Sojitz Systems Corporation, a Sojitz Corporation subsidiary engaged in software development and provision of communications and network services, will launch the nDR Cloud Service, a new data and system backup and disaster recovery service for system recovery following natural disasters such as earthquakes and other incidents. The new service, which will use cloud computing, will be available starting November 21. The PlateSpin Protect disaster recovery tool from Novell Japan Ltd. will be used to provide the service. This is the first time that PlateSpin Protect, which has a well-established track record, will be employed in Japan for a disaster recovery service.

[Conceptual Diagram of the Sojitz Systems nDR Service]

Most existing disaster recovery (DR) services backup only data, and system recovery can take several weeks to launch and normalize applications, which hinders assessment of the damage following a disaster and formulation of countermeasures and recovery projections. In addition, on-premise DR services can require tens of millions of yen in initial investment and have other high investment costs, resulting in substantial installation burdens.

The Sojitz Systems nDR Cloud Service not only copies data, but replicates the entire system on a remote cloud-based platform. The backup is synchronized once every day, so in the event of a disaster, a rapid recovery in a matter of hours is possible simply by changing the access site regardless of where the customer’s servers are installed. In addition, the use of a cloud-based platform keeps monthly usage fees low at just 100,000 yen per month, and as a result, this low-cost service is ideally suited for small and medium businesses, particularly those in the manufacturing and logistics industries.

In addition, the nDR Cloud Service uses PlateSpin Protect functions, which enables it to back up entire systems regardless of the server installation site and the software used. As a result, the service can be used whether servers are installed at the customer’s site or at a data center, providing a high degree of convenience.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March of this year, awareness of crisis management by businesses increased, and many companies reviewed their business continuity plans to ensure the safety of the IT systems that are essential for conducting business. The DR service market is a promising market that is expected to expand by approximately 60% from 176 billion yen in 2011 to 280 billion yen in 2016.

The nDR Cloud Service is the first cloud-based service offered by Sojitz Systems. Sojitz Systems has set a sales target of 350 million yen in the 2014 fiscal year. Sojitz Systems is also collaborating with Sojitz Group’s Nissho Electronics Corporation and Sakura Internet Inc. to develop and offer services that help users supplement, operate, and manage data and systems with confidence. Sojitz Systems will continue collaborating with group companies in a wide range of ICT fields.

Reference Information

nDR Service Prices (planned)

Initial cost:	350,000 yen
Service use fee:	100,000 yen monthly (four contracts of one year or longer)
Boot-up fee:	15,000 yen per time per system (operating system)

PlateSpin Protect

PlateSpin Protect, Novell’s disaster recovery and backup product, uses original virtualization migration technology to back up (protect) the entire workload of target servers, whether virtual or physical, on virtual machines and to synchronize data. If a problem occurs with a production server, managers can immediately switch to the backup data on a virtual machine and continue operations. PlateSpin Protect can be used to create centralized disaster recovery plans covering all server workloads whether physical, virtual, Windows or Linux.

(For more details concerning PlateSpin Protect: http://www.novell.com/ja-jp/products/protect）

Company information

Name:	Sojitz Systems Corporation
Head office:	2-2-10 Minami-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
President:	Kazunori Obata
Shareholder:	Sojitz Corporation (100%)
URL:	http://www.sojitz-sys.com/

Name:	Novell Japan Ltd.
Head office:	3-6-21 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
President:	Shinji Tokunaga
Shareholder:	The Attachmate Group, Inc.
URL:	http://www.novell.com/ja-jp/home/