Why users opt for online backup
The entry of heavyweights such as EMC and Symantec may spur increased interest in online backup and recovery.
Content from InfoStor.com
by Michele Hope

Online backup service providers at-a-glance

Admittedly just scratching the surface of online backup service providers, the following “A-List” represents the companies that most analysts agree have the biggest impact in the space. Other notables identified by one or more analysts appear below as “Honorable Mentions.”

Analysts’ “A-List”

  • Asigra (offered exclusively via MSP channel partners)
  • Arsenal Digital Solutions
  • EMC (acquired Berkeley Data Systems)
  • EVault (a Seagate company)
  • Iron Mountain Digital
  • Symantec (service not yet generally available)
Candidates for “Honorable Mention”
  • BluePoint Data Storage
  • Carbonite
  • Incentra Solutions
  • Intronis
  • Remote Backup Systems (RBS)
In fact, offering either core backup services or backup software technology licenses as an added sales opportunity to resellers is a common sales channel strategy in the online backup market. Many grand-daddies in the space-including Asigra, EVault, Arsenal Digital, and Iron Mountain Digital-have expanded their markets via this practice, with companies such as Asigra making it their primary sales strategy (see figure).

According to Adam Couture, principal analyst in Gartner Inc.’s storage services, this practice makes life both easier and harder for companies trying to investigate their online backup choices. “Most often, what you see is that a service provider is either reselling someone’s service by just passing it on through without the customer even knowing it. Or, they are licensing somebody’s technology,” says Couture. “If you get managed backup from SunGard or managed backup from IPR International, for example, it’s based on EVault technology. If you get managed backup from HP or Digitiliti, it’s based on Asigra technology.”

This chart depicts the key providers or technology software vendors behind many service provider offerings in the online backup market.

Since there are only a few technology vendors behind most of the online backup services, the process of vendor evaluation can be made a little easier, according to Couture. “You can start by evaluating the base technologies instead of sifting through hundreds of vendor Websites. But, as reselling online backup services becomes an easier proposition for vendors, the field is likely to get even more crowded than it already is.”

In evaluating online backup services providers, Gartner’s Couture notes the importance of learning the following:
  • What steps the provider follows to ensure data recoverability;
  • How long the vendor has been in business;
  • Whether they schedule tests to ensure the process works;
  • Any guarantees they can offer that backups will occur and when they will occur; and
  • Whether the penalties have “teeth;” Couture warns to make sure there is some punishment, usually financial, to service providers if they don’t meet their SLA.