Symantec Takes Storage to the Clouds

By Michelle Savage

April 1, 2008 —  (Page 1 of 2)
Symantec made its highly anticipated entry into the online storage market with the release of its Symantec Protection Network (SPN) platform.

SPN, a software as a service (SaaS) platform, provides a range of IT infrastructure technologies, a single portal and registration interface, consolidated billing, and a shared customer support model for all SPN-based services.

The SPN launch includes two initial online service offerings—Symantec Online Backup and Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec—which provide hosted data storage and disaster recovery services.

According to Chris Schin, SPN’s director of product management, SPN gives customers the ability to store and manage data in Symantec-operated data centers, eliminating the need to invest in hardware or software. The platform targets small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), although Schin said that large enterprises could also benefit from this technology.

Symantec planned to launch its online backup storage service in early 2007 but surprising beta results delayed the commercial release, according to Schin. “Our beta testers were very receptive to the idea of an in-the-clouds backup service— but many already had their policies in Backup Exec and were comfortable with Backup Exec,” he said. “They asked us: ‘Can I get this service and still use the policies and procedures I’ve built with Backup Exec?’”

So Symantec went back to the drawing board and created a service that integrates with the Backup Exec software, allowing Backup Exec customers to secure their data both onsite and offsite. The launch coincided with the launch of the company’s new Backup Exec product line in February 2008.

According to Schin, the online storage services are the first of many services that Symantec expects to launch in the near future. “We intend to take technologies in which we have market leading products and convert them to be delivered in the SaaS market,” said Schin. Examples of these technologies include endpoint security, e-mail archiving, desktop management and remote access.

The launch is a win-win situation for Symantec. Customers that already use Backup Exec are likely to pay an additional fee to use SPN’s online data protection services. And SPN customers are likely to purchase Backup Exec for added on-site data protection.

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