Zmanda “Cloud Backup”

Implementing a comprehensive data
protection strategy within an SMB can seem both daunting and time
consuming. The task is challenging because files, applications,
databases, email and networked devices must all be protected to ensure
business continuity and compliance. Data protection can be time
consuming because as a business matures and grows, the volume of data
increases and newer and more complex data retention requirements are
introduced.

Zmanda, in open source backup and recovery software,
announced the general availability of Zmanda Cloud Backup (ZCB), a cost
effective and easy-to-use solution for small-and-medium sized
businesses (SMBs) that need data backup and disaster recovery for
Microsoft Exchange and SQL Servers. ZCB is different and more
cost-effective than other online backup solutions because it backs up
the entire Windows environment to a public storage cloud such as the
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3).

"System administrators who work within SMBs have extraordinary demands
placed on them,” said Henry Baltazar, storage analyst at the industry
analyst company The 451 Group. “While adequate data protection is of
course critical for SMBs, simplicity, ease of use and reliability are
equally important. That’s why we believe SMBs will increasingly turn to
secure offsite, cloud-based backup and recovery services such as Zmanda
Cloud Backup to protect their business critical applications and data."

ZCB is a simple GUI-based backup solution that allows Windows users to
easily automate their backup and recovery process. This robust yet
simple-to-use solution provides ongoing protection against disaster,
user error and theft. Once ZCB is installed on the Windows machine and
the backup process is set using its simple scheduler, ZCB automatically
backs up files, applications, databases, networked devices and Windows
system state, including Active Directory, to Amazon S3. The management
console allows system administrators to schedule the extraction of
backup data from live applications and the upload of backup archives to
the storage cloud independently, thus reducing the burden of backup
operations on production applications and WAN bandwidth. ZCB can also
be used to protect either a physical or a virtual Windows machine. The
backups are stored in a native Windows format, giving users the option
to access and reuse their files even without ZCB.

“Zmanda Cloud Backup is the most complete Windows-based cloud backup
solution on the market,” said Chander Kant, chief executive officer,
Zmanda. “It’s an affordable, pay-as-you-grow solution that provides
users with the reassurance that backups of their applications and data
are stored offsite, yet available anytime from anywhere with internet
access.”

Amazon S3 gives users access to the same highly scalable, reliable,
fast, inexpensive data storage infrastructure that Amazon uses to run
its own global network of web sites. The service aims to maximize
benefits of scale and to pass those benefits on to end users. ZCB
allows Windows system administrators to encrypt or compress data before
transferring to Amazon S3. This assures highest level of security of
sensitive data, as well as optimal use of bandwidth and storage.

The price for ZCB with a basic service level agreement (SLA) consists
of a one-time $50 charge for each Windows server protected and a
flexible pay-as-you-go cost being $0.20 per GB and per month for storage used and data
transferred into the storage cloud. Higher level SLAs are also
available for an additional charge. ZCB is immediately available for
download.