Groupe ARSA

Solution

A concrete alternative to rising cyber insurance costs

In this context, Groupe ARSA’s IT provider, Tebicom SA, proposed an immutable backup solution based on Scality ARTESCA. For David, several factors quickly made the difference:

• The ability to have a truly immutable backup, shielded from attacks that target the backups themselves.
• A financial model based on a one-time investment, including a 5-year license
• A price-to-performance ratio deemed particularly attractive given the current cybersecurity market

The initial investment, in the range of 30,000 Swiss Francs (approx. 32,000 Euros), is viewed as a long-term protection asset. Compared to the cost of cyber insurance, high premiums, deductibles, business interruption losses, delays, and uncertainties, the math is simple.

According to David, “It is amortized within two years; beyond that, the solution continues to protect the company without major recurring costs.”

One-day deployment, completely transparent for teams

The operational implementation was designed not to disrupt employees’ daily routines. Specifically:

• An additional server was installed within the existing infrastructure.
• The operation took place during the day without system interruption, and the final activation was performed outside working hours.
• No change in workflow was required from the teams: “It is so transparent that internally, since I am the IT lead, no one other than management knew we did it until it was complete,” notes David Repond.

No significant obstacles were encountered following the investment decision. The promise of a simple, fast, and smooth installation was kept, reinforcing management’s confidence in the choice, from both a technical and financial perspective.

Results

Since going into production, the system has been running in the background without requiring daily intervention.

Every morning, David receives a confirmation email certifying that the immutable backup was successfully completed. This minimal ritual is enough to reassure the company that, should a serious incident occur, a clean and usable copy of the data would be quickly available.

For now, no full crash test has been conducted, and Groupe ARSA hopes to never experience a real attack scenario. However, the operational guarantee of a 24-hour restoration, established with the service provider, constitutes a major asset: the company knows it can tolerate 24 to 48 hours of IT downtime, but not the permanent loss or massive corruption of its data.

“It allows us to sleep a little better,” says David. Behind this simple phrase, the entire issue of business continuity, client trust, and risk management is addressed.

Prevention rather than reaction: Clear advice for hesitant companies

When asked what message he would share with a company that is still hesitant, David leaves no room for doubt.

“Do it; it costs less in time and money than insurance!” explains David Repond, CEO, Groupe ARSA

His argument is twofold:

Economic: For a controlled entry cost amortized over a short period, Groupe ARSA benefits from a robust solution without recurring charges comparable to those of cyber insurance policies.

Operational: Insurance covers costs, but it does not restore systems or data. Immutable backup, on the other hand, acts directly on recovery capability.