Zdenek Kostelnek and Jeff Kozuch, Acacia Systems Team

The Goal

To establish a consistent and thorough backup process, enabling quick and effective recovery from data and hardware loss.

The Assignment

  1. Analyze workflow and backup systems to ensure a thorough and failsafe approach
  2. Streamline processes to enable effective backup solution and improved company-wide productivity
  3. Provide maintenance to ensure that the backup system is thorough and consistent
  4. Restore complete working environment afteran unforeseen disaster

When Jeff Kozuch, president of Acacia Systems, met Tom Bowman, president of Bowman Design Group, neither of them knew that the relationship they were beginning would prove to be such an important factor in avoiding disastrous losses. But it’s due to their combined diligence in perfecting and maintaining a thorough backup system that a recent burglary at Bowman Design Group did not wreak havoc on the company’s fast-paced and technology-dependent business.

The relationship began in 1999 when, after having purchased an array of high-end Apple computers and creative software to support their growing exhibition design company, Bowman Design Group found themselves in need of full spectrum technical services. With their team of multimedia designers, Bowman required customized expertise as well as on-call support. They began searching for consultants on the Web, where they found Acacia Systems.

“For the past several years, our membership in the Apple Consultants Network has provided us with invaluable resources and referrals that have helped our business grow.”

— Jeff Kozuch, president
    Acacia Systems

With their wide range of expertise, specialization in Apple technology, and experience working with designers, Acacia Systems proved to be the perfect match for Bowman’s eclectic needs. Upon being hired, Acacia immediately began the mission of analyzing Bowman’s workflow with an eye for securing all of the critical data. Thanks to this foresight, all was not lost when a burglary put the backup system to its ultimate test.

The Solution

Understanding the needs of each client.
Jeff Kozuch and his team provide customized solutions, and believe that their understanding of their customers’ needs enables them to provide the greatest value. Having worked with designers in the past, Jeff had special insight into the particular needs of Bowman Design Group, a firm that specializes in trade shows, museums, air shows, and high-profile public events.

It was with this sensitivity that Jeff and his team tackled the technical challenges at Bowman where they already had a network, backup tape library, and server but a workflow that lacked consistency. Worse yet, the backup system was ineffective because the tapes were not being changed. Acacia Systems immediately recognized the need for all of the designers to have standardized tools, and saw the benefit of enabling a cooperative workflow for projects over the network. In addition, because the designers used software such as CAD, QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop, storage and backups for large files were clearly a priority.

Tom Bowman, president, Bowman Design Group and Jeff Kozuch

Providing full spectrum solutions.
Bowman Design Group was thrilled to have found a consultant who could address all of their needs. Acacia’s Apple certifications and membership in the Apple Consultants Network enabled Bowman to fully trust in their expertise to accomplish the variety of tasks at hand. Acacia set up a workgroup server, and later updated it with Xserve running Mac OS X Server. This server housed standardized tools such as fonts, virus definitions, and backup software. Though the designers retained their multimedia applications on their own Power Mac computers, their specific projects were stored on the Xserve. And thanks to Mac OS X, their individual user preferences and information were also saved on the server.

Acacia Systems also implemented a more efficient backup system. They replaced the old backup tape library with a DLT storage tape archive and, most recently, an LTO2 drive with 200 GB tapes, providing the necessary high capacity storage. They installed Dantz Retrospect on the Xserve, which enabled daily backups to be scheduled and performed automatically. Since the vital user information and project files were stored on the server, all of the critical information was backed up at the same time—effortlessly, but thoroughly.

Creating a failsafe system.
“In order to have a failsafe system, you need to have one copy onsite and one offsite,” explains Jeff Kozuch, “and be sure to rotate the backups on a regular basis.” The key to a successful backup process, he says, is to make someone in the company responsible for changing the tapes each day. That’s just the type of process Acacia Systems implemented at Bowman Design Group, with incremental backups nightly—to retain past versions of projects in development—and full backups once a month. In addition, Acacia visits twice a month to check all of the computers, server logs, and backup logs to ensure that everything is in working order.

Productivity is compromised overnight.
With regular visits from Acacia for maintenance, and customized service as needed, Bowman Design Group has been steadily flourishing. One morning, however, Tom Bowman placed a service call to Jeff Kozuch for help of a different kind—there had been a burglary, robbing the design firm of half of their Power Macs, an iMac, their Xserve, and an Epson scanner. The situation seemed grave, and Tom wondered what impact this might have on his client’s fast-pased projects. If they had lost their graphics archive, client information, or active design projects, the impact of the theft would have been catastrophic.

The Results and Benefits

Luckily, their longtime practice of centrally storing data and making complete and consistent backups saved the day. “Apple technology was a real benefit in this situation,” recalls Jeff Kozuch, “In Mac OS X, each user has their own folder where their information and preferences are stored. So after the burglary, all we had to do was restore the user folders from a backup, and things were right back where they started in no time.”

Acacia’s quality of service and dedication to their clients really came through. They immediately made calls to local vendors and secured replacement hardware. The new machines were delivered quickly and, because of the efficient backups available, the recovery was accomplished within 48 hours. Jeff and his team simply reinstalled the required applications onto each desktop computer and added copies of each user folder, project archives, and data files from the last night’s backup onto the new Xserve.

“Our history with our clients is one of our most important resources. It's what enables us to help them on short notice. So we must have a robust backup system; we can't afford to lose anything. The backup is our safety net, and it certainly proved itself this time.”

— Tom Bowman, president
     Bowman Design Group

Seamless recovery accomplished within 48 hours.
The result was a seamless recovery with very few glitches. Designers were able to return to work and pick up where they had left off before the burglary. Productivity was only minimally interrupted, and Bowman Design Group was able to continue delivering quality products to their clients.

Acacia Systems has nurtured a relationship with Bowman Design Group, providing ongoing solutions and support over years of the company’s evolving needs and goals. In addition, they prepared their client for unforeseen disaster, securing not only their vital information but also the future success of their business. It’s with this highest quality of expertise, and the tools and certifications provided by the Apple Consultants Network, that Acacia Systems continues to provide superior services for its clients.