Ransomware is a major threat to every organisation – one that doesn’t discriminate based on size or industry. ESG research reveals that 66% of businesses have suffered a ransomware attack in the last two years, and 45% have seen multiple attacks in that timeframe.
For most business, it’s a case of when, not if, they will fall victim to an attack, and this turns the spotlight not only on their ability to detect and remediate threats but recover quickly should the worst happen.
Preparing for the unthinkable
Even the most advanced cyber defences can’t stop every threat, and a determined attacker only needs to get lucky once. Whether it’s exploiting a zero-day vulnerability, stealing passwords, or utilising social engineering, cyber criminals are finding increasingly sophisticated routes of entry. Once behind your defences, an attack that is deployed in minutes can take days, weeks or months or resolve, with devastating consequences.
More than half of businesses affected by ransomware took six days or more – longer than a working week – to recover from attacks, and 73% lost at least 10% of their data in the process. Cybercriminals are also expanding their methods, moving beyond live, in-use data to focus on backups. 96% of attacks intentionally target backup systems with the intention of preventing self-remediation to drive ransom payment.
Veeam remains one of the most trusted backup platforms globally, acting as a backbone for countless data protection environments. But the resilience of any Veeam deployment depends on the storage it’s using as a backup target beneath it. Traditional systems like direct-attached storage, deduplication appliances, or DIY repositories can often result in slow recovery times, exposed vulnerabilities, or a reliance on human expertise that’s increasingly scarce and difficult to scale.
Absolute immutability for unshakeable recovery
The growing need for resilient backup targets is driving the deployment of immutable storage solutions that ensure data cannot be altered or deleted once recorded. But while this is recognised as a must-have for IT leaders (with 81% stating that immutable backup is the best ransomware defence), many of the vendor-agnostic options fail to account for the complexity of implementing immutability, and the hidden vulnerabilities that can occur when serving as a target for multiple backup solutions each with their own unique requirements.
This is where Object First stands apart as an immutability leader. Their out-of-the-box immutable storage is purpose-built to lock down data and seamlessly connect into Veeam. Unlike other solutions, Object First prioritises absolute immutability, meaning that once data is committed to storage, nobody – not even top-level administrators – can edit it.
This means data is protected even in the event of an internal threat, or an admin-level credentials exploit, ensuring backups are always protected and available for restoration.
Their secure-by-design storage is tailored for Veeam’s data protection ecosystem, supporting direct-to-object storage and Smart Object Storage API (SOSAPI) integration for simple management and efficient recovery. The solution can be deployed in just 15 minutes and creates a secure backup environment that delivers zero time-to-immutability – meaning all backups are instantly protected, without the delay windows or vulnerabilities that can jeopardise legacy storage systems and compromise data recovery.
Independent penetration testing by NCC Group has also confirmed the strength of Object First’s secure-by-default model – proving that even a full-scale credential compromise cannot override absolute immutability. For solution providers, that means a verifiable, trustworthy recovery layer that forms the foundation of business resilience for your Veeam customers.
Expand your backup offering and boost revenues
With support and enablement from Object First, our expert team helps you deliver absolute immutability to your Veeam customers, seeing them deploy and scale immutable backups as part of a 3-2-1-1-0 approach that is becoming the standard for resilience.
Seamless, purpose-built integration with Veeam offers a clear revenue opportunity within both new and existing accounts, and with a simple deployment and management experience, Object First improves overall satisfaction with Veeam to boost retention rates and ongoing renewal revenues.
Customers can also realise the compliance benefits of a backup strategy built on absolutely immutability. The deployment of Object First as part of a 3-2-1-1-0 approach can support the achievement of industry security standards such as cyber essentials and can also help to significantly reduce business insurance premiums.
Leading with an immutable backup offering not only helps you further extend the value of Veeam’s backup software, it helps you provide an effective solution to the emerging risk of ransomware exploit that is top of mind for many of your customers, reinforcing your value as a strategic cyber security partner.