Data protection is increasingly shifting toward cyber resilience. Today, companies must not only store data but also be able to recover quickly if systems are hit. According to Synology, this requires a different approach than traditional backup.
“We no longer start from the idea that a company will never be hacked,” says William Eudes, Technical Support Director at Synology. “We start from the idea that every organization can be hit sooner or later. The main question is, if it happens, how quickly can you be operational again?”
This evolution explains why Synology is positioning itself as a player in the world of cyber resilience. The company is primarily known for its NAS and storage, but is increasingly promoting its solutions as part of a broader security strategy. According to Synology, storage, backup, recovery, and security are becoming more closely intertwined.
From storage to cyber resilience
According to Eudes, this is not a completely new direction for Synology, as the company wants to expand on what it has been doing for years. “The solutions running on our servers meet a growing security need within companies,” he says. “That could be storage, but also backup or video surveillance. Ultimately, it’s all about protecting data.”
We try to offer an integrated solution without that extra licensing layer.
William Eudes, Technical Support Director at Synology
Synology tries to differentiate itself through its integrated approach. Traditional backup environments often still combine hardware, software, and security from different vendors. Synology wants to offer everything in one platform. “We deliver something that works more ‘turnkey’,” says Eudes. “You don’t have to buy hardware separately, install separate backup software on top of it, and ensure all those parts work correctly alongside each other.”
This strategy is primarily intended to appeal to organizations that want to manage their infrastructure better. According to Synology, this demand is growing, especially now that companies are under pressure to respond faster to cyber incidents and meet stricter requirements.
ActiveProtect as a separate security layer
ActiveProtect plays an important role in that integrated approach. That platform runs on Synology’s DP series (Data Protection) and was specifically developed for backup and recovery. While DSM is a broader ecosystem for storage and applications, ActiveProtect is fully focused on data protection.
“It really is a device intended solely for backup,” says Eudes. “You no longer have a file server, but an environment designed to centrally protect PCs, servers, virtual machines, and other systems and store data.”
According to Synology, this distinction is important because backups themselves are increasingly becoming part of attacks. Backup strategies that worked in the past are therefore no longer always sufficient. “In the past, companies just made a copy on another machine and thought they were safe,” says Eudes. “But if a hacker gets in, that backup is often encrypted as well.”
That is why Synology is heavily committed to immutable backups—stored backups that cannot be modified or deleted, even by an administrator. This is intended to ensure that organizations still have a safe recovery copy even after a ransomware attack.
Eudes refers to a French media company hit by a ransomware attack where all production servers and PCs were encrypted. “The only thing that wasn’t hit was the DP with immutable backups,” he says. “They couldn’t publish on Monday, but by Tuesday they were back online because all systems could be quickly restored from those backups.”
Focus on B2B
With ActiveProtect, Synology is targeting the business market. According to Eudes, the biggest challenge today lies not with IT teams, but with decision-makers who primarily rely on established names. “They often already trust us,” he says. “The hardest group to convince are the decision-makers. They often still think: if I invest, it must be in brands I’ve known for years.”
That is why Synology is increasingly focusing on B2B solutions and business support. “With traditional solutions, you often combine hardware from one vendor with software from another party,” he says. “There are also recurring licensing costs attached to that. We try to offer an integrated solution without that extra licensing layer.”
According to Eudes, Synology remains active in B2C markets, but the focus is shifting more and more toward enterprise. He sees this happening internally as well, with more extensive support services, faster replacement programs, and more enterprise-oriented hardware.
DSM versus ActiveProtect
When do you choose DSM?
DSM remains attractive for organizations that want to combine storage, shared files, and backup within a single platform. The ecosystem is flexible and scalable, making it suitable for both smaller companies and larger environments.
When is ActiveProtect more interesting?
ActiveProtect targets companies that want to treat backup as a separate security layer. The appliance is specifically designed for data protection, recovery, and immutable backups within enterprise environments.
Can both coexist?
Yes. According to Synology, many organizations combine DSM for storage and daily workloads with ActiveProtect as a central backup environment. This creates a layered approach where storage and recovery remain separate.
Why has Synology separated backup from DSM?
For organizations that want to combine storage, shared files, and backup in one platform, DSM remains a logical choice according to Synology. ActiveProtect, on the other hand, is intended for companies that want to treat backup as a separate security layer. According to Eudes, part of that functionality already existed within DSM, but Synology consciously chose to move backup to a separate device. “We really want to separate that backup part onto a separate infrastructure,” he says.
That doesn’t mean both solutions are mutually exclusive. Many organizations combine DSM for storage and local services with ActiveProtect as a central backup environment. According to Synology, this layered approach aligns better with how companies view cyber resilience today.