Round-trip services (free physical disks sent to you for seeding large backups)
A custom Linux-based OS, hardened for security
Optional restrictions to web-only access with 2FA
In summary, Datto Siris offers:
Peace of mind through verified, tested backups
Rapid recovery in minutes, either locally or from the cloud
Advanced ransomware detection
Full visibility and scalability
Comprehensive protection with immutable, geo-redundant cloud storage
Frédéric: Thank you, Yoann. Could you expand a bit more on how Datto handles ransomware?
Yoann: Of course. The system includes ransomware detection alerts, based on abnormal file changes during backup differentials. If ransomware is detected, you receive an alert. You can then:
Use local virtualisation to restart affected systems immediately
Restore from a clean point in time before the attack
Use Rapid Rollback to restore only encrypted data, saving time
Return to production while full recovery is handled in the background
There’s no “auto-recovery” since each case is different, but the tools make a fast, safe recovery very feasible.
Frédéric: One last question – if I already have a backup solution, can I migrate my data to Siris?
Yoann: Migration depends on your existing system. You can’t directly import backups into Siris due to Datto’s unique file system (ZFS+), so you’ll typically run both systems in parallel during a transition. If both use VSS, make sure backup jobs are scheduled not to overlap, as simultaneous VSS calls can conflict.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the chat. Otherwise, our contact information is now displayed, and you’re welcome to reach out to us anytime for more details.
Have a great day, and thank you all for attending.
Welcome, everyone, to this webinar on "How to Combine Backup and Data Security". My name is Frédéric REVEL from PI Services, and I’m joined by Yoann.
Hello everyone, I’m Yoann JARDIN from BeMSP, and I’ll be presenting a solution from Datto.
Very well, let’s get started. I’ll begin with a brief introduction to PI Services in just two or three minutes.
Who are we at PI Services?
We’ve been in existence for over 25 years as architects and managers of Microsoft infrastructures. We support a wide variety of client types and are able to assist you comprehensively through a three-pillar offering:
Audit and infrastructure consulting – primarily focused on pre-sales phases, architecture design, support in choosing solutions, and scoping documents.
Integration and deployment – where we implement new platforms, provide knowledge transfer, and deliver full technical documentation, including architectural, configuration, and operational documents, so that your teams can fully manage their infrastructure.
Managed services and support – which is broken down into three key areas: operational maintenance (MCO), request management, and level 2 and 3 support. We’ll now look at those in a little more detail.
In terms of managed services, we can support you in three ways:
Ad hoc request management – intervention on demand, tailored to specific issues and delivered by the appropriate expert.
Support contracts – where we provide level 2 and 3 support for your infrastructure teams, assisting with incident resolution, advice, and even level 1 support for end users.
Full operational maintenance – managing all or part of your information system across various domains including infrastructure, workstations, networking, and security.
And within that security pillar, we address several areas: antivirus, anti-spam, firewalls, strong authentication, and, of course, data backup – which is the focus of today’s session.
I’ll now hand over to Yoann.
Thanks, Frédéric.
I’ll be talking about a solution called Datto BCDR, which provides optimal data protection compared to other options. I’ll explain why that is.
To begin, let’s look at the kinds of questions organisations usually ask themselves when thinking about backup solutions.
A common starting point is:
“I’m going to implement image-based backup.”
This is somewhat old-fashioned. The main issues with this approach are:
Restorations are often slow and complicated, especially when large volumes of data (terabytes) are involved.
You might need physical devices like USB drives or external disks – which introduces a “DIY” feel.
These systems often don’t allow for regular, reliable testing – which is risky. If you attempt to restore and are faced with a blue screen, you may realise your backup has been unusable for weeks without knowing it.
Another question people often ask is:
“Should I build my own disaster recovery plan?” (or PRA in French – “Plan de Reprise d’Activité”)
This DIY approach involves combining software, local hardware, and, ideally, a cloud component. But there are risks:
Responsibility is spread across multiple actors: if something goes wrong, do you contact the software vendor, the hardware provider, or the cloud host?
Hidden costs: initial setup might seem cheap, but you’ll need experts, maintenance, licences – costs can add up quickly.
Lack of scalability: if your business grows and your data increases rapidly, your solution may no longer be suitable.
Some people still rely on external media (RDX tapes, LTOs, etc.). But these are:
Prone to failure (magnetic degradation, like old VHS tapes).
Easily affected by disasters (e.g., fire or flooding).
Often poorly managed (e.g., tapes not stored offsite).
That’s why Datto BCDR (or Datto Siris) helps you sleep soundly at night when you need a reliable, comprehensive backup.
The Datto Siris product range is scalable – from small appliances for under 1TB of data, up to rack-mounted solutions with SSD drives for high-performance environments (e.g. heavy database usage). There are also:
Virtual Siris versions
Image-based Siris, where you install the Datto OS on an existing server
And support for non-Windows systems, thanks to their universal backup agent.
What does Siris actually do?
It can virtualise your systems locally, in just a few minutes.
Backup points can be as frequent as every five minutes.
Each point can be tested and verified, including:
Screenshots of restored systems
Application checks
Ransomware detection based on file behaviour
Backups are replicated hourly to the Datto cloud (or a private datacentre of your choice), and Datto’s cloud includes geo-redundancy and immutability (the last backup cannot be deleted by an attacker).
If your infrastructure is destroyed (e.g., by fire), Datto can restore your systems directly from the cloud, establishing VPN tunnels and spinning up your most critical VMs within their datacentre, allowing business continuity until you rebuild locally.
This Datto cloud is purpose-built for backup and recovery. It’s:
Hardened with daily penetration testing
Access-protected via two-factor authentication
Proven in the US market (over 10,000 recoveries per month)
Scalable with infinite retention if required
Let’s now look at the Datto management interface.
You get:
A central portal to view all appliances
A dashboard with key information (IP address, data usage, backup status)
The “Protect” tab where you configure backup settings per server:
Backup frequency and hours
Local and cloud retention
VSS usage and volume exclusions
Verification settings (including custom scripts and service checks)
Advanced options like Rescue Agent (lets you back up even while running on a virtualised backup)
Restore options include:
File restore: granular recovery of files/folders
Volume restore via iSCSI, preserving NTFS permissions
Local virtualisation (instant recovery from the backup appliance)
Cloud virtualisation (if local infrastructure is lost)
Hypervisor integration (restore directly to Hyper-V/ESX)
Bare Metal Restore via bootable ISO
Rapid Rollback (restore only the changed/corrupted files)
You can also export recovery points as VHD/VMDK formats.
Datto also offers:
Device migration tools to seamlessly upgrade appliances
Round-trip services (free physical disks sent to you for seeding large backups)
A custom Linux-based OS, hardened for security
Optional restrictions to web-only access with 2FA
In summary, Datto Siris offers:
Peace of mind through verified, tested backups
Rapid recovery in minutes, either locally or from the cloud
Advanced ransomware detection
Full visibility and scalability
Comprehensive protection with immutable, geo-redundant cloud storage
Frédéric: Thank you, Yoann. Could you expand a bit more on how Datto handles ransomware?
Yoann: Of course. The system includes ransomware detection alerts, based on abnormal file changes during backup differentials. If ransomware is detected, you receive an alert. You can then:
Use local virtualisation to restart affected systems immediately
Restore from a clean point in time before the attack
Use Rapid Rollback to restore only encrypted data, saving time
Return to production while full recovery is handled in the background
There’s no “auto-recovery” since each case is different, but the tools make a fast, safe recovery very feasible.
Frédéric: One last question – if I already have a backup solution, can I migrate my data to Siris?
Yoann: Migration depends on your existing system. You can’t directly import backups into Siris due to Datto’s unique file system (ZFS+), so you’ll typically run both systems in parallel during a transition. If both use VSS, make sure backup jobs are scheduled not to overlap, as simultaneous VSS calls can conflict.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the chat. Otherwise, our contact information is now displayed, and you’re welcome to reach out to us anytime for more details.
Have a great day, and thank you all for attending.