Quantum Q-Cloud Protect Available in AWS Marketplace

Quantum Corp. announced Q-Cloud Protect is available as a cloud-based appliance running on top of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplace infrastructure.

Q-Cloud Protect is a virtual deduplication appliance that works with Quantum DXi systems to provide a hybrid-cloud backup and DR solution, and is designed for companies with single sites looking to protect their business against localized disasters, organizations eliminating tape for off-site protection and companies seeking a hybrid-cloud approach to backup and DR. Q-Cloud Protect is available in the AWS marketplace, and will soon be available in the AWS GovCloud and C2S environments.

DR – practical first step toward cloud adoption
Companies of all sizes need to protect data from the threat of disasters. A best practice for data protection is to keep one copy of data off-site, but many companies struggle with the expense. Sending tapes off-site, or purchasing hardware for DR sites or hosted data centers requires additional capital expense and can be difficult to manage.

Off-site storage for DR as part of a hybrid approach to data protection is a practical place to start using the cloud. Cloud can make it economically viable for companies to follow the best practice of storing critical data off-site to protect against localized disasters, without capital investment.

Q-Cloud Protect Benefits: Q-Cloud Protect offers some key advantages to make DR simple, providing an easy option to protect data against localized disasters and replacing upfront costs with a pay-as-you-go OPEX model:

• Protect critical data in an Amazon data center: A best practice for data protection is to store a copy of data 100 miles from the primary data center. With Q-Cloud Protect, data can be stored in deduplicated form in one of Amazon’s availability zone data centers and recovered in the event of a disaster.
• Cut capital expenses with predictable, metered pricing: Q-Cloud Protect is a purpose-built virtual deduplication appliance available in AWS Marketplace. It is licensed on an hourly basis, enabling customers to pay only for the cloud resources they use as their system grows, cutting capital expenses.
• Reduce cloud storage and data transmission costs: Q-Cloud Protect uses Quantum’s patented variable-length deduplication and replication engine to replicate data from an on-premise deduplication appliance to Q-Cloud Protect, cutting both storage costs and data transmission costs by 90% or more. The result is fast replication at a low TCO, and customers gain the ability to restore their data straight from the cloud in a DR scenario.
• Eliminate off-site tape vaulting and improve restore times: Q-Cloud Protect provides deduplicated off-site storage in Amazon’s cloud, protecting businesses against localized disasters, and offers an alternative to sending tapes off-site for DR.

Robert Kelly, CEO and founder, Partners Data Systems Inc., said: “For companies with a single site looking to protect their business against localized disasters, or who are eliminating tape for off-site protection, especially with a hybrid-cloud approach to backup and DR, Q-Cloud Protect is a great option.“

Jason Buffington, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), said: “You can’t have a conversation about IT (or data protection) modernization without talking about ‘the cloud.’ And certainly one of the more exciting intersections between cloud services and data protection is in the use of off-site data survivability and BC/DR preparedness; ideally as an extension of one’s primary data protection strategy and architecture. Q-Cloud Protect is designed for just that. Considering Quantum’s long-standing presence in not only disk-based (DXi) but also tape-based (LTO) protection medium, cloud-based solutions are the next logical step.“

Robert Clark, SVP, product operations, Quantum, said: “Many of our customers face a mandate to start using the cloud, and it can be hard to know where to begin. Q-Cloud Protect enables them to start using the cloud for off-site DR, directly integrating it with their existing infrastructure while taking advantage of cloud economics.“