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Veeam adds to MS 365, Azure backup-as-a-service market
Veeam has added to its portfolio of Microsoft 365 and Azure backup and disaster recovery offerings with its new Veeam Data Cloud, a SaaS subscription based on acquired tech.
By rebranding the technology from an acquisition, Veeam has expanded how customers protect their Microsoft 365 and Azure SaaS applications.
The Veeam Data Cloud is an as-a-service offering built on Microsoft Azure that provides data protection and recovery for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure SaaS offerings. The Veeam Data Cloud is fully managed by Veeam, according to the vendor.
Veeam Data Cloud is based on Cirrus, the backup as a service provider for Microsoft 365 and Azure that Veeam acquired last fall for an undisclosed sum. Veeam is rebranding Cirrus, using its broader reach to address more customers. Current Cirrus customers will switch over to Veeam Data Cloud with no changes in their plans.
As more customers begin to use SaaS applications, such as 365, they need to look at what's available for data protection because SaaS data is not inherently backed up, according to Christophe Bertrand, an analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group.
"[Partners are saying,] 'Why not provide 365 protection to my clients as a service, versus having to build a service,'" he said.
Expanding customer options
Veeam Data Cloud adds to the vendor's portfolio of options for backing up and protecting data in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. The company offered Microsoft 365 protection as early as 2016. Veeam offers both a backup software that is deployed on-site and as a managed service deployed and managed by a provider, but as more customers want to subscribe to a service, Veeam decided to offer that as well, the vendor said.
Customers consume services in different manners depending on their needs or how best to take advantage of the service, according to Krista Macomber, an analyst at Futurum Group.
"The biggest advantage is the addition of another deployment option for Veeam's capabilities," she said.
Veeam Data Cloud isn't the only backup-as-a-service offering on the market for services like 365, Macomber said, as it will compete with offerings from vendors such as Clumio, Cohesity, HYCU, Commvault and Azure Backup.
Bertrand also pointed to the fact that most data protection vendors offer Microsoft 365 protection, but added requirements differ from customer to customer.
"There are many different options, because not just one vendor does everything," he said.
There are also plenty of user subscriptions that lack data backup or recovery services, according to Bertrand. As of 2022, Microsoft reported it had 345 million paid seats for Microsoft 365. Veeam estimates that less than 20%, or fewer than 69 million, of those seats are attached to backup and recovery services.
Still room to grow
Beyond 365 and Azure, other SaaS applications need backup and recovery protection. While Veeam didn't get into specifics, the vendor stated that Veeam Data Cloud should be seen as the beginning of Veeam-branded SaaS protection offerings.
Extending support to other SaaS offerings is an interesting area of the data protection market as a whole, as vendors begin to offer more protection, Bertrand said. There is a misguided belief that SaaS providers are backing up data, when that isn't always the case.
"I think there's going to be an arms race for whoever can cover the SaaS application [market]," he said. "It's already starting to happen."
Adam Armstrong is a TechTarget Editorial news writer covering file and block storage hardware, and private clouds. He previously worked at StorageReview.com.
