Retrospect: Hybrid Backup Software With Cloud Storage for Mac and Windows

Retrospect, Inc. introduced a hybrid backup solution with Retrospect v11 for Windows and Retrospect v13 for Mac.

These version supports integrated cloud backup to Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, DreamHost, and other company-certified cloud storage providers.

Off-site data protection is a critical piece of any business’s data protection strategy, as corporate data is always at risk from accidental loss, malicious threats, or natural disasters. Keeping a copy of critical data in a separate location safeguards it against loss, providing a further layer of protection. In addition, an off-site location can securely store archived content that is no longer in use.

Cloud backup
Cloud backup to third-party cloud storage providers allows firm’s customers a way to protect their Windows, Mac, and Linux environment off-site. The company is certified for cloud storage with cloud storage providers Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage, as well as regional cloud storage providers DreamHost, Dunkel GmbH, Aruba Cloud Ltd., and Numergy SAS. A list of certified providers is available.

According to Gartner’s 2015 Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Storage Services^[1] , “customers should consider augmenting their on-premises environments with public cloud storage for use cases such as content distribution, media streaming, archiving, backup and DR“. Their report names Amazon and Google as leaders in the public cloud storage market, noting their aggressive pricing and continued innovation.

Cloud backup support offers following advantages:

Cost effective: Public cloud storage providers like Amazon and Google offer the lowest prices for storage with a pay-for-use model, rather than flat-fee storage tiers.
Zero knowledge security: Industry-standard AES-256 encryption assures customers that their data and their encryption keys remain theirs, regardless of whether their cloud storage provider suffers a security breach.
No cloud storage lock-in: The cloud storage landscape is evolving fast, and customers are always able to find the best fit for their environment by migrating between providers.
Advanced seeding and large scale recovery support: Bandwidth is a limiting factor for cloud backup, so Retrospect supports seeding options for the initial backup and large scale recovery for large restore scenarios.
Private cloud support: software is certified to backup to Basho Technologies, Inc.‘ Riak CS, an open-source software that allows partners to run a private cloud in their own data center. Partners can quickly set up their own private cloud for their customers to utilize.

“The addition of public and private cloud backup to Retrospect is great news for companies that want the ability to backup to a medium that is on site as well as having the safety net of data being stored off site,” said Owen Williams, The IT Collective Ltd.

Partner cloud certification
Firm’s partners are able to become Cloud Certified with Cloud Certification Program. Partners can set up their own cloud storage service with Basho Riak CS for new and existing customers to use, and Retrospect will certify and call out these Cloud Certified partners at http://www.retrospect.com/en/partners/learn.

Performance-optimized grooming
Software v11 for Windows and v13 for Mac include a new performance-optimized grooming mode that is up to 5x faster. With grooming, customers stay protected with a long-term backup retention policy to ensure recovery from yesterday, last week, last month, or five years ago, using storage that fits their budget. Performance-optimized grooming enables customers to quickly leverage this space-saving process.

“Retrospect’s new faster grooming is a welcome enhancement giving us more flexibility for our clients’ backup strategies,” said Ernst Mulder, GrafiSIS and AdvieSIS BV.

Other Enhancements
This release also offers other features and performance enhancements:

Performance improvements: Backup and restore are up to 20% faster with under-the-hood optimizations. Catalog rebuild is up to 3x faster with a fast rebuild mode. With these improvements, the solution delivers shorter backup windows and reduced recovery times.
Exchange 2016 certification: software is certified for Exchange 2016 database protection.

“Retrospect now represents the hybrid Backup and DR solution of choice for SMBs, with the added safety and security of cloud backups complementing the easy accessibility of primary onsite backups for improved BC after a data loss,” says Jean-Christian Dumas, VP WW, sales. “Of course we have selected and certified trusted cloud providers to ensure that our customers’ data is uploaded and stored at the highest level of security, and that it can be quickly available in case of a local disaster. Our cloud solution is also very flexible, so our customers and service providers can move their data from one cloud storage provider to another, should they need or decide to. Retrospect’s flexibility extends to both on-site and off-site protection, allowing us to serve the SMB market in the best possible way.“

Pricing and availability
Retrospect v11 for Windows and v13 for Mac are free updates for customers with current qualifying annual support and maintenance contracts, and are available from resellers or firm’s website as an electronic download. The software is available in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.

Pricing for Retrospect ranges from $119 for Desktop, which protect a single non-server computer and up to five additional networked computers, up to $2,899 for Multi Server, which protects as many Mac, Windows, and Linux servers and PCs as your bandwidth and storage capacity will allow. Upgrades range from $69 to $2,399. (All prices listed above are suggested retail pricing.)

^[1] Source: Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Storage Services, Worldwide, Gartner, 2015