Digital Education & Consulting

Ransomware-proof backups and 167% ROI: How the Salvation Army Switzerland transformed data protection with DE&C + Scality ARTESCA

Digital Education & Consulting is a Veeam Accredited Service Partner specializing in professional backup and disaster recovery solutions.

Challenges

Meeting new requirements with trusted partners

As a Veeam Accredited Service Partner (VASP), Digital Education & Consulting (DE&C) helps Swiss organizations protect mission-critical data in a market where 99% of companies have fewer than 250 employees. Cost-efficiency, simplicity, and strong ransomware defense are essential.

One long-standing customer is the Salvation Army Switzerland, which relies on DE&C for infrastructure and backup services to support its humanitarian mission. The Salvation Army Switzerland began seeking a more centralized and future-ready approach to protecting growing volumes of Microsoft 365 and VM data.

“We work closely together and have become their trusted partner,” says Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

The existing tape infrastructure had reliably served its purpose for years, but new goals around ransomware resilience and recovery speed prompted a modernization. Backup volumes were growing, and the manual nature of tape consumed valuable IT resources.

“Verifying data integrity with tape involved a certain amount of manual effort. We wanted something that would automate those processes and give customers peace of mind.” explains Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

Improving recovery times was also a key objective for the organization.

“The goal was to significantly reduce recovery times in the event of an incident. Our goal was to help the Salvation Army Switzerland modernize in a way that was both secure and efficient.”adds Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

DE&C set out to identify a next-generation solution that would be both affordable and enterprise-ready — able to provide immutable, ransomware-proof backups without adding complexity.

HIGHLIGHTS

Challenges

Evolving need for a centralized, scalable storage solution for multiple Veeam applications
Replacing a time- and resource-intensive tape system with a future-ready alternative
Ensuring cost-effective scalability while strengthening data security and ransomware protection

Solution

Scality ARTESCA S3 object storage software
Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365

Results

167% ROI over 5 years
$1.67 saved in operational efficiencies for every $1 invested
96% reduction in manual admin time (100+ IT hours reclaimed annually)
End-to-end cyber resilience with immutable, ransomware-proof backups

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“We recognized that S3 object storage was an ideal fit for the Salvation Army Switzerland and other customers seeking immutable storage for ransomware protection. The right solution would integrate seamlessly with Veeam, be simple to deploy and operate, plus offer enterprise capabilities at an affordable price,”

Doron William

Founder & CEO, DE&C

Solution

Scality ARTESCA: Enterprise-grade ransomware protection, sized right for every customer

In Scality, DE&C found a partner aligned with customer realities: modern ransomware defense, simplicity, and scalability without enterprise-level overhead.

For the Salvation Army Switzerland, DE&C deployed Scality ARTESCA S3 object storage as the central repository for both Veeam Backup & Replication and Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365. Data is written directly to ARTESCA over S3, with immutability and Scality’s CORE5 cyber-resilience capabilities safeguarding it from the moment it’s created.

The solution integrated seamlessly into existing Veeam workflows — no custom parameters or added complexity required. This ease of deployment enables DE&C to deliver immediate value to clients while future-proofing their backup environment.

“One of the big benefits for our customers is that they can use ARTESCA with Veeam directly. Configuration is simple and swift — we didn’t have to change anything in the existing setup. That’s a real advantage for us as a service provider.” notes Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

Customers can start small — with as little as 20 terabytes on a single node — and scale seamlessly to petabytes as needs evolve. This flexibility is especially valuable for organizations like the Salvation Army Switzerland, which expect continued data growth over time.

“One of the big benefits for our customers is that they can use ARTESCA with Veeam directly. Configuration is simple and swift — we didn’t have to change anything in the existing setup. That’s a real advantage for us as a service provider.” notes Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

“With ARTESCA, we can handle all of our customers’ needs, whether it’s a single node or a six-node cluster. When the customer grows, the solution grows with them.”says Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

Automation also plays a key role. Backup and restore processes now require no manual intervention, and testing is performed automatically every week. In rare cases where a full metadata resync is required, ARTESCA’s performance ensures recovery time objectives (RTOs) stay short — an important safeguard for mission-driven organizations.

“Thanks to ARTESCA, recovery is faster and more predictable, even in challenging scenarios,” says Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

Throughout the process, DE&C has been able to rely on Scality’s expertise to address customer needs and ensure smooth deployment.

“For our market, affordability matters, but so does resilience. ARTESCA is unique in that it provides an enterprise-grade, ransomware-proof backup target at the right entry point for smaller and mid-sized organizations.”

Doron William

Founder & CEO, DE&C

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“ARTESCA makes it simple: customers can start small, grow as needed, and always have enterprise-grade ransomware protection built in.”

Doron William

Founder & CEO, DE&C

The Results

Automation, resilience, and measurable ROI

With ARTESCA in place, the Salvation Army Switzerland has modernized its backup environment, moving from labor-intensive processes to fully automated, policy-driven protection. Admin time has dropped by 96%, freeing IT staff for higher-value initiatives that directly support the organization’s mission.

“Just verifying backup integrity on tape could take hours. With ARTESCA, the entire process is automated and validated weekly. Administration time has been greatly reduced — from weeks previously to just a few hours per year.” recalls Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

The financial outlook is equally compelling. By streamlining operations and reducing infrastructure overhead, the Salvation Army Switzerland is projected to achieve 167% ROI over five years — returning more than one-and-a-half in savings for every franc invested.

“ARTESCA gives our customers, like the Salvation Army Switzerland, a solution that’s enterprise-grade yet right-sized for their needs. It’s ransomware-proof, easy to manage, and grows with them. That combination is why we confidently recommend it not only to clients, but to other service providers as well.”says Doron William, founder & CEO at DE&C.

For DE&C, the project reinforced their ability to deliver best-in-class solutions to customers across Switzerland. And for the Salvation Army, success also came from having the right technology paired with the right expertise: the combination of Scality’s local team working alongside DE&C ensures they have a ransomware-resilient solution that is both reliable and tailored to their needs.