University of Hawai'i Law School chooses Mozy and more easily handles data while saving 63 percent in backup costs
“There are a lot of providers that offer automatic backup, but there aren’t any solutions I can manage as easily and effectively as Mozy.”
Cheong-Ming Wai is the one-person IT department at the University of Hawai‘i’s law school. He handles all technology needs for the school, including the difficult task of overseeing faculty and administrative data. Wai knew the data was not safe without a backup solution in place and struggled to effectively care for faculty data while juggling his many demands. He implemented MozyPro online backup, which made his job easier and gave the school greater peace of mind at a low cost.
The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa has the most diverse law student body in the nation. Students from more than 124 undergraduate schools not only learn the complexities of American law, but also become well versed in issues specific to the Pacific-Asia region. Director of Information Technology Cheong-Ming Wai is the one person who strives to meet the school’s technical needs.
The diverse school has just 30 full-time faculty, 300 full-time students, and an additional 25 part-time students participating in an evening Juris Doctor program. Years of research, articles for publication, and lecture materials are stored on faculty members’ computers, while other administrative computers contain important student and operations information. Wai was aware of the vulnerability of the law school’s data and felt responsible for ensuring its safety.
“Backup was an issue we wanted to solve. I discussed it with faculty members and helped them realize their data was susceptible and they could potentially lose everything if something happened to their machines,” Wai said. “A few faculty members were doing backups on their own, but I knew the only way to safeguard all school data was to implement a universal solution.”
A few years ago, Honolulu experienced a major flood, and while the Law School wasn’t affected, the main library on campus sustained incredible damage. All equipment and filing devices were destroyed. Like many people in Hawai‘i, Wai is attentive to Hawai‘i’s remote and often vulnerable location, especially in matters that concern equipment and data vital to business operations. He often wondered how to store critical data safely on the island.
Wai began investigating different options after receiving funding from the dean for a backup solution. His limited manpower quickly reminded him that installing an in-house solution would not be feasible or adequately protect the data. Furthermore, the price of equipment, installation, and upkeep would be remarkably high. Wai researched solutions and eventually chose MozyPro online backup, the business version of MozyHome, which some of the faculty members were already using for backup.
“I was excited by Mozy’s flexibility. Everything about the product, from the software to the backups, restores, and pricing is customizable,” Wai said. “There are a lot of providers who offer automatic backup, but there aren’t any solutions I can manage as easily and effectively as Mozy.”
Mozy allows customers to pay for only the amount of storage space used and then allocate more space as the need arises. Customers have the option of paying monthly, annually, or biennially, and Mozy requires little upkeep, essentially running automatically on the parameters set by the user. The Law School was able to save 63 percent in backup costs by choosing Mozy over in- house backup.
“Costs are always a consideration. The cost of in-house hardware alone was more than two years worth of using Mozy. When you add in management and upkeep time, the costs escalate,” Wai said. “I was impressed by Mozy’s features and would have signed up regardless, but knowing we are getting a solid and feature-rich solution at a great rate is even better. Mozy saves us more money because it doesn’t require any hardware and I don’t have to spend my limited time managing backups.”
Wai appreciates that the client software can be scheduled according to each user’s preference and the reporting features in the Admin Console allow him to easily manage the entire Mozy account. Faculty members aren’t always on campus or they don’t turn their computers on every time they are on campus. The automated reports notify Wai when and how often users are backing up, allowing him to notify faculty members if adjustments need to be made.
Mozy’s 30-day file version capability is an added bonus for professionals who continually edit documents. Occasionally a faculty member will save a draft of a document, only to later discover a need to retrieve the older version. Professors are always relieved to learn that they can access their Mozy account and easily find the previous version. The ability to access the Mozy account remotely and restore files or manage the account is imperative for Wai.
“The remote access is convenient, and I can easily manage all data while attending to my various daily tasks. With Mozy, I know that when files need to be restored we can easily accomplish it from anywhere,” Wai said. “Mozy gives me the peace of mind that the Law School’s data is securely backed up, and faculty members can concentrate on higher priorities. Their feedback has been positive because they understand how important their data is and feel better knowing it’s secure.”
About William S. Richardson School of Law
The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is exceptional both for its location and its commitment to diversity within the law, society, and academia. It is the only ABA-accredited and Association of American Law Schools member law school in the Pacific-Asia region. The curriculum offers the traditional Juris Doctor (JD) degree as well as a nationally-ranked Environmental Law Program and concentrations in Native Hawaiian Law and Pacific Asian Legal Studies. For more information, visit http://www.law.hawaii.edu.