TechTame, an Australian MSP, Uses Alcion to Safeguard Microsoft 365 Data

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Industry: IT services / MSP

ABOUT TECHTAME

TechTame, an Australian MSP founded by Sheldon and Cathy Mitchell, was founded in 1994 and is a family owned and run business. They provide a wide array of services ranging from server and networking installation to Desktop OEM and maintenance, to managing Microsoft 365 and other cloud services. The company also provides professional services and handles various IT projects, ensuring that they are executed efficiently from start to finish. The scope of their projects covers a wide spectrum, from small-scale installations to larger, more complex IT undertakings.

Beyond technical services, TechTame distinguishes itself through a personalized approach to client service. This involves building strong relationships with clients, understanding their specific needs, and providing tailored solutions rather than a one-size-fits all approach. In essence, TechTame positions itself as a versatile and client-centric IT service provider, capable of addressing a wide range of technical needs while maintaining a personal touch in its client relationships.

The Challenge

The primary motivator behind TechTame adopting a Microsoft 365 backup solution was most of their customers migrating from on-premises file servers and Exchange to Microsoft 365 SharePoint and Exchange. Previous backup solutions used, and other solutions explored were geared towards on-premises installs and did not lend themselves to cloud-native management, required specialized skills, and took significant time to operate. In addition, TechTame’s customers were increasingly security-conscious and there was an explicit customer ask to protect their businesses against malicious intent, primarily from external attackers deploying malware or ransomware. Having personally witnessed the severe impact of ransomware in customer environments, Sheldon and his team took a methodical approach to researching vendors. They conducted thorough research, involving a comparison of various backup solutions available in the market. This research involved examining factors such as the feature completeness of the Microsoft 365 backup platform, the ease of setup and multi-tenant management, the depth of security features offered, and the cost-effectiveness of the solutions.

Multi-Tenant Microsoft 365 Data Protection with Alcion

TechTame is using Alcion today to protect over 15 of their customers and expects further customer expansion in the near future. Sheldon Mitchell highly regards Alcion for not just its simplicity, user-friendliness, and security features but, equally important, the alignment with the company’s business model. The ease of setup, operation, and multi-tenant management aligns perfectly with TechTame’s preference for straightforward, efficient solutions. As an example, the first tenant onboarding within Alcion was completed in less than 15 minutes. For TechTame, the ability to implement a tool without hassle or complexity is paramount, not only through Alcion’s use of AI to ease their operational burden but also for ensuring their clients receive the best service possible. Moreover, Alcion’s robustness and reliability has proven to be critical in maintaining and enhancing the trust TechTame has established with their clients. Alcion’s pricing and flexible licensing model also aligned seamlessly with TechTame business approach, especially when serving SMBs. This ease of doing business with Alcion has been a key factor in TechTame’s widespread adoption of the product.

Key Benefits

Flexible Licensing and Billing Model

TechTame manages multiple clients under a single business relationship with Alcion, including simplified billing, licensing, and procurement workflows with flexible terms (e.g., monthly billing). This consolidation has simplified the administrative aspects of license management, provides a holistic view of cross-client usage, and has reduced financial risk if their customer base shrinks due to economic conditions.

Multi-Tenant Management

Multi-tenant management provided by Alcion’s MSP portal has streamlined the oversight of multiple client accounts, enhancing operational efficiency. This capability has allowed TechTame to manage various customer environments under a single, unified framework, significantly simplifying administrative tasks and improving service delivery.

Threat Protection

Given the high value of data stored by TechTame clients and the increasing threats from malicious attackers, malware and ransomware protection was a very important requirement for TechTame’s customers. Alcion’s comprehensive backup policies, malware removal from backups, and ransomware detection capabilities provided peace of mind and elevated TechTame’s standing as a trusted advisor.

Ease of Use

Given Alcion’s simplified design approach, TechTame was able to onboard new clients and start protecting data within minutes without needing technical support or documentation.

No Operational Pain

Steady-state operation had no overhead for the TechTame IT team as Alcion takes care of all operational issues including successfully and transparently redriving backup failures in case of transient failures or upstream throttling of Microsoft APIs.

No Training Required

Administering Microsoft 365 is just one of many IT tasks performed by the team at TechTame. Alcion’s platform allowed TechTame to successfully onboard and protect multiple tenants without requiring any training.

Data Sovereignty

Alcion’s support for compliance including SOC-2 Type II certification and satisfying data residency requirements was key for TechTame’s customers whose data and metadata cannot leave Australia.

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