The News: Version 12 of Veeam Backup and Replication (VBR) is now generally available. The release includes more than 500 new and enhanced product features. It also encompasses a new, umbrella packaging (“Veeam Data Platform”) of VBR with Veeam ONE with Veeam Recovery Orchestrator, and a new ransomware warranty. See the press release from Veeam here.
Analyst Take: The release of Veeam Version 12, designed to enhance cybersecurity and data protection in the multi-cloud era, is well-timed as the risk of ransomware continues to be a significant business threat and remains one of the top concerns of IT leaders. With VBR at its helm, Veeam has always been unapologetically rooted in backup. With the release of Veeam Version 12, it’s clear that Veeam is continuing to evolve those roots in tandem with customer requirements.
What Veeam Version 12 Addresses for IT Ops:
As I looked at what VBR Version 12 addresses for IT Ops, some key things stood out. The offering’s cornerstone new capability, direct-to-object backup, is compelling. It not only enhances support for a type of storage infrastructure growing in use for backup and archive, but also includes several value-add capabilities including the ability to write with fast, near-block storage speeds (overcoming the slow performance speeds that are a deterrent to adoption of object storage), and the ability to reduce data redundancies (helping to boost cost efficiency for customers). I see this as something that IT Ops teams will be excited about.
Veeam also augmented its portable data format with the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) to address the growing requirement for disaster recovery for, and to, the cloud. Multi-cloud has become the norm, and with its Veeam ONE analytics, monitoring, and reporting tool, Veeam is providing the ability to monitor backup environments, jobs, and recovery activities across multi-cloud environments.
Finally, I’m pleased to see Veeam continuing to add capabilities that enhance the cyber-resiliency of its backup copies and for its recovery operations. VBR Version 12 expands options for immutability and for access control, including adding native multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Just as data protection is evolving beyond backup, however, so too is Veeam. With VBR Version 12, Veeam added bundling options of VBR with VRO and Veeam ONE, under the umbrella of the “Veeam Data Platform.” VRO and Veeam ONE add important capabilities such as auditing and documenting RTO and RPO for compliance and security audits, and detection of and faster response to cyberattacks, and these capabilities build from the VBR foundation. For example, Veeam’s Data Integration API allows backups to be mounted for forensics, including scanning and cleansing. I believe this will also be very attractive to IT Ops teams.
Looking Ahead for Veeam:
Arguably the most notable area to watch coming out of the VBR Version 12 announcement is the fact that Veeam is throwing its hat in the ring for a ransomware warranty, although this is an area of the market that is still developing and remains unproven.
Like all warranties, Veeam’s comes with stipulations – the customer must be using VBR Version 12 with Premium support, and they must spend $200,000 per year with Veeam for three years. Like competing ransomware warranties, the customer must conduct regular checks (quarterly, in this case) to verify that they are following cybersecurity best practices. However, Veeam offers both a 30-minute support SLA and a dedicated account manager to help customers navigate their ransomware response.
While ransomware warranties should not be considered a failsafe, I believe that Veeam’s warranty offering will enable the company to start and nurture conversations with customers and prospects. It will also encourage better adherence to policies and the implementation of technologies that improve cyber-resiliency, and it could ultimately directly help customers minimize data loss and downtime following a ransomware attack.
If you’d like a deeper dive, check out Evaluator Group’s Veeam Product Review and Data Protection Software EvaluScale Comparison Matrix.
Disclosure: Evaluator Group, wholly owned by The Futurum Group, is a research and analyst firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article. Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually.
