From the mammoth AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to Terminal D of the DFW International Airport, HKS Inc. architects has been designing landmark structures for 80 years. A key element of any building is its foundation, and for the architectural firm’s information technology group, data protection is a critical part of its contribution to the world of bricks and mortar.

“Disaster recovery, that’s the backbone of IT,” said Michael Smith (pictured), director of infrastructure at HKS. “If we can’t do data protection correctly, then we really shouldn’t be working on any other project.”

Smith spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Microsoft Ignite event in Orlando, Florida. They discussed how HKS is implementing a Cohesity Inc. solution, the value of a dashboard tool, and how staying ahead of technology is key for any IT operation. (* Disclosure below.)

Filling in the gaps

HKS has been implementing a Cohesity Inc. backup and recovery solution since mid-July and has partnered with Microsoft Corp. on its cloud strategy for many years. The firm’s motivation for migrating to Cohesity’s technology came from a realization that there were significant gaps in its legacy data protection applications.

“In some instances, it may have been a day before we returned that customer back to work,” said Smith, who characterized the change since as “almost instantly” being able to restore files. “Ninety-five percent of the time they can get their files back on the phone with a first-level technician.”

In addition to a faster restore window, the new solution has improved the ability of Smith’s team to rapidly identify and manage system issues. IT administrators can manage Cohesity clusters from a unified dashboard.

“By the time I get in, anything that happened overnight is completely remediated,” Smith said. “I can look at one single pane of glass and see a bunch of green.”

The challenge for HKS’ Smith and his IT team is to stay ahead of the technology curve, which becomes challenging in an active building design business where “advanced” tools, such as camera-equipped drones and sensors, no longer seem cutting edge.

“I won’t even say that those are forward-looking anymore,” Smith said. “If you ever start sitting on your laurels in IT … you’re already behind.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Microsoft Ignite event. (* Disclosure: Cohesity Inc. sponsored coverage of Microsoft Ignite, and some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE