Veeam Rolls Out Hybrid Cloud Platform, Multiple Updates

Switzerland-based back-up and disaster recovery technology developer Veeam has introduced a Veeam Availability Platform for Hybrid Cloud, essentially a single system that can span customers’ on-premise, cloud and software-as-a-service requirements.

The platform was introduced Tuesday along with several updates to the Veeam Availability Suite in Boston.

Dan Bergeron, partner at SkyTerra, a Boston-area VAR that works with Veeam, said the most important thing about the new products is that it gives SkyTerra a way to provide customers a unified back-up and recovery solution as they move to the cloud.

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Bergeron has been selling Veeam since October and expects to do about $1 million in business with the company this year. SkyTerra is also a Microsoft partner and Bergeron said he’s seen success in selling the two together.

’We’re piggy backing Azure and Veeam," he said. "I can sell them in one motion. If they already have Veeam on-prem, I can say, ’Where do you want to back up to?’ They’ll say 'Azure', and I can show them a roadmap to put resources back there and Veeam will back them up. The other way around, they may have Azure, and everything is consumption-based. If they’re not selling consumption, Microsoft reps aren’t getting paid, so we can introduce Veeam into those accounts and Veeam helps consume the Azure.’

The availability platform ’gives me a roadmap to begin a conversation to move [customers] to the cloud,’ Bergeron said. ’You don’t need three disparate ways of doing back-up and recovery. They may counter with 'Why shouldn’t I just go to Azure?' But there needs to be a check and balance. If anything were to happen with Microsoft, you need to have the ability to take your back-ups and restore them. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket.’

The Veeam Availability Platform for Hybrid Cloud is essentially a combination of all the company’s products, including its Availability Suite, Veeam Cloud Connect, agents and orchestration software. The company says the platform allows enterprise continuity, workload mobility and visibility while bringing recovery times to near zero.

In addition to the platform, Veeam announced that the Veeam Availability Suite, version 9.5, will be released in October with increased scalability and enhancements for Windows Server 2016 and VMware’s vCloud Director.

The company also introduced Veeam Agent for Windows and Linux, which can now be deployed on-premise or to the public cloud. Agent will come in workstation and server versions, and there will also be a free version. Customers can backup from Agent directly to a service provider or primary data center. Licensing will be on a per-agent basis, on an annual subscription with 24-7-365 support. The Linux version will be out in November followed by the Windows version in December. The beta version is available online now, the company said.

Announced earlier this year, the Veeam Availability Orchestrator is set to be released in early 2017. The orchestrator allows customers to orchestrate disaster recovery through execution, testing and documentation. A beta version is set for release in September.

Veeam is also aiming for a first quarter 2017 release for its Availability Console. The console allows customers or their service providers to manage workloads and get them where they need to be. Veeam estimates that 40 percent of business are using backup-as-a-service, and DR-as-a-service. The company expects the efficiency gains and cost savings will help drive more businesses to the cloud.

The new Veeam Backup for MS Office 365 allows users access even when it’s not available through the cloud. Veeam says the system mitigates the risk of losing email by maintaining access by backing up email data back to the customer’s environment. The product promises quick recovery of individual mailbox items, and satisfies legal and regulatory requirements. It’s slated for release in Q4.

Veeam already has storage relationships with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, EMC, NetApp and Nimble with the release of Availability Suite 9.5. Veeam executives said version 10 will integrate with IBM storage management systems across all platforms. Veeam expects to preview the IBM line next May.