The Thirsk, North Yorkshire-based label and nameplate specialist installed a VMWare virtual machine earlier this year, which makes an exact copy of each server on to a USB disk.

According to GSM site manager Peter Young the business never expected to use the system restore feature. "However, a few weeks ago, our server broke down," he said.

A call to Shuttleworth meant the system was quickly back up.

"For us the Virtual System Restore has been worth its weight in gold. It turned a disaster into an inconvenience," added Young.