A Texas school district was running backup hardware that had reached end of life and could not grow. Weaver refreshed the backup environment on Dell PowerProtect DD. Then, once the need became clear, we added a K-12 cyber recovery vault to keep an isolated copy of district data.
The challenge: backup hardware at end of life
This Texas public school district supports students and educators across multiple campuses. Its data needs keep growing, and its infrastructure was aging. So it needed a modern backup platform that could scale and protect data better.
However, the old backup environment no longer met operational or security needs. The hardware had reached end of life, and the team had no way to add capacity or strengthen recovery. Limited cyber resilience also left the district exposed if an attack or data loss ever hit.
Our approach: when a K-12 cyber recovery vault became the right call
Weaver started with a straightforward goal: refresh the backup environment. We brought strategic guidance and infrastructure expertise to the project. As the work moved forward, though, our team saw a chance to do more than replace hardware.
So we worked with a Dell Cyber Recovery specialist to show the district what an isolated vault could do. The demo tied the vault to the district’s own goals. After that, we adjusted the scope mid-project and added a K-12 cyber recovery vault to the plan. Dell supported the change, and we put it in place efficiently.
What Weaver delivered
- Dell PowerProtect DD. We installed a modern, scalable Data Domain backup platform in place of the end-of-life hardware.
- Dell Cyber Recovery vault. We added an air-gapped vault that keeps a protected copy of data away from the production network.
- Dell specialist demo. We coordinated a technical demo with Dell so the district could see the value before it decided.
- Flexible scope. We changed the plan mid-project when a better answer became clear.
- Schedule that fit. We started in March 2025 and planned each step around the district’s availability.
Results: a K-12 cyber recovery vault and room to grow
The project was still in deployment at the time of reporting. Once it is complete, the district expects stronger backup security and compliance. It also expects faster, more reliable recovery and a lower long-term cost of ownership.
Most importantly, the K-12 cyber recovery vault gives the district a clean, isolated copy of its data. Now its backup capacity can also grow with future needs instead of holding the district back.
“When we saw how exposed their backup environment was, we knew we could do more than replace hardware. We could protect them against ransomware.”
Solutions Architect, Weaver Technologies
A common challenge in Texas K-12
Many districts run backup hardware well past its prime. A like-for-like replacement can leave the same gaps in cyber resilience, too. For that reason, a planned refresh is often the most practical time to add an isolated recovery copy. A K-12 cyber recovery vault from Dell Technologies fits well into that kind of project, because it builds on the backup platform the district already runs.
Backup due for a refresh?
Weaver can review your backup and recovery setup and talk through where a cyber recovery vault fits. Talk with our team, or browse more case studies.
