Appliance-Free Hybrid Cloud Backup Unveiled

By Khali Henderson

Zetta.net announced this week that it is redefining hybrid cloud backup with an appliance-free approach to creating a local backup copy for quick restore, increasing the addressable market and ease of management for its indirect sales partners.

Zetta.net’s DataProtect service has eliminated the need for an appliance on the customer’s premises to create and store a local copy through a combination of its Smart Cloud and new Lean Local Copy technology. Unlike most traditional “dumb” clouds, Zetta.net’s Smart Cloud includes the intelligence required for backup, snapshot and replication  a three-in-one solution  so that a smart local appliance is not needed to make sense of the data in the cloud. Instead, the Lean Local Copy enables companies to store the most recent copy of large files within their local storage environment, so that critical data is accessible when needed for rapid restoration.

Because the intelligence resides in the Zetta.net Smart Cloud, customers can restore and recover their data from either the cloud or their local network copy with equal ease, and without third-party hardware or software.

Chris Schin, vice president of products for Zetta.Net, told Channel Partners that the solutions “is efficient at moving data over the Internet.” Smart Cloud combined with a backup client at the customer’s premises is able to move 3TB per day, he said.

With an appliance-free approach, Zetta.net can deliver hybrid cloud backup and recovery at a significantly reduced cost. Pricing for Zetta.net DataProtect with Lean Local Copy starts at $225 per month. The price includes unlimited licenses, 24/7 U.S.-based support and 500GB of enterprise-grade secure online storage.

The reduced cost increases the addressable market of hybrid cloud backup services to include small and medium businesses and enterprises with distributed office locations.

“Through its unique backup, snapshot and replication architecture, Zetta.net has found an elegant way to deliver all-in-one data protection to companies without requiring them to pay the exorbitant prices associated with enterprise data recovery. Zetta.net is clearly addressing the market’s need for more comprehensive, yet affordable data recovery,” said Deni Connor, founding analyst for Storage Strategies NOW.

In addition, the appliance-free approach to hybrid cloud backup reduces overhead for the company’s channel partners. Partners are no longer required to purchase and manage multiple appliances across distributed locations, making this an easier jump into managed services for VARs.

Gary Sevounts, Zetta.Net’s vice president of marketing, explained that when MSPs have to manage appliance at the customer location, this often requires manual update and/or replacements. Without the appliance, “they have better margins, no install, no site visits and can respond remotely,” he said. MSPs can provide monitoring, maintenance and configuration for customers from the partner portal.

In addition, MSPs don’t have to pay for a storage capacity in advance; they can pay as their customers sign up. MSPs bill and provide tier one support; Zetta.Net offers backup support. White-labeling is available as an option.

Schin said Zetta.Net’s channel partners also are asking for ways to add value, so the company created AI Scripting so MSPs can write scripts for database software specific to industries, such as health care, when a Zetta.Net plug-in is not available.

And because there are no appliances, Zetta.Net DataProtect is an opportunity for telecom agents that are interested in selling backup on a commissioned basis. Zetta.Net pays commissions on a recurring or upfront basis depending on whether the customer billing is done monthly or annually.