Commvault integrates recent acquisitions into portfolio
At its Shift conference this week, Commvault will highlight new functionality for Commvault Cloud that stems from its Appranix and Clumio buys and bolsters offerings beyond Azure.
Commvault is integrating technology from two recent acquisitions to expand its data backup platform's restoration tools and protect hyperscaler workloads.
The vendor will unveil Cloud Rewind for its Commvault Cloud platform on Wednesday at its Shift conference in London and online. The new add-on capability enables more granular and specific recoveries from cyberattacks such as ransomware.
Other additions include added support for AWS backups, the ability to back up Google Workspace data and a new Cyber Resilience Dashboard for assessing ransomware readiness.
Commvault has long operated almost exclusively with Microsoft Azure, according to Simon Robinson, an analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group. The company's acquisition of AWS data protection vendor Clumio and cloud automation specialist Appranix should help integrate Commvault's platform into multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud customer environments more easily, he said.
"They're doubling down on multi-cloud," Robinson said. "More organizations are pursuing a multi-cloud strategy, [so Commvault is] looking to have as much commonality and consistency as possible."
Cloud Rewind
Cloud Rewind catalogs and recovers specific cloud resources or resource dependences, like compute services, alongside the backup data so organizations can restore applications without needing to reconnect the data.
Cloud Rewind identifies and tracks cloud services connected to backup data so that users can identify issues or deviations that might arise during an automated restoration. The service will initially support AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure and will be generally available in the next several months, according to Commvault.
The capability is similar in concept to vendors such as Arpio, by providing disaster recovery that draws from both backups and associated application data such as API connections or resource directories, according to Jerome Wendt, CEO and analyst at Data Center Intelligence Group. As the adoption of multi- and hybrid cloud continues, he expects similar capabilities to become standard features or be expected by customers for cyber recovery.
"Ransomware is giving [vendors] the business driver," Wendt said. "Companies just underestimate how complex these [multi-cloud] environments really are."
Krista Case, an analyst at Futurum Group, agreed saying she expects more backup vendors to eventually take stock of data dependencies during recovery, a trend that's more established in container application backup services.
"It's certainly a value-add and it's something Commvault and the other data protection providers have been focused on protecting alongside the data," Case said. "We've seen that change with the shift to cloud native architecture."
Commvault customers concerned with ransomware will also have access to a new Cyber Resilience Dashboard.
The dashboard provides a view of a customer's entire Commvault data estate to show the availability of air-gapped copies and recent application health diagnostics. It is also expected to launch within the next several months.
Multi-cloud offerings
Multi-cloud customers can soon bring more of their Commvault tools and capabilities into AWS.
Commvault plans to add restoration tools to AWS S3 object storage services in the coming months, enabling customers to revert to a clean copy of S3 data during an attack. Other Commvault Cloud services including Cleanroom Recovery and Air Gap Protect will also be available through the AWS Marketplace.
The company is also expanding further into Google Cloud with the new Commvault Cloud Backup and Recovery for Google Cloud Workspace, which is aimed at protecting data in Gmail, Google Drive and other shared drives.
Commvault needs to quickly expand services into other clouds to keep up with its competitors, Wendt said.
The vendor likely acquired Clumio last month not just for AWS data protection technology, but for employees who are experts in clouds beyond Azure, Wendt said.
"Historically, Commvault has been tight with Azure," he said. "They have deep insights there, but [Clumio and Appranix] have much deeper insights into the other clouds."
Tim McCarthy is a news writer for TechTarget Editorial covering cloud and data storage.
