Cobalt Iron
Building a Cyber-Resilient Architecture

The growing data volumes and increasing sophistication of cyberattacks across hybrid cloud environments call for advanced data protection solutions that offer cyber-resilience for backup environments. A leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection and a technology partner for IBM, Cobalt Iron ensures cyber protection and resiliency for backup environments with its software platform, Compass.

While developing Compass a decade ago, Cobalt Iron’s CEO and founder, Richard Spurlock, made security the cornerstone of its architecture. The architectural foundation had been laid, with all the best practices relevant to today’s security requirements built into Compass years ago. This provides Compass with a competitive edge over all the other players in the market.

“With Compass, cyber-resiliency is never an afterthought,” says Andy Hurt, chief marketing officer at Cobalt. “We don’t deliver cyber-resiliency as an addon or a separate product. Instead, it is at the core of the Compass platform.”

Compass’ intelligent data protection works hand in hand with IBM Spectrum Protect to simplify and modernize enterprise backup so IBM Spectrum Protect users can make better use of their investment while transforming their enterprise backup experience. The Compass Analytics Engine runs on the IBM Cloud, which spans across 24 data centers worldwide. The Compass Accelerator is the preconfigured backup target with advanced backup technologies. And the Compass Analytics Engine is a powerful tool that enables advanced analytics to optimize automation within the backup environment. This ensures that data management tasks are performed in accordance with customer-defined policies.

In addition, Compass’ operating system is built on IBM’s Red Hat Enterprise Linux and uses IBM FlashSystem to optimize storage. Compass also rolls up to IBM’s new strategy around cybersecurity called IBM Storage Defender.

For defensible data deletion and system retirement, Cobalt has recently updated Compass with new data governance capabilities. The platform boasts policy-based controls and an approval framework for decommissioning systems and deleting data. These new capabilities allow automated and auditable systems decommissioning and deletion of associated data — bringing simplicity, data governance, and historical tracking of all operations.

“We believe everybody should have the same level of protection, whether it is a small business with a couple of terabytes of data or a multinational financial institution with hundreds of petabytes of data,” says Hurt.

Contrary to the largely adopted Zero Trust security model, Cobalt Iron offers unparalleled levels of protection through its trademarked approach called Zero Access™. Zero accessibility means users have no access to the IT resources, preventing them from manually configuring the storage or backup environment. Instead, all the instrumentation and operations are done through the Compass Analytics Engine.

Driving Value Through Long-Term Relationships

Cobalt Iron supports clients long after deployment. For clients whose workloads still run on-premises and whose data stays within their data centers, Cobalt Iron sends a preconfigured appliance called a Compass Accelerator. They can quickly unbox the appliance, plug in power and network, and get it up and running. This deployment process takes less than an hour. Once the appliance is plugged in, the client can start backup and recovery on the same day.

For example, Cobalt Iron deployed preconfigured appliances for a client across 250 remote locations. Compared to the client’s projected deployment time of over two years across all locations, Cobalt Iron completed the project in less than two months. Deploying these preconfigured appliances built specifically for the client makes the deployment experience seamless and without the need for professional services.

We don’t deliver cyber-resiliency as an add-on or a separate product. Instead, it is at the core of the Compass platform

Cobalt Iron is also an Alliance Partner of Sheltered Harbor, a not-for-profit organization that oversees specifications for data vaulting for the U.S. financial industry. Compass provides participating Sheltered Harbor institutions with a fully compliant, turnkey, and cost-effective solution for vaulting the daily extraction of critical account data. Participants can confidently meet their immediate Sheltered Harbor vaulting certification while expanding and scaling to meet future data vaulting and protection requirements.

Organizations find Compass the industry-leading software for ensuring cyber-resiliency and recovery within the backup environment. What makes Compass an ideal solution is its ability to release new features and functionalities for performance improvements and bug fixes every three weeks to effectively monitor, manage, provision, and secure the entire enterprise backup landscape. This also ensures clients are getting the latest software and benefit from enhanced performance. These updates are free for clients and are a part of the SaaS subscription. Clients do not have to pay extra for these additional features. Undoubtedly, Cobalt Iron has doubled its revenue in the last few years by meeting the growing need for backup environments for a better cybersecurity posture. Compass provides clients with the confidence to protect their businesses and operations and quickly recover from a cyberattack.