Cove Data Protection — Cloud-First Backup and Disaster Recovery
Overview
Cove Data Protection is the "Recover" pillar in OAS's Three Pillar Managed Security methodology. When prevention and detection are not enough, Cove ensures your data can be restored quickly and completely — from servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365 environments.
Cove is N-able's cloud-first backup solution, designed for managed service providers. It eliminates the need for on-site backup appliances, reduces hardware costs, and simplifies disaster recovery. OAS manages Cove from the same N-central console used for endpoint monitoring and security — providing unified visibility across the entire Three Pillar stack.
What Strategic Partnership Means for Your Organisation
OAS delivers Cove as a fully managed backup and recovery service with tangible benefits:
- No on-site appliance required — Direct-to-cloud backup eliminates hardware costs, site visits for maintenance, and the risk of local backup media being encrypted by ransomware
- 60x smaller incremental backups — TrueDelta block-level change tracking transfers only what has changed, enabling more frequent backup points and tighter recovery objectives
- Microsoft 365 protection — Exchange backed up six times daily, SharePoint (including Teams files) four times daily. Microsoft provides infrastructure uptime — not data backup
- Ransomware-proof cloud storage — Encrypted, immutable, and isolated backups that attackers cannot access, encrypt, or delete
- Automated recovery testing — Scheduled every 14 or 30 days with AI-verified boot screenshots, providing documented proof that your backups work
- Dual recovery paths — Combined with SentinelOne rollback, OAS provides two independent recovery options after a ransomware incident
Cove Capabilities Delivered by OAS
Server and Workstation Backup
Protects physical and virtual servers (Windows, Linux, macOS) and workstations with appliance-free, direct-to-cloud backup. Supports Microsoft Exchange Server, SQL Server, and VMware/Hyper-V virtual machines.
For remote and hybrid workers, workstation backup operates from any location — no need to connect to the office network. Laptops containing critical business data are protected wherever they are used.
Microsoft 365 Backup
Many SA organisations assume Microsoft backs up their M365 data. This is a misconception. Microsoft's shared responsibility model provides infrastructure uptime and physical security — not data backup. Accidental deletions, malicious insiders, and retention policy gaps can all result in permanent data loss.
Cove addresses this gap with granular backup and restore for Exchange (up to six times daily), SharePoint and Teams files (up to four times daily), and OneDrive. Advanced search enables recovery of individual emails, files, contacts, calendar items, and Teams conversations.
TrueDelta Technology
Cove's TrueDelta tracks changes at the block level rather than the file level, producing incremental backups up to 60 times smaller than traditional image-based products. Smaller backups transfer faster, enabling more restore points within the same backup window and improving both Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
Disaster Recovery Options
OAS configures Cove's recovery options to match each client's uptime requirements:
| Recovery Method | Description |
|---|---|
| File and Folder Restore | Granular recovery of individual files and folders |
| Bare-Metal Recovery | Full system restore to same or different hardware |
| Virtual Recovery | Restore to Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, or Azure virtual machines |
| Standby Image | Pre-staged bootable VM for near-instant failover — eliminates downtime for critical systems |
| Continuous Restore | Ongoing restoration for near-real-time recovery readiness |
For clients in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing with strict uptime requirements, Standby Image provides near-instant failover to a pre-staged virtual machine in Hyper-V, ESXi, or Azure.
Automated Recovery Testing
Every 14 or 30 days, Cove automatically creates a virtual machine in N-able's secure cloud, boots it, and captures a screenshot verified by AI/ML with over 99% accuracy. This provides documented proof of recoverability — critical for POPIA, FSCA, and PCI-DSS compliance audits.
No local resources are required. Testing runs entirely in N-able's cloud, and OAS reviews results as part of ongoing managed services.
Ransomware Resilience
Cloud backups are encrypted with AES-256 at rest and in transit, immutable by default, and isolated from client networks. Attackers cannot access, encrypt, or delete cloud-stored backups. Customer-managed encryption keys are available for organisations with specific key management requirements.
Combined with SentinelOne's ransomware rollback, OAS provides two independent recovery paths — immediate file restoration via SentinelOne, and full system recovery from clean Cove backups if needed.
Cloud Storage and Data Sovereignty
Cloud storage, including archiving, is included in Cove pricing — no separate storage fees. N-able operates data centres in 30 locations across five continents, with options that support South African data residency requirements. Configurable retention policies with archive mode meet long-term compliance needs.