EMC Data Protection-as-a-Service

EMC Corporation announced products and technologies that address the continuum of data protection requirements facing users, both today and as they address the challenge of transitioning to software-defined data centers.

The company introduces new capabilities for its Data Domain systems, extending support beyond just backup.

In software-defined data centers, infrastructure is virtualized and delivered as a service. To maintain effective protection during the transition to next generation environments, data protection strategies and technologies must also evolve to a service-based delivery model.

EMC’s data protection solutions span the range of customers’ data protection needs, from archive to continuous availability for physical, virtual and cloud environments.

With this announcement, EMC adds new integrations with primary and protection storage platforms, and with hypervisors and enterprise applications, while extending support for cloud environments and delivering new technologies that enable data protection-as-a-service delivery. These innovations drive efficiencies into customer environments, while laying a foundation that helps EMC customers move to software-defined data centers.

New Product and Technology Highlights

Evolution of the EMC Data Protection Suite
It redefines the usage model for data protection software by enabling flexible application of integrated products to optimize both on-premise and cloud-based backup and archive environments as they evolve. It consists of Avamar, NetWorker, Data Protection Advisor, Mozy and SourceOne software offerings.

With this release of the Data Protection Suite, new capabilities include:

• Snapshot Management for Isilon, VNX and NetApp arrays to improve protection for NAS-based data.
• Support for VMware and Microsoft cloud infrastructures via integration with VMware vCloud Suite and Microsoft System Center VM Manager.
• Integration between Avamar and Data Domain provides the best of both platforms.
• Enhanced security features and new Linux support for Mozy public clouds enable greater adoption by enterprise customers.

New Protection Storage Capabilities
With the introduction of a new Data Domain OS, the company continues to evolve Data Domain’s position with capabilities that extend its support beyond just backup to establish it as a cornerstone for enabling delivery of data protection as-a-service.

New capabilities include:

• The introduction of Data Domain DD Boost for Enterprise Applications, which empowers application admins to protect their own environments and includes support for Oracle, SAP solutions, the SAP HANA platform, DB2 and SQL Server.
• Secure multi-tenancy feature for cloud deployments enables Data Domain systems to deliver secure isolation for large enterprises and service providers and function as a protection storage platform in data protection as-a-service deployments.
• Archive storage enhancements include support for one billion files, broadening Data Domain systems’ supported use cases.

New VPLEX and RecoverPoint Software Releases

• Through new software releases from the VPLEX and RecoverPoint product lines, EMC accentuates its ability to address the continuum of data protection needs, offering continuous availability, mobility and DR for more environments and multi-site configurations:
• VPLEX and RecoverPoint now combine to deliver MetroPoint topology, a 3 site BC capability for mission critical applications. MetroPoint topology combines VPLEX Metro continuous availability with RecoverPoint remote replication and CDP to deliver operational and DR over any distance.
• EMC also introduces a new product, VPLEX Virtual Edition – a virtualized solution that offers continuous availability and data mobility in a low-cost, 100% software deployment. With VPLEX Virtual Edition, EMC extends the market for continuous availability and mobility as customers of all sizes can now take advantage of VPLEX technology. VPLEX Virtual Edition will also be made available as part of VSPEX Proven Infrastructure solutions.

EMC Global Services
Complementing these new data protection products and capabilities is the EMC Blueprint for Backup Architecture service. Through this service, the firm establishes baseline information for an organization’s current data protection capabilities, providing specific strategic and design insights into their environment and practices, along with recommendations for improvement. As a result, customers are provided with a roadmap for advancing their current data protection operations towards a data protection-as-a-service model with lower cost, less risk, and better performance; freeing them to drive innovation and increase revenue for their enterprise.

Swamy Kocherlakota, global head of infrastructure architecture and engineering, BNY Mellon, said: “Complexity around data protection in the enterprise is increasing, especially in light of the advancements for private, public and hybrid cloud implementation patterns. Successfully architecting and delivering an effective enterprise data protection infrastructure requires an end-to-end view of the enabling underlying infrastructure components with out-of-the-box integration, automation where possible. EMC is uniquely positioned to deliver the vision to the needs of large enterprises like BNY Mellon.“

Sanjay Katyal, VP, global strategic alliances, VMware, Inc., said: “With innovations such as advanced support for VMware vCloud Suite and a new virtual edition of VPLEX, EMC’s data protection solutions are advancing the protection of cloud infrastructures and aligning closely to VMware’s cloud management vision and pathway to the software-defined enterprise.“

Jason Buffington, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, said: “Taken in sum, these comprehensive product announcements reflect EMC’s ability to address the full spectrum of data protection needs in customer environments. Delivery of data protection as-a-service, together with the ability to solve for the full ‘continuum’ of protection requirements and consolidate workloads to a single protection storage platform, presents strong underpinnings for EMC’s long-range vision for data protection in next generation IT environments.”

Guy Churchward, president, EMC data protection and availability division, said: “Over the past few years we’ve delivered numerous integrations that, together with a workload-agnostic protection storage platform as an anchor, provide a Protection Storage Architecture. Today, we are announcing products and new integrations that enable customers to deliver a complete spectrum of data protection and availability capabilities as a holistic, consumable service. Data protection-as-a-service is a key tenant for establishing effective protection for software-defined data centers-a ‘bedrock’ that needs to be in place for organizations to confidently transition to 3rd platform software infrastructures.”

All new EMC data protection products will be available in second quarter of 2014. The Blueprint for Backup Architecture service is available.