German-based GFT is prioritising data protection with Own Company’s backup and recovery solution, ensuring robust data security and peace of mind for its day-to-day operations.
With over 37 years of experience and a team exceeding 12,000 employees, German-based GFT has no shortage of data. As a Digital Transformation company, it’s at the heart of everything it does. The company realised that in order to continue to grow, data protection would need to be a priority.
Leading that effort is Stephan Dusold, who has served as GFT’s CIO since 2014. He began his career at Accenture as a consultant in their Technical Architecture practice before joining the smart car division of Daimler AG and eventually moving to MOSOLF, one of Europe’s leading automotive logistics companies. At GFT, he is using his breadth of experience to finalise GFT’s cloud journey with the decommissioning of its data centres this year.
As part of that journey, Dusold and GFT adopted Salesforce in 2022 as its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Recognising its potential to streamline sales processes, manage pipelines and provide a stellar customer experience, GFT knew its Salesforce data would be critical to the business.
“Data is the fuel of modern business, and we are very vigilant to protect it,” Dusold explains.
GFT quickly realised, however, that to protect its data it needed capabilities beyond what native Salesforce tools could provide. Pawel Kozdrowicz, GFT’s SaaS Technical Specialist, understood that when it came to backup and recovery, you can’t have one without the other.
“We were using the standard Salesforce functionality, which provided copies of the data we needed,” Kozdrowicz explains. But it was going to be hard to use in case we needed to compare or restore our database.”
The team knew that to continue growing the company, it needed a reliable solution – one independent of Salesforce.
“We were looking into several backup and recovery solutions and had demos with solution providers. Own Company was our first choice as it is a robust and reliable solution,” said Dusold. “The most valuable part of Own is that it’s straightforward to use and configure. We can perform large data comparisons quickly with minimal effort.”
GFT says that luckily, it has never had a data loss incident, but knows it is always possible.
“We keep our security at the highest level, minimising the chances that a data loss will occur. However, it’s important to us to have a solution in place if anything happens,” said Dusold.
Despite never experiencing a data loss incident, Kozdrowicz and team have found that Own has become part of its day-to-day operations at GFT, including:
● Regularly downloading the latest full version of its full backup
● Monitoring alerts
● Scheduling manual backups in preparation for new releases in its organisation
● Comparing functionality to troubleshoot inconsistencies in its data
With a robust data security strategy, GFT can confidently focus on growth and continue delivering exceptional service to its clients.
“Own gives peace of mind because we know our data is secure,” explains Kozdrowicz. “When you add in the ease of use to this, we have a great tool that will help us in our daily work.”
Stéphane Vergnaud, Enterprise Account Executive for Germany and Austria at Own Company, tells us more about the project.
What specific challenges did GFT face in terms of data protection, and how did the company address these challenges?
GFT encountered specific challenges in terms of data protection, primarily revolving around the management of critical data within their Salesforce CRM. With users using essential functions such as timesheets and project management, safeguarding this data was paramount. Initially, GFT lacked a robust backup and recovery solution, resorting to manual sandboxes as a makeshift backup method.
GFT’s CIO Stephan Dusold emphasised the critical nature of the platform to their operations, stating that any failure within the system would result in business failure. Recognising the inadequacy of their existing approach, GFT sought a more reliable solution. Own Company stepped in as the sole provider capable of offering comprehensive backup and recovery services tailored specifically to the combination of platforms they had in place.
Ultimately, the Own platform provided GFT with peace of mind, ensuring the protection of their mission-critical data and processes. By addressing the challenges of data protection head-on, we enabled GFT to safeguard their operations and maintain continuity in their consultancy services.
How does GFT’s partnership with Own Company contribute to its overall data security strategy?
Own Company provided a strong data security strategy for GFT, becoming part of their day-to-day operations with monitoring alerts, scheduling manual backups, comparing functionality to reveal data inconsistencies, and regularly downloading the latest full version of the entire backup.
What sets Own Company’s solution apart from other options?
Own Company’s offering stood out due to its unparalleled maturity and comprehensive coverage. Own’s solution had a proven track record and extensive experience in safeguarding critical data. But what truly set Own Company apart was its ability to backup and recover the entirety of GFT’s SaaS critical data. Leveraging our strategic partnerships with SaaS providers, we were able to ensure that every facet of this critical data, integral to GFT’s operations, remained protected and recoverable.
By offering a solution that not only protects but also enables recovery from the SaaS platform, Own Company empowers organisations like GFT to navigate the complexities of data management with confidence and peace of mind.
How has the implementation of Own Company’s backup and recovery solution enhanced efficiency and productivity within GFT’s day-to-day operations?
The implementation of Own’s backup and recovery solution has helped GFT optimise its efficiency and productivity within its day-to-day operations. By seamlessly integrating with GFT’s existing SaaS applications, the Own solution has provided a robust safety net, ensuring uninterrupted access to critical data. With the assurance of comprehensive data protection, the GFT team can now focus its efforts on core business activities without the looming threat of data loss or corruption. The peace of mind that comes with this protection and security has translated into enhanced productivity, as employees can work confidently, knowing that their mission-critical data is safeguarded at all times.
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