Case Study: Meeting UMC’s Backup Challenges with a Comprehensive Huawei Cloud Solution for Office 365 and On-Premises Servers

Overview: United Motors Company’s (UMC) Digital Landscape

United Motors Group (UMG) has been a respected leader in Saudi Arabia’s automotive industry since 1986. As the exclusive Holding Company for the renowned Kia brand in the 7 Western Provinces of Saudi Arabia and the representative of JETOUR across all regions, UMG is known for its strong market presence and excellence in service.

UMC, a subsidiary of UMG, needed to enhance its backup infrastructure for both its Office 365 environment and on-premises servers. With 700 users relying on Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive, and SharePoint, UMC sought a comprehensive solution to ensure efficient backup processes, improved IT efficiency, and data security. They turned to iVolve Technologies for a seamless, cloud-first solution.

The Challenge: Complex Backup Needs Across Office 365 and On-Premises Servers

As UMC’s operations expanded, so did their backup requirements. The company’s primary challenges were:

• Complex Office 365 Backup: UMC needed a reliable and secure way to back up data across 700 users, including Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
• On-Premises Backup: With existing Hyper-V-based servers, UMC also required an on-premises backup solution that could work harmoniously with their Office 365 environment.
• Efficient Management: The company needed a solution that provided robust backup capabilities and was easy to manage and scale as their data grew.

UMC needed a trusted partner who could design and deploy a solution that would ensure smooth, uninterrupted backup processes, providing both on-premises and cloud infrastructure support.

Methodology: Tailored Solution for UMC’s Hybrid Environment

At iVolve Technologies, we took a structured and phased approach to solving UMC’s backup challenges, utilizing Huawei Cloud as the backbone of the solution.

1. Comprehensive Needs Analysis

• Backup Requirements Assessment: We conducted a thorough review of UMC’s existing backup infrastructure, identifying key areas for improvement, including backup speed, data management, and recovery.
• Hybrid Cloud Strategy: Given UMC’s mix of Office 365 and on-premises infrastructure, we proposed a hybrid approach to seamlessly manage both environments.

2. Solution Design and Technology Selection

• Veeam Backup for Office 365 (VBO): We selected Veeam VBO as the ideal solution for UMC’s Office 365 backup needs, providing secure and reliable backups for Exchange, OneDrive, and SharePoint across all 700 users.
• On-Premises Backup Integration: For UMC’s on-premises servers running on Hyper-V, we deployed Veeam Backup & Replication, ensuring that all critical data from these servers was securely backed up and easily recoverable.
• Huawei Cloud Integration: Huawei Cloud’s SSD Block Storage provided the storage capacity required for backups, ensuring high performance and data availability. Elastic IP was implemented for efficient connectivity.

3. Deployment and Optimization

• Seamless Migration to Huawei Cloud: We ensured that the migration to Huawei Cloud was smooth and seamless, with minimal disruption to UMC’s daily operations.
• Scalable Backup Infrastructure: We designed the system to be scalable, allowing UMC to expand storage and processing power as their backup needs grew.
• Managed Services: We offered ongoing managed services, ensuring the backup processes remained optimized and that UMC had access to 24/7 support for any potential issues.

iVolve’s Solution: A Comprehensive Backup Strategy on Huawei Cloud

To meet UMC’s hybrid backup requirements, iVolve Technologies implemented a robust, future-proof infrastructure on Huawei Cloud. Our solution included:

1. Veeam Backup for Office 365 (VBO)
   We deployed Veeam VBO to cover the full scope of Office 365 services, including Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive, and SharePoint, ensuring comprehensive data protection for all 700 users. The backups were automatically scheduled and optimized to minimize downtime and ensure data accessibility.
2. SSD Block Storage
   Leveraging Huawei Cloud’s SSD Block Storage, we provided UMC with high-performance storage for their growing backup data. The solution ensured quick data retrieval, essential for maintaining efficient operations and business continuity.
3. Elastic IP for Network Flexibility
   By integrating Elastic IP, we ensured smooth and flexible network performance, allowing UMC to access their backup systems securely and without disruption.
4. On-Premises Backup with Veeam and Hyper-V
   For their Hyper-V-based servers, we implemented an on-premises Veeam Backup solution, which provided fast, reliable backups and the ability to quickly restore critical data in case of server failure.
5. Managed Services
   Our managed services ensured that UMC’s backup system was continuously monitored and optimized, reducing the need for manual intervention and ensuring maximum uptime and data security.

The Impact: Streamlined Backup Operations and Improved IT Efficiency

The backup solution delivered by iVolve Technologies provided UMC with:

• Efficient Data Backup for 700 Users
  By implementing Veeam VBO for Office 365, UMC now benefits from efficient and secure backups of critical services like Exchange, OneDrive, and SharePoint, reducing the risk of data loss.
• Seamless On-Premises and Cloud Integration
  Our hybrid solution allowed UMC to seamlessly manage backups for both their Office 365 environment and on-premises servers, streamlining operations and improving overall IT efficiency.
• Accelerated Application Delivery
  With optimized storage and backup processes, UMC was able to accelerate their application delivery, reducing downtime and ensuring smooth operations.
• Reduced Risk and Increased Scalability
  The robust infrastructure significantly reduced data loss risk, while the scalable solution ensured that UMC could expand as their needs grew, with confidence in their IT systems’ resilience.

Key Takeaways: Powering UMC’s Backup Strategy with Huawei Cloud and iVolve Expertise

Through our collaboration with UMC, iVolve Technologies successfully transformed their backup infrastructure, combining Veeam VBO and Huawei Cloud to deliver a solution that is scalable, secure, and easy to manage. Our hybrid cloud approach empowered UMC to safeguard their data, improve IT efficiency, and future-proof their operations.