Merging technology and business objectives for meeting the client’s needs: Data Deposit Box (DDB)

Wish to take your company to new heights but tight on resources and cannot avail the benefits of the latest and great technology? No worries. Take cue from Data Deposit Box.

The brainchild of Troy Cheeseman, DDB has made the saying “A business need not avail the latest technology always to succeed but can utilize the available technology in an effective manner to achieve one’s business objectives”, come true.

“We blend technology and our clients’ needs apart from our business objectives to be successful in our endeavors. For example, as businesses move towards virtualizing more machines through VMware or HyperV, you will need to make sure that you can efficiently back those machines ups.  Older legacy technology wouldn’t be able to do that efficiently as backup windows are getting smaller and smaller as more and more businesses go global”, says Troy.

Founded in 2002, when the term ‘cloud’ was not even coined, DDB believed that all machines should have a backup. Back then the self-funded company worked hard each day and faced lots of ups and downs, to enable the company to make a mark in the domain now.  With multiple petabytes of data under management, 2 data centers (with more to be announced), the company recently broke the 200,000 account mark and attributes its success  to its dedicated team of employees and valued clientele.

Present and Future focus areas

The company that currently focuses on Virtualization BMR for physical devices (DDB can already do Virtual BMR) and Enhanced mobile protection (DDB can backup IOS and Android), ultimately plans to focus on bridging the gaps to make our solution the COMPLETE backup and recovery solution for the SMB market.

In conversation with the Founder

 What kind of day to day challenges does DDB face? What kinds of  challenges do you as a key executive face?

There has been a lot of consolidation in the backup market in terms of companies being acquired, companies going out of business and companies merging together.  The space has become commoditized and hence the prices have come down drastically. Many cloud backup providers also operate on unprofitable business models like unlimited backup forever for pennies. DDB has never been the cheapest provider and never will be as cloud backup is not about the backup process, it’s about the restore. Hence why we invest heavily to ensure that you can restore your data when you need it the most.

As a key executive you face proving why your solution and price are what a client should choose daily.  When people say to me, “oh you’re another cloud backup provider” I respond to, no, “We are THE cloud backup provider” as we’ve done this for close to 13 years without ever having a restore problem.

Why should DDB be  chosen over competitors, by clients?

We heavily invest in our technology (both software and hardware) to ensure 100% restore success and offer 5 different backup clients to backup (PC, MAC, Server, IOS and Android). Most importantly we have been in the market for 13+ years and I think our ever increasing 200,000+ accounts, bears adequate testimony to our capabilities. I don’t think we have neck to neck competition with anyone at the moment as we are a one of a kind company!

Do you feel that the advent of Cloud has benefitted DDB and its successful growth over the years?

We were in the “cloud backup businesses” before the company was named as “Cloud” and we called it a remote or offsite backup. I think the popularity of the “Cloud” has helped the overall market by solidifying that effectiveness and efficiency of outsourcing applications and services to the cloud.

What prompted you to set up DDB?

When Tim Jewell started DDB he thought that all devices should be backed up. That was the simple idea and he thought the best way to do this was continuously collect data.  Hence what he developed and later was granted a patent for DDB’s CDP (continuous data protection)process. You simply install our product and set it and forget it.

Where do you envision DDB, 5-10 years down the line form today?

Definitely still in the backup and recovery business. Things will have changed by then but the idea that all data will need to be backed up will still exist. It will actually be MORE critical in the future as data is the future. The devices that need to be protected might be different but the idea of protecting them will remain.

Eg: Even now the cloud is being backed up. For example, Office 365 which is a hosted service now allows you to back up that data.  Backup will continue to evolve for many years to come and we will be at the cusp of it.

With newer technology and competitors do you think DDB can survive the challenges of the rat race?

We are definitely not just sitting still.  Long gone are the days that there wasn’t competition. To survive you need to innovate and never lose sight of the competition. Even though the market is HUGE, you will still need to be cutting edge in operations, price and in technology. The devices or locations might change but backup is here to stay. We will continuously innovate to stay current in the market.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Petabytes of data
• Over 200,000 accounts
• Went public on the CSE (a small Canadian stock exchange – also traded on the German exchange)
• Cash flow and profitable since 2005 (self-funded until mid 2015)
• 3 data centers (Canada, USA & Asia)