Commvault is launching Recovery Studio. The new platform is designed to automate the recovery of business operations following cyberattacks and other disruptions.
The software goes beyond simply restoring data. The application coordinates the recovery of applications, identities, configurations, and infrastructure dependencies.
Commvault notes that in traditional recovery processes, systems are often restored independently of one another. As a result, applications may still be unavailable even after the data has been restored. After all, an application may depend on identity services, network configurations, and underlying infrastructure, all of which often need to be restored in a specific order.
According to the vendor, this complexity poses a challenge for large enterprises that may need to restore hundreds of applications and thousands of identities. Commvault cites research showing that conventional recovery methods take an average of 28 days to reach a minimum operational level
Automated recovery via runbooks
Recovery Studio uses automated runbooks to coordinate the recovery of interconnected systems. These workflows determine the order in which components must be restored. They also validate dependencies before applications are brought back into production.
The platform supports the recovery of containers, virtual machines, files, and objects, as well as identity systems, application settings, infrastructure configurations, and network security policies.
Instead of requiring administrators to coordinate these activities manually, Recovery Studio brings them together into a centralized workflow. Organizations can use the same platform for operational recovery, disaster recovery, and cyber recovery.
Security controls are also integrated into the process. Automated threat scans can be applied to supported resources within a runbook, allowing administrators to identify potentially compromised components before services are brought back online. This is particularly relevant following ransomware attacks, where restoring infected systems could lead to further disruption.
Recovery follows predefined procedures
Despite the emphasis on automation, Recovery Studio does not use AI to determine how systems should be restored. Instead, it relies on predefined runbooks and dependency maps that organizations must create and maintain themselves.
This entails potential risks. As analysts told Network World, automation can execute incorrect recovery procedures just as efficiently as the correct ones. Outdated configurations, expired certificates, or incorrect firewall rules can disrupt recovery if runbooks are not regularly updated and tested.