1. A full-time dedicated team
As you can imagine, managing data centres is no easy task. That is why Protime has within its organisation, in addition to its IT department, a team of experts fully dedicated to running the data centres where our customers' data resides. Thanks to our Datacentre Team, we can permanently monitor and optimally coordinate and execute all changes, configurations, internal projects or other upgrades of our servers. The functioning of the data centre is monitored 24/7. In case of problems, our own permanence team is on standby.
Of course, these experts are extremely important. But it is not just the Data Centre Engineers who are responsible. Every Protimer can and must contribute to this. That is why we organise security training and awareness sessions on a regular basis.
2. Mirroring datacenters for permanent back-up
To maximise the security of the various data stored in our data centres, a "failover" system has been set up. Simply put, this means that the (failover) system takes over in case of emergencies. Thus, not one, but two data centres are used by the Protime teams, so that in case of a problem, we can immediately switch to the "disaster recovery data centre".
Let's take an example to make it clearer. One of our data centres has a failure, which means it is not functioning correctly. The second data centre then takes over immediately, giving our team time to identify the problem, intervene and repair or even replace the damaged module. Finally, our two data centres are located in different places to anticipate any problem that may arise in the infrastructure itself.
By the way, did you know that Protime's data centres are located in Belgium? That's pretty important, because that way Protime can guarantee that privacy regulations are done according to European standards.
3. Permanent protection against water and fire
What "complications" are we talking about? Well, simply fire or flooding. Once again, everything has been planned to anticipate any problems. To prevent any risk of fire, the servers rooms are equipped with smoke detectors. If a fire occurs, a gas is immediately released into the room in order to reduce the oxygen level, lower the temperature in order to limit the progression of the fire by "smothering" it. A water leak detection system is also installed to provide an immediate warning if water is present near the servers.
4. Back-up generators in case of need
Both of our datacenters are also equipped with backup generators so that they can remain operative independently if a power failure happens. These two secondary generators have their own power supply (running on petrol). A dedicated provider is even expected to come and recharge them if they’re activated. Everything is in place to be sure that our datacenters may run without interruption.
5. An ultra-secure location and encrypted data
The places where our servers are stored are, of course, also very secure (access control, surveillance cameras, etc.). Access is, logically, reserved for authorized persons only. Moreover, the data stored on our servers is encrypted to maximize its protection. In other words, even if someone could access to our data (which is very unlikely), it would be unusable without the decryption key.
6. A tested and optimised cybersecurity
You hear about cyber attacks pretty regularly. Protime monitors how strong our line of defence is in different ways. On the one hand, we do 'vulnerability scans' on a weekly basis. These are automatic scans that scan our software for possible vulnerabilities. In addition, Protime works closely with an external security party, experts in cybersecurity, to optimise the security of servers and data. Toreon's team regularly carries out numerous penetration tests (also known as "pen tests"). This involves simulating a cyber attack to spot and identify any security flaws and correct them immediately. This allows us to constantly improve the cyber defence of our servers.
7. Constant temperature control
In order to prevent the servers from overheating, an air conditioning system is constantly running in the datacenter. Using a water-cooling circuit system, it distributes cooled air throughout the room 24 hours a day. The room also has a perforated floor to facilitate air circulation. The objective is to maintain an optimal temperature throughout the room.
8. Permanent monitoring of the code
The software being developed is based on a code. Each particle of software that is redeveloped is added to the long sequence. But before it then goes live for users, it goes through a full process of checking. Thus, there are 4 different environments where the code has to pass the test (environment), namely test, acceptance, staging and production.
The codes are also continuously reviewed. On the one hand, the codes written by developers are manually checked for weaknesses. This check is done by an external party specialised in this. In addition, Protime uses a software package. On a very regular basis, the software is scanned to see whether there is still a weak link somewhere. This is a safe way of doing "secure application development".
It is only after all these hurdles that a code is given the green light, and becomes available to customers.
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