Change the Mainframe Cyber Resiliency Game!

As reported in our January newsletter, Model9 has been fortunate enough to add many new logos to our increasing group of satisfied clients. Amongst them, a large US financial services company in the mortgage lending, servicing and real estate industry. I would like to zoom in and share their story.

The Client

The company, a large US financial services company, was looking for a solution to allow a clean-room / bare-metal restore of their mainframe environment in case of a multi-region disaster or cyber attack where local recovery from virtual-tape would no longer be possible and they would have to restore operations into one of their remote data centers. I’m sure you are aware of Model9 Shield’s capability to perform a streamlined bare-metal recovery from object storage but this client took our capabilities to the next level by implementing a bare-metal recovery solution directly from the cloud.

The Solution 

This client has implemented a solution in which they create a backup of their mainframe on Amazon’s AWS Simple Storage (S3) that they can recover to virtually any location in the US, IPL’ing a Model9 Starter System from their Hardware Management Console (HMC) that connects automatically to the S3 bucket containing the recovery system. During an extensive Proof of Concept (PoC) we validated the security, ease of use and recovery performance of our solution. Our client is now able to restore their mainframe environment from AWS in a data center of their choice. The restore process can be verified on a monthly basis  since it  can be performed remotely and with high levels of automation.

The Model9 Benefits

• Creates an air-gapped backup in the cloud that can be stored out of region.
• Bare-metal restore from the cloud to a data center of choice.
• Model9 builds all required scripts to automate IPL and restore from the cloud.
• Model9 Shield has proven to be much easier to implement and more cost effective than competing on-premise solutions

The Results

• Prior to the Model9 implementation: The customer did not have a real alternative for an out of region bare-metal restore as the traditional approach of shipping physical tapes to an offsite location did no longer meet the service level agreements.
• With Model9: The customer is now able to restore their mainframe environment from AWS in a data center of their choice. The restore process can be verified on a monthly basis  since it  can be performed remotely and with high levels of automation.

About the author

Eduardo Ciliendo | Chief Strategy Officer

Eduardo Ciliendo brings over two decades of client facing experience in the enterprise computing and mainframe arena.
At Model9, he will lead technology and strategy by connecting our technology development and product offerings to the evolving needs of enterprise companies relying on the mainframe and looking to adopt a hybrid cloud environment. His extensive experience developing and selling IBM Z products gives Eduardo the ability to turn customer feedback into solutions that connect the business and technology spheres.

Prior to joining Model9, Eduardo was the Director of worldwide Sales for IBM Z. Eduardo also held positions as the worldwide Product Manager for IBM Z as well as leading the IBM Z, LinuxONE and High Secure Blockchain business in Asia-Pacific. Outside of IBM, Eduardo held the position of a Director at Swiss Reinsurance Ltd, leading the Enterprise Compute Services department responsible for the central IT services of the world’s largest reinsurance company.

Eduardo holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Zurich (Switzerland). He has authored multiple IBM Redbooks and IT publications.