Druva's No Hardware Required

Druva's tagline is "Don't worry about your backups. Ever." Since Stephen Manley, our CTO, and W. Curtis Preston, Mr. Backup, have decades of experience with non-Druva backup environments, we asked them to talk about what averages non-Druva backup administrators. Stephen talks about things from his experience on the vendor side, and Curtis talks about trying to make backup systems run in the wild. It's a fun episode that reminds you of all things you don't have to worry about as a Druva customer. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

A term you may have heard lately is Cloud Infrastructure Resilience. Druva has been focused on resilience for a while now, so this term caught the eye of Stephen Manley, our CTO. What exactly is it? How is it different than cloud availability or cloud redundancy? Is it different? Is this just a new buzzword, or does it have value? Find out in this episode of No Hardware Required. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

You need an incident response plan before you need an incident response plan. But just exactly what is that? How do you develop one, and what is an incident response team? Where do you find one and hire them? How does cyber insurance figure into this? These and other questions are answered on this episode of No Hardware Required!Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

There are currently two ways to scan for malware in your backups: as you're backing up (before) or as you're restoring (after). Which one is the correct way? Mr. Backup and Stephen Manley, Druva's CTO, discuss this topic, using the decades of experience they both have. They think scanning on restore is the right way, and they explain just why that is. You also learn something new and interesting about Stephen... Who would have guessed? Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

If you're thinking that you're prepared for a ransomware attack because you have a well-documented and well-tested disaster recovery plan, this episode may surprise you. The good news is you've done one of the many steps to get ready for a ransomware recovery. This epsiode focuses on the rest of the steps, which are much more about your cyber response than your DR response. How will you know what to recover? How do you stop the attack while it is in progress? How do you ensure your backups weren't also infected? We answer these and other questions in this episode. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Have you ever wondered why you might want to buy Druva via an MSP? If you're an MSP, have you wondered if you should add Druva to your portfolio? We tackle both of these questions on this episode of No Hardware Required, with special guests from our MSP program. Learn what Druva's MSP program is and why it might be useful to you in our latest episode.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Ransomware threat actors are coming for your backups. They're either looking to take them out of the equation so you will pay the ransom, or they're looking to use them to exfiltrate data ... so you will pay the ransom. This episode discusses this real threat to your company's data security, and what you can do to stop it. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

If you're not concerned about the LastPass hack, you probably weren't paying attention. Even if you're not a LastPass customer (like our host, who uses Dashlane), there are some important things we can learn about what to do with your password manager. From a backup perspective, there's a huge lesson about what happens when you roll your own backups. Should you be doing that in this security climate? We don't think so. This and other lessons from the LastPass hack in this exciting episode!Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

In this episode, we discuss new information about the infamous OVH Cloud fire in 2021. It's been about a year and a half since it happened, and we now have reports from the firefighters that were onsite when it happened. Sadly, we still have very little from OVH – and what they have said is BAD. We discuss their only public comment regarding lost backup data, and it's not good. This story is a good one that drives home one of our usual points: you must back up the cloud. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

In honor of Halloween, we recorded an episode where we talk about the things in technology that scare us. (We know it's a little late, but we recorded it in October.) Both Stephen and Curtis talk about one thing that keeps them up at night. Spoiler alert: they're backup-related. Both of them are about things that people believe or think that don't match reality, or a reality that's scary that many don't seem to acknowledge. As usual, you learn a few things while having fun. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

If you're not including RTO & RPO in your conversations when talking about your data protection and resiliency systems, you are missing a core concept. We only back up so we can restore, and we only restore what matters to the organization. This podcast makes the point that no matter how fast your restore is, and no matter how much data you lose (or don't), your recovery will be a failure if it doesn't match the expectations of the stakeholder. Learn about RTO and RPO, and how they need to be agreed upon before hand in order to have a successful recovery – and to get more funding for your data protection system.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

A recent survey by IDC of over 500 companies of various industries and sizes revealed some shocking results, starting with the fact that 47% of them have successfully attacked by ransomware, and 50% of those affected by ransomware also lost data. What's even more shocking is many of them seem to have high confidence in their abilities to defend against and respond to the ransomware threat. Listen as Mr. Backup (W. Curtis Preston) and Stephen Manley (Druva's CTO) discuss this fascinating survey and its accompanying whitepaper. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Most "cloud" backup services are based on lifting and shifting a legacy backup product into the cloud. Druva reps discuss this a lot, but they often get pushback with phrases like "why do I care how the vendor makes my backups happen?" This episode answers why you should care very much. It affects your flexibility, cost, and risk – all for the worst. All SaaS services should be delivered in such a way that allows a customer to consume them however and whenever they want, while the technology and cost scale up and down based on their needs. That's simply not possible with a lift-and-shift system, and this episode explains why. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Druva has been named a visionary for the second time in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup & Recovery. Curtis & Stephen talk about what this means about the changing nature of data resilience, as well as how Druva is perceived by analyst companies like Gartner. Druva actually moved more on both axes than any other vendor, and this is clearly a recognition of the growth in the company's offerings, as well as the growth in revenue.

Druva becomes the first data protection as-a-service (DPaaS) vendor to offer an end-to-end data resiliency guarantee. While other vendors cover only ransomware risks, Druva's $10M guarantee covers all aspects of how our service works. The Data Resiliency Guarantee provides unmatched protection against 5 key data risks– Cybercrime, Human, Application, Operational, and Environmental, and guarantees the security, immutability, and availability of customers' data - up to $10MM. Stephen Foskett (Druva's CTO) and W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) discuss this amazing new development for Druva and its customers. This podcast breaks down the five areas the guarantee covers, explaining them in plain language so anyone can understand. It also explains how only a company that offers data protection and resilience as a service can offer a guarantee that covers this much. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Druva has released a suite of new security features, collectively referred to as the Druva Cyberattack Readiness Launch. This episode of No Hardware Required explorers each of these new features, and why Druva feels they have become essential in today's backup environment. Druva already has air-gapped, encrypted backups that protected against any ransomware attack to your environment. But we wanted to do better, to protect your backups against other types of attacks, and even human error. That's what the cyberattack readiness launch is all about: improving your security posture, providing the ability to roll back mistakes and attacks from rogue admins, and even the ability to disallow any kind of deletions to the environment. We never stop making your backups more secure; check out this exciting episode to see how!Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Druva often makes the claim that it reduces customers' TCO by up to 50%, but just how does it do that? Two men who understand backup and resiliency costs more than most answer that question. W. Curtis Preston (AKA Mr. Backup) and Stephen Manley (CTO), talk about the hard and soft costs that Druva reduces. The discussion focuses mainly on hard costs, as many customers dismiss soft costs. But Curtis and Stephen discuss soft costs as well, as they feel they are part of the TCO story as well. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Small to medium businesses (SMBs) and similarly-sized government organizations often have the same regulatory and security needs of larger companies, without the IT budget or personnel to accomplish them. This week's episode of no hardware required focuses on the unique needs of such organizations and talks about how Druva‘s data resiliency platform is uniquely positioned to help customers meet those needs. With Druva, you get the power and security of a large backup, DR, and resiliency system - without having to build it, maintain it, or secure it. Listen in as Stephen and Curtis discuss this important topic.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Druva felt that their support for Salesforce needed to go beyond simply backing it up and restoring it. We discuss the added functionality in this episode, after tackling the ever-present question of whether or not you need to back up Salesforce at all. (It's become harder to argue against it after Salesforce came out with their own backup service.) After explaining how Druva's service works, Stephen Manley (CTO) explains what else it does. Sandbox seeding (with datamasking) and Salesforce archiving are two features that will bring a lot of value to Druva's customers. Check out this episode to learn all about Druva's support for Salesforce, and how it goes far beyond backup. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

This episode of No Hardware Required focuses on the risk that holidays like Memorial Day pose from a cybersecurity perspective, and especially for your backups. Stephen Manley (Druva's CTO) and W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) delve into this topic, discussing why this is the case, and what can be done about it. The episode gives advice to both Druva customers and to those who haven't made that decision (yet). Learn what to do to secure your backups prior to this upcoming holiday weekend. Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Stephen Manley (Druva's CTO) discuss how Druva has enhanced how its customers can backup AWS EC2 instances. Customers can now create a single policy that specifies how many snapshots they want to keep, and how many of them they want deduplicated and migrated into the Druva cloud. The latter offers quicker recovery; the latter offers both enhanced security while also reducing costs. This is one of those rare instances in IT where you get something that is less expensive, while also being more secure and easier to use. Take the win and check out Druva's EC2 backup.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Two experts who have built hundreds of on-premises backup systems talk about how difficult it is to build them correctly – especially the first time out. W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Stephen Manley (CTO) have helped hundreds of customers navigate these challenges, and so can speak to them first hand. The two biggest challenges they talk about in this episode are capacity planning and cyber security. They say it is impossible to correctly provision an on-premises backup system, and they explain why. Secondly, they discuss how important cyber security is in the current world where the bad actors are coming directly for your backups. They do all this while being entertaining as well. Enjoy! Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Did you know the day before April Fools is World Backup Day? If not, now you do! Druva's W. Curtis Preston (Mr. Backup) and Stephen Manley relate backup stories from their lengthy careers, in commemoration of this important day. Then they both wax philosophical on what they think backup and resiliency will look like five years from now.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Stephen and Curtis discuss how customers should react to the invasion of the Ukraine from a cyber security perspective. They review a series of articles from Krebs on Security that talk specifically about the Conti ransomware group and how they are responding to this crisis. This a Russian-based group that is known for targeting the backups of its victims. This episode gives solid advice on how you can be better prepared for this new threat.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

In part 2 of our enterprise series, Curtis and Stephen talk about three challenges that enterprise customers have when trying to protect their data: one very large server, many large servers, and data distributed across many locations. For each of these challenges, we talk about how one would do that with an on-premises system, and then explain how we solve that problem at Druva. The Druva Data Resiliency Cloud is designed to handle all three of these challenges, and this episode will help you to understand exactly why.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

This episode of Druva's No Hardware Required explores the idea of an enterprise-class data resilience product, starting with how data protection is a little different than other parts of IT. To be enterprise-class in data protection, you really need a system that incorporates the entire environment. Stephen and Curtis also discuss how some see SaaS products as NOT being ready for the enterprise, and they explain why this simply isn't the case. In fact, they make the claim that Druva is more ready for the typical enterprise client than many of our competitors. We talk about our infinitely scalable dedupe engine, and how restores get the unlimited power that the cloud offers. (Druva competitor's products have limits on the size of their dedupe catalog, and they can only restore as fast as the server they're running on – which is typically not a very powerful one.) The way Druva is designed gives you the infinite power of the cloud, with a bill smaller than you would pay for a much less powerful system on premises.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Jatin Thaker joins us again on the podcast to talk about new and upcoming security features of the Druva Data Resiliency Cloud. First we talk about how Druva increased its support multi-factor authentication (MFA). Jatin then explains things that MFA does not protect you from, such as a rogue admin, followed by an explanation of new and upcoming features to address those risks. We talk about forcing admins to specify why a deletion is happening, and then delaying the actual deletion of any backups for a user-specified period of time. This will allow a customer to restore any backups that were either inadvertently or maliciously deleted. We then have an interesting conversation on advanced authorization, also called "four eyes" support, where two people are required to approve certain actions. We then have a discussion about other upcoming immutability features, along with talking about our support for audit logging. This is a great episode for anyone concerned about the security of their backups.

W. Curtis Preston and Stephen Manley discuss Data Privacy Day, and what that means for everyone, and especially for Druva's customers. They start with a discussion of how much more important privacy is to today's consumers, and opinions as to why that might be the case. They then give an overview of large privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, as well as some discussion on the upcoming implementation of CPRA, the update to CCPA. Finally, they discuss how all of this impacts an organization's data resiliency efforts, or how data protection can help positively impact an organization's attempts to be compliant to these various regulations. Finally, Stephen discusses a very valid point about how you should attempt to comply with these regulations even if you're not subject them.Mentioned in this episode:Free eBook copy of Modern Data ProtectionYou can get a free eBook copy of Modern Data Protection by going to druva.com/podcast.

Welcome to our re:Invent episode! This week, Stephen and Curtis discuss what Druva and its customers get from the fact that Druva runs their infrastructure on AWS, and programs specifically to its APIs. We first talk about the things you don't have to worry about at all, like physical problems with your servers (fire, flood, etc.). Then we talk about the benefits that Druva customers get because Druva partners closely with AWS, and is able to take advantage of hundreds of features as they're released. Finally, we talk about the wonderful benefits a Druva customer gets because they're using a SaaS provider, rather than having to maintain their own backup infrastructure. We hope you stop by our booth this week at AWS!

Druva is now using the term Data Resiliency to describe what we do, and some have asks us how that is different than data protection. This podcast should help, as two folks who have been in the industry a few decades (W. Curtis Preston and Stephen Manley) discuss the differences in the industry that have happened over the last several years. They then talk about how many of these changes have driven companies like Druva to be more than just backup or data protection; they must provide data resiliency.

On this podcast, we are joined by Jatin Thaker, Vice President User Experience at Druva. Jatin first explains what you must do before designing a UI, which starts with understanding the role the user will play, and therefore the type of experience they expect (e.g. VMware Administrator, Oracle DBA, etc.). He then explains the building blocks of creating a user interface, including interaction, visual elements, motion and rendering, accessibility, extensibility, internationalization, responsiveness, and more. We finish up talking about how you use these components to build composites that the user sees. Check out this interesting podcast that talks about why and how you build a good user interface.

Stephen Manley and W. Curtis Preston discuss whether or not data protection is the silver bullet to stop all ransomware. Short answer: no, it's not. We start by discussing another podcast that suggested backup vendors think we are the solution to ransomware. We don't. Then we delve into why we do think backup and DR are an important part of defending against ransomware. We also discuss whether we think they are more important than some of the other tools. We then cover some of the things Druva has done to specifically target ransomware. We also talk about ransomware attacks where backup can't help, as well as discussing other tools you should have. We conclude with a “last dollar” question: if you only had $1 left; do you spend it on backup or user training? I'll bet you know how both hosts answered.

This week we discuss the growing trend of calling something "SaaS" – when it's really nothing of the kind. We discuss what makes something SaaS (or not) and give some modern examples of things that are (and are not) SaaS. We also explain why this actually matters.

Stephen and Curtis discuss the Microsoft Azure CosmosDB vulnerability that was announced this week, and what it means to anyone using that service. (Druva is powered by AWS, so it does not use CosmosDB.) We talk about Microsoft's response and offer some guidance to anyone who might have data stored there. We also give some suggestions about how to talk to your SaaS vendors about whether or not they use this database, and what kind of data they store there.

Celeste Kinswood, Druva's Senior Product Marketing Manager for Cyber Resilience, returns to the podcast to talk about how the typical Druva customer responds during a ransomware attack. We cover how Druva integrates with SIEM and SOAR tools to make the process easier, as well has how Druva's architecture ensures that you always have an uninfected version of your data to restore. She also explains how Druva can also detect a ransomware infection and automatically respond to it.

Stephen Manley and W. Curtis Preston discuss the news that Druva was selected by Gartner as a visionary in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup & Recovery Software Solutions. This is exciting news for Druva and the SaaS industry.

Celeste Kinswood joins us on this episode of No Hardware Required to talk about why and how to protect your backups from ransomware. We talk about the challenges of traditional data protection offerings, especially on-premises backup systems based on Windows. We then talk about how Druva addresses those challenges with a unique architecture that offers at truly air-gapped solution.

This week Stephen Manley and W. Curtis Preston interview David Gildea, VP of Product at Druva. David found CloudRanger, which was acquired by Druva, which specializes in native data protection of cloud resources. He's been working exclusively in the cloud world for many years, so we thought his perspective would be a valuable one. We talk about how he feels that cloud the cloud has (or has not) lived up to its reputation, including areas where the cloud has gotten better – and even a few where it has gotten worse. We talk about how people's roles have changed, as the cloud is quite different than a datacenter. Finally, we round out the conversation talking about how companies can help their people transition to a world that is become increasingly cloud-centric.

This week we talk to David Gildea, founder of CloudRanger, who is now Director of Product at Druva. We discuss what it's like to back up AWS workloads at scale. We start with a high-level overview of Druva's AWS backup offering, and morph that into a discussion of what it's like to do things without it. We draw an analogy to Dave Hitz's comment that he used to make about NetApp, "I liked my first filer; I loved my tenth, and I hated the 100th." David thinks managing AWS backup by yourself is a lot like that. It'll get you so far, but at some point you're going to want some help. The good news is Druva is there to fill in the gap with centralized, mulit-account, cross-account, and cross-region backup that is simple to set up and run.

Preethi Srinivasan joins us again on the podcast to discuss what she sees as the current trends in computing, as well as one trend she thinks is still in the future. We talk about Kubernetes, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Quantum Computing, and where all of them should fit into a company's innovation strategy.

We're joined this week by Preethi Srinivasan, Druva's Director of Innovation, to talk about how to innovate in today's digital world. She talks about the importance about building a strategy based on a customer-centric view, rather than one based on what your competitor is doing. Also look for areas of functionality adjacent to what you already do, versus trying to invent an entirely different wheel. Join us this week for this interesting discussion.

Drew Daniels, Druva's CISO and CIO, joins us again on the podcast to discuss how to manage the security risk that third parties pose to your organization. We talk contractors, service providers, and SaaS products your company may be using. One of the key concepts covered is transparency between vendor and customer, to ensure that everyone is following modern security best practices.

Druva's CISO and CIO Drew Daniels joins us on this episode to discuss how ransomware is really only a symptom of a bigger problem in your environment. Drew talks about how Druva fights cyber attacks, especially how we train and test our own people to recognize phishing attacks. He then gives advice on what you can do in you environment to combat these growing threats.

Stephen Manley and W. Curtis Preston pay a World Backup Day tribute to the people keeping us safe from oblivion: backup admins. We also pay tribute to those who aren't backup admins, but always keep backups in mind. Thank you to both groups. This day's for you!

Three amazing women in technology join this episode of No Hardware Required, dedicated to women's history month. Lisa Martin hosts, with guests Gina Rosenthal of Digital Sunshine Solutions and Vanessa Toves of Druva. They celebrate women's history month by discussing their histories: how they got to this point in their career, and women that inspired them along the way. Join us for this special episode!

After our previous predictions episode, we thought we'd do a non-predictions podcast! Stephen Manley and Prasanna Malaiyandi join W. Curtis Preston to talk about all the things we don't think are going to happen this year. We talk about doing everything in Kubernetes, running apps in multiple clouds, in-person conferences, and more. We have a little fun, but we also will give you a few things to think about.

Stephen Manley and W. Curtis wax philosophical, pull out their crystal ball, and try to predict what's going to happen in the data protection space in 2021. We talk about ransomware, the cloud, the proliferation of SaaS, and a few other things we think are going to happen this year. We hope you enjoy the episode

Russ Cantwell, CTO of SHI International, joins us on the episode to discuss Kubernetes (K8s), persistent storage, and how all of that affects data protection. He explains the evolving nature of persistent storage, which currently culminates in the Container Storage Interface (CSI). He explains how things have coalesced around this idea, but there are still others in the works. Finally, we talk about how data protection is affected by K8s.

Russ Cantwell, CTO of SHI international, joins W. Curtis Preston and Stephen Manley of Druva to explain how SHI's customers have been adjusting to the pandemic. He first talks about how they have adjusted their security posture out of necessity, allowing for some companies to have more modern security practices, methods, products and services. He also talks about how companies are using more and more SaaS services such as Microsoft365. We then discuss the idea of data-centric security (vs the traditional datacenter-centric model), and what that actually means. We finish the podcast with a discussion about what modern resiliency practices look like, where companies have gone from designing to avoid failure to design to expect failure – which is a perfect dovetail into the discussion on our next podcast on Kubernetes.

Vanessa Toves joins us again to talk about advanced uses of Microsoft 365, and how SharePoint is much more than just a document repository. She also explains how using the advanced features of Microsoft365 actually increases your need for data protection. She gives us a detailed look at PowerBI, a tool to help automate things in Microsoft 365. Finally, we wax philisophical about why not everyone thinks they need to backup cloud and SaaS-based data – and why that opinion is misguided.

Vanessa Toves, Druva's Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect, joins us on this episode to explain some unique things about Microsoft 365. Specifically, she discusses a few scenarios that she says are quite common in the field, and are unrecoverable without a backup. She talks about accidentally deleting someone from a group, or deleting a group itself. There is nothing within SharePoint to tell you who was in a group yesterday. The same goes for SharePoint library permissions, which also commonly get misconfigured in the field. She explains how these are very common helpdesk tickets at previous customers of hers (when she was a Microsoft365 consultant), and how there is no way to recover this information without a third-party backup like Druva's inSync.