HYCU-X Piggybacks on Existing HCI Platforms to Put Itself in Scale-out Backup Conversation – DCIG

This article was written by By Jerome M. Wendt, president and lead analyst, DCIG, Inc.

HYCU-X Piggybacks on Existing HCI Platforms
to Put Itself in Scale-out Backup Conversation

Vendors are finding multiple ways to enter the scale-out hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) backup conversation.

Some acquire other companies such as StorageCraft did in early 2017 with its acquisition of ExaBlox. Others build their own such as Cohesity and Commvault did.

Yet among these many iterations of scale-out, HCI-based backup systems, HYCU’s decision to piggyback its new HYCU-X on top of existing HCI offerings, starting with Nutanix’s AHV HCI Platform, represents one of the better and more insightful ways to deliver backup using a scale-out architecture.

To say that HYCU and Nutanix were inextricably linked before the HYCU-X announcement almost goes without saying. HYCU was the first to market in June 2017 with a backup solution specifically targeted and integrated with the Nutanix AHV HCI Platform. Since then, HYCU has been a leader in providing backup solutions targeted at Nutanix AHV environments.

In coming out with HYCU-X, HYCU addresses an overlooked segment in the HCI backup space.

Companies looking for a scale-out secondary storage systems to use as their backup solution typically had to go with a product that was:
1 New to the backup market
2 New to the HCI market; or
3 New to both the backup and HCI markets.

Of these three, a backup provider that fell into either the 2nd or 3rd category where it was or is in any way new to the HCI market is less than ideal. Unfortunately, this is where most backup products fall as the HCI market itself is still relatively new and maturing.

However, this scenario puts these vendors in a tenuous position when it comes to optimizing their backup product. They must continue to improve and upgrade their backup solution even as they try to build and maintain an emerging and evolving HCI platform that supports it. This is not an ideal situation for most backup providers as it can sap their available resources.

By HYCU initially delivering HYCU-X built on Nutanix’s AHV Platform, it avoids having to create and maintain separate teams to build separate backup and HCI solutions. Rather, HYCU can rely upon Nutanix’s pre-existing and proven AHV HCI Platform and focus on building HYCU-X to optimize Nutanix AHV Platform for use in this role as a scale-out HCI backup platform. In so doing, both HCYU and Nutanix can strive continue to deliver features and functions that can be delivered in as little as one-click.

Now could companies use Nutanix or other HCI platforms as a scale-out storage target without HYCU-X? Perhaps. But with HYCU-X, companies get the backup engine they need to manage the snapshot and replication features natively found on the HCI platform.

By HYCU starting with Nutanix, companies can leverage the Nutanix AHV HCI Platform as a backup target. They can then use HYCU-X to manage the data once it lands there. Further, companies can then potentially use HYCU-X to backup other applications in their environment.

While some may argue that using Nutanix instead of purpose-built scale-out secondary HCI solutions from other backup providers will cost more, the feedback that HYCU has received from its current and prospective customer base suggests this the opposite is true. Companies find that by time they deploy these other providers’ backup and HCI solutions, their costs could exceed the costs of a Nutanix solution running HYCU-X.

The scale-out backup HCI space continues to gain momentum for good reason. Companies want the ease of management, flexibility, and scalability that these solutions provide along with the promise that they give for them to make disaster recoveries much simpler to adopt and easier to manage over time.

By HYCU piggybacking initially on the Nutanix AHV HCI Platform to deliver a scale-out backup solution, companies get the reliability and stability of one of the largest, established HCI providers and access to a backup solution that has pegged runs natively on the Nutanix AHV HCI Platform. That will be a hard combination to beat.