National DCP Finds a Slam Dunk with Druva's Cloud-Native Data Security

National DCP (NDCP) is the $3 billion global supply chain management company serving Dunkin’ franchisees. They support over 10,000 quick service restaurants in the U.S. and distribute products to more than 40 countries. Their expertise includes strategic sourcing of food and non-food items, equipment services, distribution, business services, supply chain and full visibility, traceability, continuity, and sustainability of supply. NDCP is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia with nine regional distribution centers and 30+ transportation domicile locations across the U.S.

As the distribution arm of Dunkin', NDCP was responsible for sourcing, storing, and delivering a wide range of products to over 10,000 Dunkin' locations nationwide. However, the company's existing data security and backup strategy was struggling to keep up with its evolving needs.

NDCP used HPE Data Protector for on-premise tape backups, which became increasingly difficult to manage. The company lacked dedicated IT personnel at each location for backup oversight, and a workforce reduction in the centralized team responsible for tapes further complicated management.

Rob Inmon, Manager of Platforms and Engineering at NDCP, stated, "We didn't have IT staff at every location where data needed backing up. Additionally, the workforce reduction at the main backup site left us unable to manage the tapes effectively."

NDCP's previous cloud-based backup solution with Verizon Terremark needed to be improved, as it lacked the necessary features and reliability. As Inmon stated, "What was left was the stuff on-prem. And we were trying to back that up to two locations with existing tape robots. But it was not great because we just couldn't rotate the tapes out, so it wasn't very resilient."

After facing these challenges with their on-premises and hybrid cloud backup approaches, NDCP began evaluating alternative solutions. Rob mentioned that they looked at Druva because he had used the solution at a previous employer, the Atlanta Braves.

Before Druva, NDCP used HPE Data Protector for on-premise tape backups, which could have been more resilient as they couldn't rotate the tapes out effectively. They also tried using AWS Backup but found it less straightforward than Druva. After exploring various backup solutions including Veeam, NDCP chose Druva for its cloud-native approach, user-friendliness, and outstanding customer support.

“The decision to choose Druva over Veeam was primarily due to its cloud-native approach and the excellent support and service provided by the team,” Inmon said. “The Druva team was very generous with their time and knowledge, which was a key factor in the decision.”

NDCP's journey with Druva began with the implementation of Druva for Hybrid Workloads to safeguard their on-premises VMware, Windows, and SQL Server data. This initial success led them to expand their Druva footprint by adding support for their AWS environment, Microsoft 365 data, and disaster recovery.

The "land and expand" strategy enabled NDCP to significantly improve its data security measures. They transitioned from a cumbersome tape-based system to a robust, cloud-native solution designed to meet their evolving requirements.

Druva even came through for the team when NDCP encountered a couple security incidents. First, NDCP encountered a minor issue when restoring Amazon EC2 instances due to a misconfiguration of the network adapter. Luckily, they were able to work with Druva's support team to resolve the issue. Overall, the Druva solution has been a reliable and cost-effective choice for NDCP. 

While they ended up seeming minor, these security incidents highlighted the importance of having a reliable backup and recovery in place with Druva.

Using Druva's cloud-based data security solution has saved NDCP a significant amount of time, as they no longer have to worry about maintaining backup infrastructure, dealing with power outages, or managing hardware and software. The lack of infrastructure to manage is one of the biggest benefits for NDCP.

Since implementing Druva, NDCP counts the following as its main benefits:

• Time Savings: NDCP estimates they have saved at least 50% of the time previously spent on backup-related tasks.

• Cost Optimization: The overall costs associated with NDCP's on-premises backup infrastructure were reduced by transitioning to Druva's cloud-native solution.

• Improved Security and Resilience: Druva's backup and recovery capabilities have enabled NDCP to quickly restore data and mitigate the impact of security incidents, such as a SharePoint site deletion and a phishing attack.

• Ongoing Collaboration and Support: NDCP has maintained a strong partnership with Druva, particularly with the support of their senior professional services engineer, who has been instrumental in the successful implementation and ongoing management of Druva's solutions. "Our implementation team was fantastic and a key reason we hit the ground running with the Druva solution," said Inmon.

Overall, NDCP's partnership with Druva has provided a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective data security solution that has helped the company overcome its backup challenges and focus on its core business operations.