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Singapore-based enterprise data management provider Kronicles (Asia) is differentiating its backup-as-a-service (BaaS) solution for small and medium businesses (SMBs) from other offerings in the market that typically provide on-site backup via a network storage device, which can be damaged in a disaster, or remote backup over the cloud, which can mean long recovery times over a slow Internet connection.

Kronicles claims it is the first in the region to provide a fully managed and monitored backup service featuring both on-site and off-site backup, via a dedicated link. It is offered for a monthly fee with neither upfront costs nor staff and maintenance costs.

In Singapore, the Kronicles BaaS solutions start from a Gold package costing S$5,000 a month that includes 200GB to 1TB of data backup, support for three to 10 Windows servers and up to 30-day history. Tax rebates are available until 2015 to help defray the costs for Singapore-based corporations using innovative technologies.

"Our BaaS is based on enterprise-grade technology as well as reliability delivered through an intelligent, round the clock, end-to-end system monitoring and management system," said Piti Pramotedham, Group CEO of Kronicles (Asia).

In the customer's office, a periphery onsite device (POD) transparently backs up data from a customer's e-mail and application servers, for example, and keeps it for up to 30 days. Using a local network, the POD can back up and recover files without requiring a slower Internet connection.

Each day, in the off-hours, the data is copied over a dedicated link to Kronicles' secure data facility for off-site protection. A local copy of data for everyday operations is stored on Kronicles' cloud for business continuity and another copy on linear tape-open (LTO) tape for long-term archival.

"Whether the scenario is at a manufacturing plant where a staff has accidentally overwritten the production schedule, or at a construction firm looking up its previous tax returns to bolster its standing in a tender bid, the necessary data can be called up to ensure the business processes are executed smoothly," said Pramotedham.

Kronicles operates in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Its partners include StarHub, Quantum and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

StarHub, its premier reseller in Singapore, provides secured hosting services and reliable network connection for its backup and recovery solution designed for SMBs. "We will offer Kronicles's data backup and recovery cloud solution at a monthly subscription ... For customers' convenience, we will also support Kronicles with a complete range of after-sales services, including deployment, customer enquiries, technical support and billing," said Kevin Lim, head of Starhub's Enterprise Business Group.

"As customers put a priority on protecting and retaining their valuable information, the growing volumes of data, stricter compliance regulations and shrinking budgets, all make preserving data a big challenge," said Jeff Lebold, vice president of Quantum Asia Pacific, Kronicles' technology partner. "IT managers need real-time access to data, reliable backups and cost-effective retention."

"Regardless of the size or nature of operations, companies should identify potential threats to business disruption and have an appropriate business continuity plan to respond to and mitigate the adverse effects of a catastrophic disaster befalling them," said Gerard Tan, partner of Risk & Controls Solutions at PwC, a consulting partner of Kronicles.  

PwC performs risk assessments to identify potential threat scenarios and its potential financial and non-financial impact, develops recovery strategies, develops and documents plans, trains personnel and facilitates testing of plans.