Veritas NetBackup 10 promises multi-cloud data automation
The latest release of Veritas NetBackup refocuses its data protection and management capabilities on Kubernetes containers, SaaS tools and more frequent updates.
Veritas' latest update for NetBackup re-architects the software's container protection and provisioning capabilities.
Veritas NetBackup 10, announced today, aligns the vendor's flagship product to modern IT needs with multi-cloud Kubernetes container protection and recovery, SaaS protections, and automatic provisioning for AWS and Azure services. NetBackup 10 will become generally available March 28.
The new modular-like architecture, which the vendor dubbed the Veritas Cloud Scale Technology, will enable more frequent updates to the platform, and customers will be able to purchase specific features and capabilities as needed.
The complexity, interconnectivity and size of modern enterprise environments makes policy-based automation for provisioning a valuable addition for any data management suite, according to Krista Macomber, a senior analyst at Evaluator Group.
We're seeing enterprises need to strike a balance between IT controlling what data needs to be protected, but at the same time, they don't want to get in the way of the business.
Krista MacomberSenior analyst, Evaluator Group
"IT environments that customers are dealing with are very heterogeneous," she said. "IT is not directly in control when an application is spun up. Due to the nature of the beast, larger enterprises have environments that are more complex."
Macomber expects an ongoing need for policy automation capabilities as IT environments grow to encompass multiple clouds and on-premises data centers.
"Enterprises need to strike a balance between IT controlling what data needs to be protected, but at the same time, they don't want to get in the way of the business," she said.
A cloudy future
NetBackup 10 includes elastic backup and recovery services for AWS and Microsoft Azure, enabling deduplication and storage-tier replication of data as set by IT policy. Autoscaling and data orchestration features for the two hyperscalers can reduce costs as workload demands fluctuate.
NetBackup 10 also expands immutable data protection capabilities for AWS, Microsoft Azure and Seagate Lyve Cloud. On-premises protection is available with NetBackup Flex and Flex Scale appliances, Cloudian HyperStore and Hitachi Content Platform. The software supports more than 60 S3-compatible clouds.
Veritas Cloud Scale Technology enables multi-cloud recovery of Kubernetes containers, enabling cloud developers to work in their preferred environments without needing to submit requests to IT teams for storage or backup services.
A view of multi-cloud recovery points available in Veritas NetBackup 10.
These new demands for container-focused environments and a la carte services resulted in the full retooling of NetBackup, according to Anthony Cusimano, senior manager of product marketing at Veritas. Veritas NetBackup 9 was released early last year, introducing customers to Flex Scale, a scale-out, pay-as-you-go storage model. Since its release, the product had already begun setting a pace of more frequent updates.
"It's not the recommended path to take something like [NetBackup] and plop it in the cloud," Cusimano said. "This is the next phase. ... It's what the cloud architects are looking for. It's meant to be completely in the language and the form factor [they're] demanding."
Improving the ability to deploy microservices across environments remains the focus for Veritas competitors, including Commvault, Dell, IBM, Veeam and Cohesity, according to Christophe Bertrand, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget. But Veritas NetBackup 10's automation features will separate it from the pack as enterprise environments diversify.
"They're trying to do as much as they can, as simple as they can, within an environment," Bertrand said. "What you have here is a platform that has tools for all those different environments."
NetBackup 10 also continues building on the software suite's 30-year legacy by combining two capabilities previously sold separately.
NetBackup SaaS Protection is now included with the core NetBackup 10 offering and adds support for Google Workspace alongside other already protected SaaS products. NetBackup IT Analytics Foundation, previously sold as Aptare, has also been integrated into NetBackup 10, adding basic data management tools to point out security gaps or potential performance chokepoints to the NetBackup control console.
The release of NetBackup 10 will also include the availability of new appliances, Dell servers certified for NetBackup Flex Scale deployments.
The "single tool, multiple function" approach of NetBackup 10 marks an understanding of enterprise market needs, Bertrand said.
"That pivot allows end users to implement a digital transformation and optimize their ability to manage data," he said.
Updates and upkeep
NetBackup used to be updated annually, but the new microservice architecture of NetBackup 10 will enable Veritas to update its product and introduce new features more frequently, according to Cusimano.
"The Cloud Scale allows us to iterate faster," Cusimano said. "You'll start to see quicker releases for some of these pieces here. It's going to be a hybrid approach."
The vendor approach isn't new, according to Macomber, as Dell EMC PowerProtect has adopted a more frequent and flexible release cadence following its own refocus on cloud protection.
Data management and protection tools, however, tend to lock in enterprises, as any change can become a costly series of ingress and egress fees alongside whatever new hardware is required. Veritas' new approach also enables its customers to avoid additional service purchases and potentially reduce their enterprise data footprint.
"There isn't going to be a light switch flicked and [enterprises] migrate," she said. "Data protection has a lot of gravity. It's expensive and it's risky [to move]. There's certainly still some evolution, but we'll see what happens."
Tim McCarthy is a journalist living on the North Shore of Massachusetts. He covers cloud and data storage news.
