GERS Retail Systems Partners With Bl Trading To Offer Managed Hosted Backup For Disaster Recovery

Furniture World News

To help retailers protect their enterprise systems from natural and other disasters, GERS Retail Systems, a leading supplier of business solutions for the retail industry, has partnered with BL Trading, a premier data storage and management company, to provide a Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery Service. Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery includes three levels of service: Automatic Data Transfer, Dedicated Server, and Shared Server. Once the retailer’s data is loaded onto a secure server, BL Trading technicians, with input from the retailer’s staff and GERS support agents, operate the system until the retailer’s own system is restored to service. Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery restores operations in 24 hours or less to ensure the continuity of business and protect the retailer from undue losses as a result of the disaster. "Keeping our retail customers up and running no matter what is a crucial part of our service strategy," said Kevin Johnson, GERS’ Vice President of Support Services." This strategic partnership with BL Trading allows us to offer retailers a secure, offsite location where their data is protected and their business activities can continue with minimal interruption. Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery provides peace of mind." While the importance of business continuity and disaster planning are generally acknowledged, implementation can be a complex and extremely costly process. For retailers that use GERS products to manage their operations, Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery offers more convenient and affordable options. The most affordable is Shared Server (BL Trading configures space on a shared server to receive backup tapes), which is unique in that it ensures business continuity without a significant loss of operating speed and efficiency. The other options are Dedicated Server (BL Trading maintains a server dedicated solely to the retailer) and Automatic Data Transfer (data transferred on a secure network to a dedicated server at BL Trading). The integrity of data is assured by redundant servers, communications circuits, and power supplies. Any of these three options would be considerably less expensive for the retailer than purchasing, operating, and supporting their own offsite data storage and management facility. GERS will work with interested retailers to select and implement the appropriate level of Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery Service that best meets their business needs. "It’s not only a prudent business practice to have a total disaster recovery plan these days," added Johnson, "it’s being increasingly mandated by auditors for public companies. We are confident that adding the extra protection of Managed Hosted Disaster Recovery from BL Trading will satisfy the most stringent requirements." Founded in 1988, BL Trading has emerged as a leading provider of large enterprise mainframe and networking solutions. Their professional services group specializes in integration, support, and services for Microsoft NT/2000 systems, and in building robust SAN and NAS data storage solutions using CLARiiON and Symmetrix products from EMC. BL Trading is also a premier supplier of new and refurbished EMC/CLARiiON and Symetrix data storage products. About GERS Retail Systems: With over 28 years of experience and 300 installations worldwide, GERS Retail Systems is a leading supplier of software solutions for the retail marketplace. The GERS Electronic Retail Enterprise includes mission-critical transaction management applications for multi-channel retailing, and provides fully integrated corporate office applications for merchandise replenishment and allocation, distribution center management, and financial control. Integral to the GERS solution set are Business Intelligence applications for predictive modeling and decision support, Merchandise Planning and Allocation for increasing returns on inventory investments, and Workflow Automation applications for maximizing productivity across the enterprise. For more information, please visit www.gers.com.