Advent Calendar Day 11: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

Advent Calendar Day 11: A Quick Recap and What’s Coming Next

Welcome to Day 11 of our Veeam Blog Advent Calendar! We’re nearly halfway through our festive countdown to Christmas, and honestly, what a journey it’s been so far! I figured today would be a perfect opportunity to take a breath, look back at what we’ve covered over the past ten days, and chat about where we’re heading for the rest of the month.

Grab your coffee, and let’s reflect on our adventure so far!

The Story So Far

When we kicked off this advent calendar on Day 1, I promised we’d explore automation, security, hidden features, and reflections on 2025. Well, I’m happy to say we’ve been absolutely smashing through that list!

Days 1-7: The Automation Deep Dive

We started strong with a full week dedicated to automation, and honestly, it’s been brilliant seeing how all these pieces fit together:

  • Day 1: Set the stage for this entire series and outlined what we’d be covering
  • Day 2: Explored converting Kasten Helm charts to YAML
  • Day 3: Dove deep into the V13 new APIs, particularly the PowerShell module and malware detection APIs
  • Day 4: Got hands-on with the VBR API using PowerShell, building practical scripts
  • Day 5: Set up N8N from scratch, creating our automation playground
  • Day 6: Built a complete security workflow in N8N that monitors for malware and automatically responds
  • Day 7: Explored Veeam Intelligence with VeeamONE, leveraging AI to get insights into our environment

Looking back at that week, I’m genuinely proud of what we covered. We went from basic API exploration to building sophisticated automation workflows that integrate Veeam with security response systems. That’s pretty epic, if I do say so myself!

Days 8-10: The Security Trilogy

Then we shifted gears into security, and this is where things got really interesting. We explored Veeam’s security capabilities through the lens of the backup lifecycle:

  • Day 8: Before Data Observability, Analytics, Security & Compliance Analyzer, and the Incident API
  • Day 9: During Inline Malware Detection and File System Activity Analysis
  • Day 10: After YARA Scanning and Veeam Threat Hunter for secure restore

This three-part series really highlighted something I’m passionate about: bridging the gap between backup teams and security teams. These aren’t separate concerns anymore, they’re two sides of the same coin. Your backups are your last line of defense, and they need to be secured, monitored, and verified just like any other critical infrastructure.

What I’ve Learned

You know, even after years of working with Veeam, writing these posts has reminded me just how powerful this platform is. The automation capabilities we explored in the first week aren’t just exercises, they’re real solutions to real problems. The security features from the past few days aren’t checkbox features, they’re comprehensive tools that can genuinely protect your environment.

it’s not complicated. Sure, there’s depth if you want to dive deep, but the basics? They’re accessible. A few checkboxes here, a simple API call there, and suddenly you’ve got enterprise-grade security and automation.

The second thing I’ve learned is don’t listen to your wife when she says a blog advent calendar is a great idea and then you realize afterwards just how much effort it’s going to need but you’re too far in to give up now haha (Thanks for the support though!)

Looking Ahead: The Fun Stuff

Right, we’ve covered the “big themes” that I had in mind, automation and security. But we’re only on Day 11, and Christmas is still a fortnight away!

So what’s next? Well, this is the silly season, the festive season, and I reckon we should embrace that spirit. For the remaining days leading up to Christmas Eve, I’m going to share features, tips, and tricks that I genuinely think are awesome. Some might be hidden gems you’ve never heard of, others might be well-known features used in creative ways.

The common thread? These will all be things I genuinely enjoy working with or think deserve more attention. No forced content, just honest sharing of cool Veeam stuff.

A Quick Thank You

Before I wrap up today’s post, I want to say a genuine thank you to everyone who’s been following along or has helped me with topic ideas, proofreading or any assistance. Writing a blog every single day is a touch ambitious but with the help of some amazing colleagues we’re going to make it to the end.

Wrapping Up

Tomorrow on Day 12, we’re diving into something I think is genuinely underrated and doesn’t get nearly enough love in the Veeam ecosystem.

It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be practical, and it’s going to kick off this new phase of the advent calendar perfectly.

The journey continues, but now with a bit more festive flair. The structure might be looser, the topics might be more eclectic, but the quality and passion will remain the same.

Thanks for sticking with me through this mad adventure. Let’s keep the momentum going and make these next two weeks just as exciting as the first!

See you tomorrow for Day 12! 🎄

Stay curious, stay festive, and as always, happy backing up! 🎁