 |
The category breaker: Symantec's Backup Exec 10d for Windows Servers
The columnist: Johna Till Johnson, president of Nemertes Research, "Eye on the Carriers" columnist
What makes this product so special? By way of background, in October 2005, Symantec introduced Backup Exec 10d for Windows Servers. Backup Exec includes a tool called Backup Exec Continuous Protection Server that provides disk-to-disk backup of updated versions of files, and a built-in search engine that lets users search for restored data by content and file name.
The product was developed by Veritas (acquired by Symantec in December 2004) and joins a lineup of continuous data protection (CDP) solutions from major vendors, including IBM (which recently announced Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files) and Microsoft (which recently made available its long-awaited Disk Protection Manager), as well as start-ups. CDP start-ups include Mendocino Software (licensed and supported by EMC), XOsoft (available through BMC Software), Lasso Logic (recently acquired by SonicWall), Mimosa Systems, Storactive, TimeSpring Software, FalconStor Software, InMage Systems, Kashya , LiveVault and Revivio.
Although Backup Exec 10d joins a crowded field, it represents a milestone for two key reasons. First, as an offering provided by a major vendor, it highlights the mainstream emergence of CDP as a key trend in business continuance. With CDP, business-continuity planning is becoming less about periodic batch backups of centrally stored data, and more about ongoing management and availability of information across the enterprise in real time.
Second, Symantec's move highlights another significant trend toward enterprisewide information stewardship, a holistic approach to information protection and security, data-quality management, information life-cycle management (ILM), business continuance and compliance. In a recent Nemertes benchmark, 87% of participants said they consider effective information stewardship vital to the organization - and a backup/ILM product offered by a security vendor is uniquely positioned to combine information protection with ILM and business continuance.
Given that it's offered by a security vendor, Backup Exec 10d marks a transition point in data and information management: positioning backup not in isolation, but as part of an overarching information stewardship architecture, which enterprises say they desperately lack. The overwhelming majority - 86% - of enterprises that participated in the recent Nemertes benchmark on information stewardship said their organizations' infrastructure was insufficient to support their information stewardship needs. Better and more integrated ways of protecting data (against corruption and loss) rank high in these enterprises' wish lists of needed infrastructure.
| Start a public discussion with other Network World users on this article (scroll up to send this article to a colleague). Log In | Register for an account (Why you should) |
Note: Register to have your user name appear; otherwise your comment will show up as "Anonymous."
*Anonymous comments will only appear once they are approved by the moderator.
Copyright 2008 Network World Inc.
Symantec to unveil new data protection software
09/23/05
EMC enters continuous data protection fray
10/24/05
Continuous data protection is available - use it
10/04/05
|
Does Verizon's Voyager stack up to the iPhone? |
|
TOP STORIES | MOST DUGG STORIES
|
5 IT skills that won't boost your salary 
[1,407]
Women 4 times more likely than men to cough up personal info [589]
Japan's 10 funniest tech-related commercials [Videos] [407]
Throwing away a promo CD is "unauthorized distribution"? [1,265]
Adults too quick to dismiss educational video games [682]
Attack of the iPhone clones [Slideshow] [578]
10 things IT needs to know about AJAX [1,258]
This Year's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries [Slideshow] [409]
| Virtualization: Optimized Power and Cooling to Maximize Benefits |
| Electrical Efficiency Measurement for Data Centers |
| Improving Rack Cooling Performance Using Airflow Management Blanking Panels |
| Five Basic Steps for Efficient Space Organization within High Density Enclosures |
| Building the Data Center of the Future: Switch Communications |
| The Future Branch Office |
| Getting to Know You: Managing Identity and Network Security |
| Taking Virtualization Up a Notch |
| The Importance of Network Time Synchronization |
| Storage Resource Management |
Gartner has positioned BMC CONTROL-M in the Leaders Quadrant of their "2009 Magic Quadrant for Job Scheduling." The report assesses the ability to execute and completeness of vision of key vendors in the marketplace. Read a full copy today, courtesy of BMC Software.
Read a compelling case study by EMA, Inc. to learn how Dell uses BMC CONTROL-M to cut cost and increase productivity with workload automation.
A major computer manufacturer uses BMC CONTROL-M and just four people to schedule and run over 85,000 jobs every month. By switching to BMC CONTROL-M, they more than quadrupled the workload without adding a single staff member. See how in this 2-minute video overview.
Network World on Twitter: Get our tweets and stay plugged in to networking news