Frequently Asked Questions
What is an enterprise data protection platform?+
An enterprise data protection platform provides unified backup, recovery, data classification, compliance mapping, and cyber resilience capabilities across on-premises, cloud, and SaaS environments. It replaces fragmented point solutions with integrated architecture that protects and governs enterprise data at scale, typically supporting petabytes of data across thousands of workloads.
How much does enterprise data protection cost?+
Enterprise data protection platform costs typically range from £100,000 to £2M+ annually depending on data volume, workload count, and feature requirements. Pricing models include per-workload, per-TB protected, or capacity-based licensing. Cloud-native platforms offer consumption-based pricing that scales with data growth, while on-premises deployments require additional storage infrastructure investment.
Do I need a separate data protection platform if I use cloud services?+
Yes. While cloud providers offer native backup services, these protect only within their own ecosystem and do not provide unified management across multi-cloud and on-premises environments. Enterprise data protection platforms provide consistent policy enforcement, centralised compliance reporting, and cross-environment recovery orchestration that native cloud tools cannot deliver independently.
How does data protection differ from data security?+
Data protection focuses on ensuring data availability and recoverability — backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Data security focuses on preventing unauthorised access — encryption, access controls, and threat detection. Modern enterprise platforms increasingly merge both disciplines, with data protection platforms adding security capabilities like anomaly detection and data classification.
What recovery time should I expect from an enterprise platform?+
Leading enterprise data protection platforms deliver recovery times ranging from minutes for critical VMs to hours for full-environment restoration. Instant recovery capabilities mount backup data directly as production workloads, enabling near-zero downtime for Tier 1 applications. Recovery time depends on data volume, network bandwidth, and platform architecture — always validate claimed RTOs through non-disruptive recovery testing.
How do enterprise platforms handle GDPR compliance?+
Enterprise data protection platforms support GDPR compliance through automated data discovery and classification (identifying personal data across all environments), data subject access request fulfilment (locating all data related to an individual), retention policy enforcement (automatically deleting data beyond retention periods), and continuous compliance evidence generation for DPA accountability requirements.
Can enterprise data protection platforms protect SaaS applications?+
Yes — leading platforms protect major SaaS applications including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, and ServiceNow through API-level integration. SaaS protection is increasingly critical as organisations discover that SaaS provider shared responsibility models do not include granular data recovery, long-term retention, or protection against accidental deletion by users.
What is immutable backup and why does it matter?+
Immutable backup storage prevents any modification or deletion of backup data for a defined retention period — even by administrators with the highest privilege levels. This protects against ransomware that targets backup infrastructure, insider threats that attempt to destroy recovery points, and accidental deletion. Immutability is now considered a baseline requirement for enterprise data protection.