“The combination of Veeam and Wasabi was an easy choice for us, and we have been extremely satisfied with the solution.”

– Keith Booms, Associate Technical Director of Infrastructure at Madonna University

Overview

Founded in 1937, Madonna University (MU) is a private Catholic university in Livonia, Michigan, educating close to 2,500 students. The university offers fully remote and in-person programs for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Madonna University manages large amounts of data– between decades of archives and the day-to-day software needed to enable in-person and remote learning–so having an effective data storage solution is crucial for Madonna University’s infrastructure.

Limited storage capacity drives the search for a new solution

Madonna University’s previous offsite backup storage couldn’t use the hardware they owned and instead had to rely on the vendor’s hardware. “Our previous vendor had their own equipment, which was far from competitive in the market,” said Joshua Stotts, CIO at Madonna University. “Plus, the amount of offsite storage capacity we had was minimal.” So, when Madonna University reached the renewal point of their vendor contract, the IT team began to look for cost-effective alternatives by contacting university network colleagues, leading to recommendations for a backup solution with Veeam and Wasabi.

Wasabi + Veeam provide seamless backup and ransomware mitigation

Wasabi’s technology alliance partnership with Veeam offers a simple data backup and storage solution coupled with secure data protection. Veeam excels as an industry leader in modern backup and recovery solutions, while Wasabi’s hot cloud storage is a natural fit with Veeam. Together, the technology partners offer affordable, predictable, and secure cloud storage for Madonna University’s backup data. Due to their integration as technology alliance partners, Wasabi and Veeam’s backup solution provides seamless ease of use for Madonna University. “The time to back up our data compared to competitor solutions is a lot faster,” said Keith Booms, Associate Technical Director of Infrastructure at Madonna University. “From the restores I’ve had to do from Wasabi directly to Veeam, there haven’t been any issues with recovering any data.” For Madonna University, having protected and encrypted data, paired with accessibility and cost-effectiveness, yielded a holistic solution that addressed all of their needs.

Reserved Capacity Storage provides predictable costs for Madonna University

In addition to Veeam and Wasabi’s accessible and compatible joint solution, Madonna University has vastly benefitted from Wasabi’s predictable and cost-effective storage costs. Stotts and the team at Madonna University use Wasabi’s Reserved Capacity Storage (RCS) pricing model, purchasing a reserved block of storage for a committed period with annual renewal options. Because RCS storage is priced at a discounted rate up-front, the team at Madonna University was safely able to predict their long-term storage costs. “The pricing model works well for our budget because we can predict our costs and keep them contained,” said Stotts. “The price point is still very competitive for us, and we have some breathing space without having to be concerned with budgets, contract renewals, or efforts to come up with additional funding.” Wasabi and Veeam provide Madonna University with a high-quality storage and backup solution where the university doesn’t have to sacrifice its budget. “We’re storing about six times as much as we could with our previous vendor, and Wasabi’s price point is still very competitive.”

Conclusion

Thanks to Veeam and Wasabi, Madonna University found an ideal, long-term backup and storage solution. Given their previous storage constraints and budgeting needs, Madonna University was able to address all of their concerns at once. Booms shared “The combination of Veeam and Wasabi was an easy choice for us, and we have been extremely satisfied with the solution.”