The CLOUD is a word that's used regularly these days and yet its true meaning is often misunderstood. Cloud Computing is simply where your information, data and IP is stored and often operated outside of your physical building and in almost all cases somewhere physically unknown to you. This can present benefits and drawbacks depending on what you are storing and how it could impact your business.
By storing data in the CLOUD you have lost control of its security and protection, instead assigning that task to a provider which you clearly trust. Choosing the company that you trust is probably the most important decision in making the jump to Cloud hosting and should be given careful consideration.
Choosing GEN who were in fact the very first company to offer Cloud Services anywhere is a smart choice not only due to our long heritage and experience but because we tick all the boxes
- Your Data is stored in the UK and EU Securely.
- Your Data is always stored in more than one physical location.
- Your Data is protected by 24/7 network monitoring.
- Your Data is ALWAYS encrypted at rest with military grade protection.
- Our Staff will never have access to your data unless you specifically permit it.
So if you're considering venturing into the Cloud or you're already there and suffering performance issues or worse then contact us for pricing and confidence.
Docker Nodes
Docker containers wrap a piece of software in a complete filesystem that contains everything needed to run: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries – anything that can be installed on a server. This guarantees that the software will always run the same, regardless of its environment and now you can host your docker applications on GEN Hosted Servers either Virtual or Dedicated.
We provide both Private Containers and Managed Nodes from as little as £19/Month either publically, locally or via SAS. There are just so many possible options to a Docker provision that you should discuss your requirements with a Technical Consultant. Fill out the Contact Us Form and the right person will call you right back.
Secure Online Backup
When it comes to backing up your server there are numerous companies offering backup software that will store your data in the cloud for some fixed fee or variable fee based on storage. This might sound like a great idea and a replacement for your hardware backup process, but there are several key issues to consider.
Firstly, where is your data at?
Whilst these online backup vendors may claim to have high security and all that jazz, where is your data actually stored? Who is storing it and more importantly how secure is it? If all you need to access your backup is a username and password then that's all anyone would need to access your entire backup! Some may claim to store it in an encrypted state, but yet again, how is that encryption implemented? Where is the key stored? more than likely on the same server which defeats the whole purpose and reduces 'encryption' to just another misleading selling point. Speaking of selling points, if you browse enough websites your'll see wording like 'multiple data centres in multiple continents' which means... we're not going to tell you where your data is stored. If its stored in the EU then certain legislation comes into force, but that's rarely the case and you still have very limited recourse against a company overseas.
Secondly, How does it work?
Does the 'special software' that you have to install backup everything or just some things? Does it keep multiple versions and do you even need that? What protocol is used to send that data, and how is that secured? If you actually can find answers to this then your doing really well, but these are key questions surely. Let's assume that you have 1TB of data that you want to backup and let's also assume that you have a generic business broadband service operating at the maximum speed of 80:20, then technically it would take 179 hours even without taking account of encryption & protocol overheads. That's 7 days with your internet service flat out saturated to backup that data, and that's great and nicely brings me on to the next issue...
Disaster? No problems, its backed up online!
Ok, so your server catches fire or gets stolen and you've got a new one maybe next day and then spend a day to set it up which takes us to two full days without any server, and now you need to install the special software and then wait another 7 days for your data to return. That's 9 full days without file services and who needs that? This is by far the biggest issue with online backup, but it doesn't have to be if you buy smart.
The GEN solution
We know online backup is cool, but we also know that the number one priority is how easy it is to get it all back urgently. With this in mind we have developed a series of services that fit perfectly into this marketplace and eliminate all those issues. Here's how it works:
We have a local backup option which incrementally back's up your server on a timeline basis. This provides near instant access to multigenerational backup's of your key files, but this on-site backup is just as vulnerable to fire, flood and theft so we complement this with an online backup solution using industry standard secure protocols that runs transparently in the background overnight (so it won't slow down your internet connection in the day) and that is stored in the UK by US.
We have, as an option two additional services that complete the disaster recover picture:
Same Day Data Return: We will take all your data from the backup, transfer that to portable media and ship it back to you SAME DAY. That's your data, in your hands, same day instead of 7 days later.
Same Day Cold Swap: Completing the disaster recovery circle is our Cold Swap service where we won't ship your data back same day, instead we'll ship a fully configured and restored replacement server to you SAME DAY.
Both the above services are available as next day options at a reduced cost.
So, if your looking for an automated backup option that doesn't rely on someone taking tapes home and gives you the maximum flexibility and response then contact us today for a formal quotation.
WebDrive Secure Storage
When it comes to cloud based storage there are so many options but few with the flexibility and security of GEN WebDrive. The WebDrive service is principally a hosted online storage repository from 1GB to 32TB (in increments) which provides the following enhanced features:
- High Grade TLS Transport Encryption
- High Grate Filesystem level Encryption
- Web Based Access from any browser to your customised Interface.
- WebDAV Access from any enabled Client
- RSYNC mirroring to any compatible rsync host (such as GEN Managed Storage Options).
- Syncing to Tablets and Mobile Devices via the App.
- Online Backup and secure storage.
As with most GEN hosted services, you can connect your hosted website directly to WebDrive to store form data, registration information, read user lists etc all within the secure framework. An common example of this would be a secure form on your website that captures registration data - you don't have to worry about sending that data via email you can simply dump it into your secure storage area in CSV/XLS/XML format for direct synchronisation to your corporate systems.
You may select all or just a few of the above features and have them enabled by user or by service. For additional security you may add GEN SAS as the access method to provide endpoint protection and authentication.