FalconStor Cloud Clean Room: Validated Recovery Without Dedicated Infrastructure

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FalconStor Cloud Clean Room provides a solution for organizations to conduct validated recovery testing without requiring dedicated infrastructure.

Introduction

FalconStor Cloud Clean Room provides a solution for organizations to conduct validated recovery testing without requiring dedicated infrastructure. The platform operates as an on-demand infrastructure layer, enabling users to perform recovery exercises in a secure, isolated environment. Each test begins from a predefined state, ensuring no residual issues from prior recovery attempts affect the process. This approach leverages FalconStor’s patent-pending zero trust secure enclave (ZTSE) technology to create a hardened, persistent environment for testing. The solution is designed to integrate with third-party software vendors and service providers, offering flexibility across various use cases.

Key Features

Secure Isolated Environment

FalconStor Habanero, the company’s existing managed offsite backup and archive vaulting solution for IBM i, IBM Power, and tape environments, is the first product to combine with the Cloud Clean Room. This integration allows organizations to achieve end-to-end backup-to-validated-recovery capabilities on IBM Cloud without requiring specialized IBM Cloud expertise.

Validation and Compliance

Research by HyperFRAME Research highlights a critical gap in cyber resilience strategies, noting that while 91% of organizations prioritize recovery planning, only 30% are confident in their ability to restore systems quickly after a cyberattack or data loss incident. The Cloud Clean Room addresses this by eliminating the need for maintaining redundant infrastructure, reducing costs associated with persistent replicas.

The platform operates within IBM Cloud, utilizing global infrastructure through IBM’s PowerVS environments. It is orchestrated via FalconStor’s ZTSE, which creates and manages recovery tests for IBM Power LPARs. Each test is conducted in a clean state, free from prior configurations, malware, or environmental changes. Once a test concludes, the associated LPARs are decommissioned, ensuring no residual risks or compromised components remain.

Core Benefits

This methodology delivers three core benefits: validated recovery confidence through documented proof of successful restoration, zero persistent attack surface by eliminating leftover test components, and audit-ready compliance documentation for regulated industries. For organizations subject to frameworks like DORA, FFIEC, or PCI-DSS, the platform provides on-demand evidence of recovery readiness without separate compliance projects.

Implementation and Use Cases

The initial offering targets Habanero customers, who can now perform validated recovery tests within a secure, FalconStor-managed environment on IBM PowerVS. Customers initiate and manage tests without requiring IBM Cloud expertise or dedicated clean room infrastructure. This is particularly valuable for IBM Power environments still relying on tape-based backups, as it allows them to meet cyber resilience and regulatory requirements without overhauling existing workflows.

The Cloud Clean Room is available as an add-on to Habanero, including all necessary infrastructure provisioning within the secure enclave. Users leverage Habanero for immutable offsite vaulting and the Cloud Clean Room for on-demand recovery validation. This combination enables IBM Power organizations to verify backup data integrity, generate audit documentation, and comply with regulatory standards on their own schedule.

Future Expansion

ISVs and service providers can also license the Cloud Clean Room and Habanero to offer managed recovery services, such as quarterly or annual validated recovery assessments. FalconStor designed the platform as a modular infrastructure layer, allowing broader deployment beyond its initial integration. Discussions are ongoing with multiple ISVs to expand capabilities for cyber resilience, on-demand infrastructure, and managed services.

Conclusion

FalconStor views the Cloud Clean Room as a foundational technology with applications beyond recovery testing. It can support any scenario requiring isolated, on-demand compute and storage environments that operate reliably without leaving residual risks. According to HyperFRAME Research, while most organizations invest in backup solutions, recovery confidence remains a challenge. The Cloud Clean Room addresses this by providing structured testing and documentation, ensuring plans function as intended during critical incidents.