Beyond Backup to Building Cyber Resilience

Vandis CEO, Andy Segal met with Brian Walsh, Cove Data Protection Evangelist at N-able, to explore the benefits of the Cove Data Protection platform. Their conversation highlights how its cloud-first approach streamlines backup and disaster recovery, making data protection more efficient and cost-effective.

Andy: Hello Brian. Thanks for joining us today to discuss N-Able’s Cove Data Protection Platform. Can you tell us about Cove and how it works?

Brian: Cove Data Protection is designed for the Cloud. By taking a cloud-first, appliance-free approach, our SaaS-based architecture eliminates on-premise hardware and management complexity for data protection.  With direct-to-cloud backups, data is backed up without needing an on-premise storage appliance, which helps protect our customers’ data by getting the secondary copies of the data off the primary network. The platform supports backup and disaster recovery of on-prem servers and virtual machines, cloud hosted servers, and Microsoft 365 data.

Andy: So what does this mean for customers?

Brian: Organizations back up their data hoping they’ll never need to restore it—but let’s face it, real-world threats like cyberattacks, hardware failures, or human error make recovery critical. Reliable backup copies aren’t just a safety net—they’re what allow businesses to bounce back quickly, minimize downtime, and stay operational when things go wrong.

I hear it all the time from customers: “Don’t tell me about your backup—everyone does backup. I want to know about your recovery.” And they’re right to ask. But here’s the thing: everyone does recovery too, and none of it matters if the data wasn’t backed up and retained in the first place. You simply can’t recover what doesn’t exist.

Andy: Let’s talk more about Cove backups. Can you explain immutable backups and why they are important?

Brian: Data resilience has been a dominant theme in 2025-and honestly, it’s been a priority for years now, with no signs of fading anytime soon. One key piece of the data resilience puzzle is immutable backup, which simply means creating a secure, hardened backup copy that can’t be altered or deleted.

Andy: Can you give us a real-world example?

Brian: Let’s consider ransomware, which continues to dominate headlines as one of the most pressing cyber threats. Attackers know that organizations rely on backup copies to restore and recover operations. So if they can compromise those backups, recovery becomes nearly impossible—making it far more likely that the victim will pay the ransom, often in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. That’s why immutable backups are no longer just a best practice—they’re becoming a requirement.  Cyber insurers, for example, are increasingly mandating them as part of broader security controls, alongside things like MFA, endpoint protection, vulnerability and patch management.
 
Andy: Can you tell us how Cove Data Protection complements the Adlumin platform?

Brian: Modern cyber resilience demands a layered, defense-in-depth strategy. It’s not enough to build a 10-foot security wall when cybercriminals are constantly engineering 11-foot ladders to climb over it. That’s where the synergy between Adlumin and Cove Data Protection becomes essential.

Adlumin excels at front-line defense: it provides real-time threat detection, security analytics, and automated response capabilities that help identify and neutralize threats before they cause damage. It’s like having a vigilant guard watching every corner of your digital perimeter.

Andy: We all know protection is the goal, but what happens when things go wrong?

Brian: Even the best defenses can be breached—or bypassed entirely by non-malicious events like hardware failures, natural disasters, or human error. That’s where Cove Data Protection steps in. With Cove’s cloud-first, immutable backup and disaster recovery, our customers’ data is always recoverable, even if the primary systems are compromised. It’s the safety net that catches you when everything else fails. 

Andy: What sets the Cove Data Protection Platform apart from others in the market?

Brian: There are 3 things that make Cove Data Protection unique: Security. Efficiency. Reliability.

Let’s start with Security. Cove is built secure by design, with a direct-to-cloud architecture that eliminates the need for on-prem infrastructure. Every backup session moves data off the customer’s network using end-to-end encryption and creates immutable copies. This approach delivers the resilience and labor efficiency that small and mid-size organizations need to achieve enterprise-grade security without the enterprise-sized headcount.

Andy: That is great Brian. Security is table stakes, but what else sets Cove apart?

Brian: It is no surprise that backup and recovery costs can spiral. But with Cove’s TrueDelta technology, Cove moves 60x less data than competitor solutions, making it more efficient. That means faster backups, more frequent restore points, and reduced risk of data loss. 

We already talked about how backups exist for one reason only–recovery. Cove puts reliability front and center with two powerful features:

1. Bi-weekly automated recovery testing ensures data is consistently verifiable-giving customers confidence and a solid artifact to share with auditors and cyber insurers.
2. Standby Image technology enables continuous recovery, allowing organizations to restore critical systems in minutes. When disaster strikes, you’re already back online.

Andy: Can you share with us the economic benefits of utilizing your solution?

Brian: Cove brings a unique economic value proposition to organizations, offering a simple and predictable package for protection across endpoints, servers, and Microsoft 365. With Direct-to-Cloud SaaS delivery there is nothing to manage or maintain, meaning a massive labor savings of up to 90% to be gained with Cove. These are soft cost savings.

By utilizing automated recovery testing and standby image there is an element of not only risk mitigation, but also cost avoidance with predictable verified recovery. This is where soft hard cost savings come together. These technologies help an organization strengthen its cyber insurance policies and lower insurance premiums.

And ultimately the most durable differentiator is the TrueDelta technology moving 60x less data, which is where customers see meaningful hard cost savings on local and cloud storage costs. All together, we expect to save our customers 20-30% in costs. 
 
Andy: The data protection market is very competitive. Why are customers just hearing about Cove Data Protection?

Brian: N-Able has been in business for over 25 years and the Cove platform has been available for 14 years. Historically, our route to market was through Managed Services Providers, which has led to the Cove platform actively protecting over 180,000 small and medium sized customers today.

The Cove Data Protection platform is an ideal solution for mid-market organizations, offering a cost-effective, scalable, and easy-to-manage approach to data protection. By partnering with Vandis, we’re bringing this powerful capability to even more customers—helping them strengthen resilience, simplify operations, and safeguard what matters most.

Andy: It has been great discussing N-Able’s Cove Data Protection platform with you. Thank you for joining us today, Brian.

To watch the video interview, visit us on youtube. To learn more about the Cove Data Protection platform and see the solution in action, sign up for our webinar on October 14th at 10am ET.