Ad Hoc Network Backup “Cost Effective Backup Software for Private Networks”

1. Ad Hoc Network Backup“Cost Effective Backup Software for Private Networks” Presented by the Blue Team Feasibility Presentation

2. Outline • About the Team • Problem Definition • Customer Base • Solution • Risks • Pricing

3. Team Organization

4. Data Maintenance • Data loss has catastrophic consequences and a backup solution that takes advantage of network resources is needed.

5. Causes of Data Loss • From Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs3

6. Impact of Data Recovery • If no backups were used and the hard drive is intact, data can sometimes be recovered • The cost of data recovery can vary widely and depends on • Severity of damage • Urgency • Parts required • Size and type of storage media • Recovery following a data loss episode is expensive • If the data cannot be recovered, it is permanently lost and the costs can be significantly higher • From Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs3

7. Frequency of Data Loss • 70% of small firms that experience major data loss go out of business within a year.2 • A 2009 survey by Kroll Ontrack polled IT managers from 945 companies.1 • 49% of all IT managers reported a data loss situation in the two years prior. • 36% felt that data loss could have a significant impact on their business. • “An alarming 49 per cent of small companies stated that they fail to back up their data on a daily basis.” • So why are current solutions not being utilized? • From Tech Managers Often Underestimate Impact of Data Loss1 • Impact on U.S. Small Business of Natural & Man-Made Disasters2

8. Current Solutions • Dedicated hardware • Expensive • Additional local storage • Optical media • Fragile • High maintenance • External disks • Expensive • Flash storage • Expensive • Easy to misplace • Cloud backups • Monthly fee and bandwidth usage

9. Consumers • Small Businesses • Possibly no dedicated IT staff • Enough computers to require a focused backup solution • Consumer Home Networks • PC enthusiasts • Home offices

10. The Need for Ad Hoc Backups • Even small businesses can lose thousands of dollars due to data loss • Non tech-savvy users and small businesses with no dedicated IT staff need a simple to use solution

11. Small Businesses • Typically one to two dozen computers7 • Lack dedicated IT support7 • Much smaller budgets than Enterprise • Need for security and encryption • Over 50% wary of online solutions8 • From Designing and Building the Best Small Office Network From the Ground Up7 • The Universe of Corporate PC Backup Options8

12. Consumer Home Networks • 94% of computer users risk losing their data5 • Users have priceless files (pictures, video) • Not always technically savvy • From 4th Annual Backblaze Data Backup Study Finds 94% of People Risk Data Loss5

13. Computers Per Home Network • From The Complex & Surprising Anatomy of a Home Network6

14. Problem Detection

15. Solution Objective Ad Hoc Network Backups aims to provide inexpensive, secure and reliable backups to home, small and medium-sized LANs

16. Solution Characteristics To meet this objective, our solution must • Be inexpensive • Use only existing hardware • Be easy for untrained staff to use • Give peace-of-mind to owners, operators, and users • Not be susceptible to a single point of failure • Optionally make use of centralized management • Not need WAN access • Have no recurring fees

17. How it Works • Periodic backups from one PC are made on other PCs. Backups are not always stored on the same nodes. • In the event of data loss on a PC, data can be recovered from other PCs to the affected PC. • If a PC is completely unusable, data can still be restored to local storage on any other node, even nodes without the particular data needed.

18. Benefits & Caveats to the Consumer • Benefits • Easy to learn interface • Low cost • No need for additional hardware • Caveats • May be easy, but yet another interface to learn • Installation management may be cumbersome for larger networks • Highly dynamic nodes (laptops, etc) may pose problems

19. Problem Solved with Ad Hoc

20. Major Functional Component Diagram • This is an entirely software solution, so the MFCD only includes major components of the software. • Each of the 11 lowest blocks is an independent module.

21. Risk Matrix C1 – Software Price C2 – Customer Knowledge C3 – User Preferences T1 – Data Security T2 – Software Compatibility T3 – Data Corruption T4 – Network Failure F1 – Development Costs F2 – Customer Support S1 – Production Schedule

22. Technical Risks P1, I5 • T1- Data must be secure from intruders / prying eyes • Mitigation- Use current, standards-compliant, symmetric-key encryption • T2- Software incompatibility with customer systems • Mitigation- Ensure product meets platform and architecture standards • T3- Data corruption during or after the backup process • Mitigation- Use reliable transmission strategies, enforce automated and manual backup validations • T4- Customer network failure • Mitigation- This is primarily out of our hands. We could potentially offer online backups as an additional feature P2, I4 P1, I5 P3, I3

23. Customer Risks P1, I4 • C1- Customers might not be able to afford our product • Mitigation- Part of our selling point is that we are cheaper than our competition • C2- Customers might not be knowledgeable enough to fully utilize our product • Mitigation- Offer support, training, and documentation on the use of our product • C3- Even if managers purchase our software, their employees might refuse to use it • Mitigation- Advertise the advantages of our product, make it easy to use P2, I3 P3, I3

24. Financial and Scheduling Risks P4, I1 • F1- Development costs might go over-budget • Mitigation- Plan for this to happen • F2- We might have to pay for customer support • Mitigation- It does not have to be 24/7 support, use a “geek-hotline” • S1- We might not finish production on-schedule • Mitigation- Use AGILE to put out basic working software to ensure we have a product to sell P1, I3 P2, I4

25. Consumer Spending Constraints • Economy is still struggling9, but improving • Home users and small businesses are on tight budgets • Need to price competitively Unemployment % rate over the last ten years (source: USDL) • From Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey9

26. Local Versus Remote Network • Connecting to remote nodes can be expensive • The speed of the connection over local links is typically faster

27. Storage Media • New storage media should not have to be purchased • Use all available storage media to ensure that even if a component drive fails, the integrity of the backup is maintained

28. Competitors Prices • Top competitors and their prices • NovaBACKUP costs $44.95 • DT Utilities PC Backup costs $49.99 • Genie Backup Manager costs $49.95 • Acronis True Image costs $49.99

29. Pricing Factors • Ad Hoc can be developed: • With little hardware • In a small facility • With minimal staff • Ad Hoc has an advantage in all three areas and can be cheaper than the competition

30. Ad Hoc Pricing • Single license pricing would accommodate a household network • $35 to $40 • Volume license would accommodate small business networks • Price to be determined • Return on Investment: Ad Hoc Network Backup pays for itself many times over for even one data recovery

31. Can it be done? • No “new” technologies are being implemented. • We have the resources to develop and test. • Our modular design allows modular development. Yes, it can be done.

32. Should it be done? • Statistics show there is a need for a small business backup solution. • The current risks are not debilitating. • Little capital is needed to begin development. Yes, it should be done.

33. References • Ko, Carol. Tech Managers Often Underestimate Impact of Data Loss. June 21, 2009. (http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/167077/tech_managers_often_underestimate_impact_of_data_loss.html). February 26, 2012. • HP and Score: Counselors to America’s Small Business. Impact on U.S. Small Business of Natural & Man-Made Disasters. 2007. (http://www.edwardsinformation.com/content/ImpactofDisaster.pdf). February 26, 2012. • Smith, David M. and Williams, Michael L. Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs. 2010. (http://www.deepspar.com/wp-data-loss.html). February 26, 2012. • Pinheiro, Eduardo, Weber, Wolf-Dietrich, and Barroso, Luiz Andre. Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population. February 2007. (http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/research.google.com/en/us/archive/disk_failures.pdf). February 26, 2012. • PRWEB. 4th Annual Backblaze Data Backup Study Finds 94% of People Risk Data Loss. July 12, 2011. (http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/7/prweb8638582.htm). February 26, 2012.

34. References • Rusen, Ciprian Adrian. The Complex & Surprising Anatomy of a Home Network. April 4, 2011. (http://www.7tutorials.com/complex-often-surprising-anatomy-home-network). February 26, 2012. • Breeding, Marshall. Designing and Building the Best Small Office Network From the Ground Up. (http://www.networkcomputing.com/netdesign/soho1.html). February 26, 2012. • Dines, Rachel; Kane, Christian. Update Q4 2010: The Universe of Corporate PC Backup Options. November 18, 2010. • US Department of Labor (USDL). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. February 26, 2012.

35. Questions? Thank You for your Attention and Time