jugend hilft jugend e.V.: |
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PresSTORE in a non-profit-organisation that provides a wide range of social services in Hamburg |  |
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| The variety of services that are offered is reflected in a very differentiated IT-structure. More than 130 employees work at 15 different locations in and around Hamburg with a multitude of applications. A change in IT-structure The linking of the associations’ different social programs was in 2008 followed by the consolidation of the whole technical infrastructure. In order to relieve the employees from the cumbersome duty of data storage, an efficient backup solution that can store the important dislocated data together at a single location was sought. Until then, a wide range of different - and partly unorthodox – backup methods were employed. “Certain parts of our organization haven’t even been using email messages until recently. In those areas, awareness of data management is basically nonexistent,” says Thomas Urlich, technical director at “jugend hilft jugend”. A heterogeneous IT structure The IT department manages more than 80 client and server systems running different operating systems. One of the special challenges thereby is the high security required when backing medical data, especially when diverse software is involved, ranging from standard and customized office packages to gastronomy and accounting solutions. | |
| The search for a backup solution After two incidents of data loss, the association decided to improve its data security by employing a fully automated backup solution. “After doing research and talking to our IT reseller ‘comlife’, we understood that using PresSTORE would considerably improve our situation,” says Ulrich. |  |
| Smooth job with PresSTORE By using PresSTORE Synchronize, data from several different locations is being synchronizes via VPN to a 6.5TB RAID at the head office. Since one of the locations cannot be connected by VPN, PresSTORE’s encoding is used to prevent unauthorized eavesdropping for that workstation. |  |
| In order to guarantee a quick data restore, the RAID always holds the latest 5 versions of a file. PresSTORE Backup saves this RAID several times a week to an LTO3 StorageLoader. For security reasons, tapes are also being outsourced. Because of its simplicity and transparency, PresSTORE Synchronize is not only used to save data, but also to distribute it: certain files, like common forms and manuals are always available in their latest version, no matter which workstation one is currently using. Conclusion and outlook “With PresSTORE we feel in very good hands. Not for a second did we regret to have switched to PresSTORE,” concludes Thomas Ulrich. “At least as important as the quality of the software for us is a quick, competent and friendly support. We are looking forward to many more years with the PresSTORE software.” Soon, another Archiware product will extend “jugend hilft jugend”s portfolio: the association is currently running trials for their field workers using PresSTORE Backup2Go to automatically secure the data from their notebooks, no matter where they are. About “jugend hilft jugend” The organization “jugend hilft jugend” in Hamburg works with young adults, the disabled and addicts. Since 1970 it has been offering a wide range of social services such as in- and out-patient treatment, a day care facility for children, continued education programs as well as many different employment options in trade, gastronomy or the hotel business. | |