In today's fast-paced pharmaceutical industry, managing data backup across multiple international sites while maintaining regulatory compliance can be a significant challenge. The Almac Group, a global contract development and manufacturing organization, recently demonstrated how the right backup solution can transform operations and drive efficiency.

The Challenge: Growing Pains in a Regulated Environment

With over 5,000 employees across 17 facilities spanning Europe, the US, and Asia, Almac faced a critical juncture in their data management strategy. As remote sites began generating their own production data, the company's existing backup infrastructure struggled to keep pace. The weekend backup process for just 50TB of data took a staggering 65 hours to complete across two data centers.

"The remote sites began generating their own production data, but we didn't have a local tape infrastructure for long term backup retention," explains Darren O'Neill, Infrastructure Systems Engineer at Almac. Operating in the highly regulated pharmaceutical sector meant that any solution needed to meet strict compliance requirements while maintaining operational efficiency.

The Solution: Standardization and Centralization

Rather than implementing costly local tape solutions at each site, Almac made the strategic decision to consolidate their backup strategy using Data Protector. This approach delivered several key advantages:

• Consistent Infrastructure: A standardized backup methodology across all sites
• Cost Efficiency: Leveraging existing infrastructure to minimize capital expenditure
• Centralized Management: Unified control and reporting capabilities
• Seamless Integration: Support for nearly 60 different integration points
• Scalable Licensing: A capacity-based model that adapts to company growth

Impressive Results

The implementation of Data Protector, combined with StoreOnce as the main target repository, has delivered remarkable improvements:

• 50% Faster Backups: Despite doubling data volume to 110TB, full backup time decreased from 65 to 35 hours
• Enhanced Success Rate: Significant improvement in backup completion reliability
• Streamlined Administration: Centralized management simplifying operations and restoration processes
• Full Regulatory Compliance: Meeting all industry requirements while improving efficiency

Looking to the Future

"In a 24/7 operation like Almac, with many live production systems, it is vital that we streamline and secure our backup processes," O'Neill emphasizes. The new infrastructure has positioned Almac to handle future growth while maintaining the highest standards of data protection and regulatory compliance.

The Almac Group's experience demonstrates how the right backup solution can transform operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency - all while maintaining the stringent standards required in the pharmaceutical industry. For organizations facing similar challenges, their success provides a compelling blueprint for modernizing backup infrastructure.

Read the complete Almac customer story on the OpenText website.

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