Softcat secures soft landing for Flybe's IT

VAR uses Veeam's backup and recovery product to protect airline's operations

VAR Softcat has used virtualisation specialist Veeam Software's products to overhaul airline operator Flybe's disaster recovery strategy.

The Marlow-based VAR has employed Veeam's Backup and Replication product to protect the airline's business-critical applications and website in the event of disaster.

Flybe claims that since the software was installed, data recovery times have been reduced and backups take half as long as they used to.

James Richards, virtualisation and server specialist at Flybe, said: "With thousands of reservations on an average weekday, it is no understatement to say that the website is the lifeblood of our business."

He added that a disruption to that service represents a large loss of revenue that the company simply cannot afford.

Veeam's software is commonly used to protect data stored in VMware-powered virtual environments. Its rollout at Flybe forms part of the airline's aim to move to a fully virtualised IT estate.

This goal has already seen the firm, with Softcat's help, virtualise the servers used to host its website and those employed to run its internal applications.

"As we move closer to an almost completely virtual IT infrastructure, having peace of mind in its ability to recover from any setbacks is crucial. Indeed, we are now in the situation where we can fully restore a machine and users will never be any the wiser," added Richards.