ALPMA

Founded in 1947 and based in Rott am Inn, Germany, ALPMA makes machines and systems for the dairy and food industry. With more than 900 employees worldwide, ALPMA’s expertise helps businesses streamline milk and cheese processing, cutting, and packaging.

The challenge

Slow and unreliable data backups increased vulnerabilities

Data is as important as dairy is for ALPMA, a leading manufacturer of milking machines and processing systems. From CAD files and ERP data to proprietary process knowledge and customer records, information is essential to day-to-day operations.

Losing any of it could disrupt production, trigger compliance issues, and — at worst — harm the company’s finances and reputation. With so much riding on their data, ALPMA needed complete confidence in their ability to protect it.

For this reason, ALPMA’s IT Security Architect, Andreas Preissinger, knows that reliable backups are a strategic necessity.

“Data protection isn’t just important; it’s essential, Andreas says. “If someone hit us with ransomware and encrypted our systems, then we’d have a big problem. We’d risk production, compliance, and customer trust.”

Despite prioritizing data security, ALPMA’s previous backup system was slow, fragile, and difficult to manage. Built on LTO tape, it took more than a day to complete a full backup, and any failure meant starting over from scratch.

Making matters worse, the system was so complex that Andreas was the only one who could manage it. That created bottlenecks, stress, and constant firefighting.

And while tape can offer some protection when removed from the system, ALPMA’s setup lacked built-in, policy-driven immutability, which left them vulnerable to ransomware, accidental deletions, and other threats.

“It was a real struggle with the old system,” says Andreas. “We knew it was time to make it better,  faster, and more secure.”

Solution

Protecting the company’s crown jewels with Scality ARTESCA

ALPMA had a clear set of non-negotiables: cloud-like scalability, strong data protection, and fast, reliable recovery — all within a secure, on-premises environment.

“We wanted a solution with S3 object storage, and our CEO insisted that our data stay in our buildings,” Andreas explains.

Immutability was also a must. The team needed a solution that could fully lock down backups and prevent ransomware, accidental deletions, or insider threats from compromising their data.

That’s when a consultant managing their HPE infrastructure recommended Scality ARTESCA. It offered seamless integration with Veeam, a built-in S3-compatible immutable storage backend, and a deployment model that delivered cloud-like functionality while staying entirely on-prem.

To validate the solution, ALPMA launched a two-month proof of concept with hands-on support from Scality. Andreas’s team handled initial setup while Scality’s engineers assisted with server configuration, infrastructure segmentation, and access control best practices — ensuring the system was secured from day one.

Scality didn’t just install the system and walk away. They provided hands-on training and support to ensure ALPMA’s team felt fully equipped to manage it.

“They explained everything, including configuration, management, and how to use the system properly,” Andreas says. “They also connected us with their support community, where we can ask questions or open tickets. I felt completely supported. Every question was answered quickly, and everything just worked with no issues at all.”

Following a successful trial, ALPMA fully deployed ARTESCA across its 225 TB server. Almost immediately, backup speeds improved dramatically.

But for ALPMA, the biggest game-changer wasn’t just speed — it was data immutability. No one, not even an internal user, can tamper with the backups once they’re written.

“Immutable storage protects us against ransomware as well as accidental or malicious deletions,” Andreas explains.

He also emphasizes the importance of physical separation for resilience.

“ARTESCA runs in a separate location from our production systems. So even if there were a fire or power outage in one site, our backup data would still be safe and accessible.”

Instead of simply assuming their backups are secure, ALPMA tests them. Andreas runs regular recovery drills across critical systems, including CAD files and the company’s knowledge base, to verify data integrity and system reliability.

“Every month, we test our recovery by simulating data loss. We try deleting files, restoring them, and confirming immutability. We know ARTESCA works because we prove it.”