ETI-NET: Better protecting the NonStop Community from Ransomware

What we have come to appreciate over the years here at ETI-NET is the true meaning of community. There may be times when it might be left unsaid that the questions raised by some about the need for the community to get together rather than just doing so virtually, however, when it comes to the NonStop community there is so much tradition and networking associated with NonStop events that with each passing year the gatherings become even more meaningful.

When you consider the true meaning of the NonStop community the value created by events is hard to ignore. Bringing together members of the HPE NonStop development team together with members of the field, sales and support groups and then add the presence of independent NonStop development organizations as well as the NonStop users themselves and you have a formula for lively interactions that oftentimes lead to the creation of additional products and features.

For ETI-NET we enjoy a close working relationship with the HPE NonStop team, these interactions are the ideal proving ground where ideas percolate up to where recognizable trends can be identified and where taking the next step and translating them into product features is an easy step to take. Perhaps nowhere has this been more influential on ETI-NET than with the user community openly talking about embracing cloud computing.

Whether this involves tapping the resources of a public cloud service provider or simply integrating NonStop into private cloud infrastructures, the elasticity of provisioning and the access to otherwise inaccessible services hold the promise for NonStop of even greater participation in the mission critical application support within an enterprise. In just a short time, the NonStop community gathers in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the pan-European BITUG event. Expectations are high that further news about NonStop and its support of clouds will feature strongly in many vendor presentations. And once again, ETI-NET will be Gold Sponsor of the event.

“Watching the rise of cloud computing proved invaluable to ETI-NET and the discussion around cloud computing were the catalyst for further development and indeed, moves to license additional capabilities to better support the NonStop community,” said Benoit Caron, who was newly appointed to the role of COO at ETI-NET. With this appointment we will be seeing less of former COO, Sylvain Tétreault, even though he will be continuing to provide support in his new role of Chief Strategy Officer at ETI-NET.

In social media promotions in 2023, it was Sylvain who said; “conversations we have been having with our customers have centered on how best to access external resources in a cost effective, non-disruptive manner with minimal risk. Inexpensive secondary storage held the promise of being able to reduce the overall need for storage even as it afforded the NonStop community additional levels of security.” As we talked to our customers such references concerning tapping the services and resources of popular cloud services providers were making complete sense.

“We are indeed glad that Sylvain will stay engaged in his new role despite his retirement. He has been a part of ETI-NET for almost twenty years,” said Benoit Caron. “Sylvain came to us after spending fifteen years at Tandem Computers and participated in NonStop user events for a very long time. His earliest memories are of ITUG Summit he first attended in 2005. Among his biggest personal highlights while holding a sales position at ETI-NET was the signing of a major credit card company as well as winning business for ETI-NET at one of the largest banks in America. However, it is perhaps the more recent work, as a COO, which led to the creation of the relationships with HPE and QoreStor that stand out as being successes that makes us appreciate Sylvain.”

For all attendees at NonStop user events, ETI-NET has been the recognizable leader in file back-up products, traditional and now, virtual. With our Virtual Tape Controller (VTC) NonStop users can back up to virtual tape on-premise or to the cloud with the help of our QoreStor option and this has come about because of the requirements of NonStop users. Cloud computing isn’t going away and with the move by HPE to ensure the “cloud experience comes to you,” it has become the foundation for much of what HPE is pursuing today. 

The introduction of BackBox With QoreStor® represents a significant sea-change for ETI-NET. Licensing QoreStor® from Quest Software, provided us with an industry leading data deduplication capability. Support for immutable storage, air-gapped for greater security, addresses security concerns that for the NonStop community have already proved worrying to many enterprises. With this capability ETI-NET provides protection against one of the most newsworthy security concerns; Ransomware. 

Whereas BackBox and virtual BackBox both support secondary storage options, as in providing safe file backup, it is now an option with BackBox and virtual BackBox to wind back files to pre-Ransomware state even as the enterprise addresses the task of detecting and then eliminating whatever approach was taken in launching a Ransomware attack. For as long as the NonStop community has gathered for major events like BITUG, there was the perception that an isolated NonStop system was immune to such attacks.

Security by obscurity was a popular saying of the day. However, in a highly networked IT environment security breaches can no longer be so dismissed; it is no longer a case of “if a breach” but rather, “when a breach” and for these reasons, leveraging QoreStor from Quest will prove beneficial to all NonStop users. Just knowing that there is an option available to them should keep the NonStop community better prepared for that time “when breached!”

Look for ETI-NET presentations at BITUG and then again, at the end of year NonStop Technical BootCamp 2023 (where ETI-NET will be supporting the community as a Platinum Sponsor) to provide further updates on BackBox With QoreStor® including updates on how better to recover from Ransomware attacks. However, should you not be able to attend either event or simply need to talk to us sooner, you can reach the ETI-NET team through the use of the contact information, below. We look forward to hearing from you just as we look forward to catching up with you at NonStop community events planned for the remainder of the year!

Web – http://etinet.com
Phone – (514) 663-0501