At Control24, HPE’s Shariq Aqil and Sasha Acosta delivered a keynote that challenged the status quo. At Predatar we always strive to thinking differently, so this session was right up our street. It wasn’t just the content, but the refreshing perspective on recovery assurance that really stood out.
Some in the backup community might have felt uncomfortable with the discussion, which centred around the limitations of traditional backup – Particularly when it comes to speed of recovery. But for us, it was exactly the kind of forward-thinking conversation that needs to happen. It’s not about undermining backup, it’s about recognising the growing importance of answering the question, how fast can you recover?
The Challenge: Is Backup Being Dismissed?
“Customers are looking for new ways to recover their data and minimise data loss”
When Shariq Aqil stated this, it might have sounded like a challenge to traditional backup solutions, which, while reliable, can often take time to restore data after an incident. And yes, time is the issue. In high-risk situations like ransomware attacks, businesses can’t afford the luxury of waiting weeks to access their critical systems.
But let’s be clear. HPE isn’t dismissing backup. It’s a vital part of the cyber resilience toolkit. Instead, Shariq was pointing out that recovery speed has become a non-negotiable factor in today’s fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
The Reality: It’s About Recovery Assurance, Not Backup
Shariq’s message wasn’t that traditional backup is obsolete. What he was really saying is that recovery is the new battleground. Backup protects the data, but the real test comes when you need to restore it. That’s where tools like Zerto’s Continuous Data Protection (CDP) step in. Unlike traditional backup, which is typically done every 24 hours, CDP replicates data continuously, ensuring businesses can recover within minutes and lose only seconds of data.
As Sasha Acosta explained during the session,
“Leveraging traditional backup technology is very complex. There’s a lot of different steps involved, and getting that data back can take over four weeks, which today, is simply unacceptable.”
That’s not a slight against backup; it’s a recognition that in today’s climate, speed of recovery is just as important as having the data backed up in the first place.
The Bigger Picture: Recovery Assurance
At Predatar, we’re all about making sure that recovery isn’t just possible, but guaranteed. That’s why Predatar provides Recovery Assurance. Our focus is on giving businesses confidence that their data can be recovered quickly when it matters most.
Shariq made the importance of Recovery Assurance clear when he stated.
“We are very happy that we’ve got a great solution when it comes to Recovery Assurance from Predatar.”
This highlights our ongoing collaboration and commitment to delivering real-world solutions that balance protection with recovery speed.
So, Is HPE Being Controversial?
To some, it might have seemed like HPE was dismissing backup in favour of newer technologies, but the reality is much more nuanced. What they’re saying is that recovery speed is critical and businesses need to rethink their strategies in the face of modern cyber threats. It’s not about choosing between backup and recovery, but about ensuring you have the right mix to stay resilient.
At Predatar, we love these kinds of conversations – They challenge assumptions, drive the narrative forward, and ultimately helping businesses not just survive but thrive in a landscape where ransomware and other cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated.
Backup protects your data, but fast recovery saves your business. That’s the real message we took away from HPE’s session at Control24, and we couldn’t agree more.
To learn more about HPE’s Cyber Resilience Vault with Zerto and Predatar you can watch Shariq and Sasha session from Control24 on-demand now. The event recording is available here.
