CA ARCserve D2D On Demand for SMBs

CA Technologies announced ARCserve D2D On Demand, a hybrid software-as-a-service (SaaS) data protection and disaster recovery solution that enables small businesses to meet demanding backup windows while protecting the integrity and availability of critical systems, applications and information.

Unlike solutions that only provide local protection or only back up directly to the cloud, CA ARCserve D2D On Demand combines resources for backup and bare-metal recovery capabilities with Windows Azure cloud storage for secure offsite protection and archiving of critical files. This hybrid approach enables SMBs to protect their growing volume of data within limited budget constraints.

"Now that SMBs are experiencing the same intensive proliferation of high-value data as their enterprise counterparts, they are in desperate need of a backup solution that is fast, scalable, easy to implement, richly functional and priced right," said Steve Fairbanks, vice president, Data Management, CA Technologies. "CA ARCserve D2D On Demand uniquely delivers on these key criteria by leveraging the inherent strengths of both on-premise and cloud models—enabling SMB customers to quickly and easily achieve their data protection objectives."

Utilizing patent-pending Infinite Incremental (I2) Technology, ARCserve D2D On Demand enables companies to conduct frequent backups with minimal impact on storage resources, processing power and network bandwidth. Users can restore files, application data, volumes or entire systems – even to dissimilar hardware or virtual environments – from a single snapshot backup.

Through a central web portal users and partners can obtain information on when the last backup occurred, total number of machines licensed, amount of time and storage remaining on the contract, and many other resources for managing the subscription account.

Offsite data storage is important for protecting organizations against local disasters, such as fires or floods.

"Windows Azure offers a compelling value proposition in terms of cost, elasticity, security and reliability," said Walid Abu-Hadba, corporate vice president, Developer & Platform Evangelism Group, Microsoft. "CA ARCserve D2D On Demand offers a great way of using the power of Windows Azure to make disk-to-disk backup much easier and less expensive."

CA ARCserve D2D On Demand is sold exclusively through the channel as a managed service – allowing customers to treat backup as a fixed operational cost, rather than requiring both high capital expenditure and indeterminate ongoing ownership costs. The inclusion of Windows Azure cloud storage also spares customers and partners the burden of engineering their own integration with cloud infrastructure or contracting separately with a cloud storage-as-a-service provider.

"It is essential for us to rigorously protect our IT environment – but the cost and hassle of backing up to tape, storing tapes offsite, and properly cataloging them for possible emergency restoration is impractical," said Tyler Rast, general manager and vice president of operation at Beehive Brick & Stone, a masonry products provider in Utah. "With CA ARCserve D2D On Demand, we now get fast, reliable off-site protection of our critical data on a straightforward subscription basis that keeps our costs low and predictable."

ARCserve D2D On Demand is offered through monthly or annual subscription licensing that includes 25GB of Windows Azure cloud storage per protected machine. Additional cloud storage is available in tiered capacity bands. Customers can pool their purchased cloud storage resources and share them among protected machines.

ARCserve D2D On Demand is also a solution for MSPs seeking to include data protection offerings in their cloud services portfolios.

"In addition to its technical excellence, CA ARCserve D2D On Demand is designed to flawlessly handle usage reporting and billing for MSPs re-selling cloud backup," said Vinny DiSpigno, CEO of Webistix, Inc., a New York-based MSP. "We expect this to be a great way for us to generate recurring revenue stream with minimal upfront investment."