Just a few weeks back we released the new Backup Exec with many improvements and new features. And now with thousands of successful installations and fantastic feedback, we continue to focus on delivering real customer value and timely platform support.
The new version is built on the strong foundation of our last release which continues to see great momentum in customer adoption. We’ve been busy since its launch last November drawing insights from your feedback to make this release even better.
We also spent a lot of time with customers to understand the future challenges and where the industry is going. Six themes were consistent – (1) Multi-cloud adoption, (2) data privacy and regulation, (3) performance, (4) security, (5) ease of use and licensing, and (6) new platform support. We bring numerous innovations on these six themes in the new Backup Exec.
Hybrid Multi-cloud cloud scenarios
We know that the move to the cloud is a journey and often, a hybrid multi-cloud approach, one that combines on-premises and various cloud environments working together, is what makes sense to our customers. Extending file servers, and backup in and to the cloud are just a few examples of what customers are already doing today to extend their IT to the public cloud.
In addition, this approach also allows for workloads running on-premises to take advantage of innovation in the cloud such as Artificial Intelligence and IoT. Cloud enables a future-proof, long-term approach – which is exactly why we see it playing a central role in cloud strategies for the foreseeable future.
One of our goals with Backup Exec is to make it simpler and easier to connect Backup Exec deployments to and in cloud. With the new Backup Exec, customers will be able to easily integrate public, private & hybrid cloud configurations such as Azure, AWS, Google, IBM, EMC and many more so they will be able to leverage the storage without disrupting their applications and infrastructure.
Data privacy regulation such as the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the already well established Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) require organizations to keep data within known geographical borders for compliance purposes. Our new Veritas Information Map™ integration enables customers to locate and visualize their entire data estate supporting GDPR and other privacy regulation.
Using the dynamic navigation in Information Map, customers gain granular understanding of their entire data landscape to identify areas of risks, areas of value, and areas of waste and make decisions which reduce information risk and optimize information storage.
Performance
In the new Backup Exec, we are building on this platform by adding performance and reliability. The new version maximises the performance and cost benefits of cloud and minimise the cost of on-site storage all at the same time – all license bundles now support superior deduplication to on-premises storage, as well as deduplication to public and hybrid cloud. The enhanced deduplication engine can use a Multi-Threaded Streaming Agent for most data sources.
The Multi-Threaded Streaming Agent runs alongside the deduplication plug-in on both the clients and the Backup Exec servers. The agent uses multiple threads for asynchronous network I/O and CPU core calculations, thereby improving throughput performance.
Security
The number of external threat incidents is expected to double again during 20181. Hence, it comes as no surprise that security continues to be a top priority for our customers. The number of cyber-security incidents continue to grow, and the impact of these incidents is escalating quickly.
We continue on our journey to help our customers improve their security posture by working on features to enhance security into the product. The new version introduces Secure Console Management which ensures that only authorised users have access to the Backup Exec console and management. Backup Exec has also enhanced the existing inbound firewall rules to provide access for only the required ports and restrict access to all other ports. This helps to minimize probability of a security lapse or violation.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council published the latest version of the Data Security Standard (DSS) to put an end to the use of the outdated Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption and early versions of Transport Layer Security (TLS). PCI DSS 3.1 calls for the use of current, secure versions of TLS and stronger cryptography. In line with this this update to the DSS, Backup Exec supports TLS 1.2, the latest version of the TLS protocol.
Ease of use and licensing
Backup Exec is easier to purchase than ever: choose between perpetual and term subscription licensing, with the level of functionality you require – Bronze, Silver or Gold.
Bronze edition offers the most economic option, Silver edition offers the most-used features, while Gold edition includes all features and functionality available in Backup Exec. Purchase based on the amount of front-end data you need to backup and your chosen license-set is available in whatever quantities you require. For more information on subscription, refer: www.backupexec.com/subscription
New platform support including the day-one support for VMware vSphere 6.7
The big focus for every Backup Exec release is the new platform support. With the release of 20.1, we decided to double down with our agile approach in preparation for VMware’s announcement of vSphere 6.7. We set out to lay the foundation to support vSphere 6.7 and putting us in position to outpace our competitors. Leading the pack and staying ahead of the game, Backup Exec 20.1 exceeded expectations delivering day-one support for vSphere 6.7.
And, that’s not the only good news. We will also support the most recent releases like SQL 2017 CU2, SQL 2014 SP2 CU9, Exchange 2016 SP CU7, and SLES 12 SP3.
Launch webcast
Catch up with everything you need to know about the new Backup Exec. Click here to register for a LIVE worldwide launch webinar and learn more about the top features which are introduced in this new release.
Remember that you can extend protection to your whole infrastructure with Desktop and Laptop Option for endpoints and SaaS Backup for cloud SaaS applications such as Office 365, Google Cloud and Salesforce.com.
We have much more to share this year. We will bring more details on the goodness of the new Backup Exec in a blog series that will cover each of the areas above.
We love hearing from you, so don’t forget to provide feedback using the comment section below or you can also reach out to me directly @ KumarVarun.Verma@veritas.com.
We have a lot to talk about in Backup Exec 20.1!
- Varun Verma, Product Management & Marketing, Veritas
1. WSJ Pro Cybersecurity report: the WannaCry Cyberattacks: Dealing with the Risks, 2017
