Fine Granularities

4:30 PM - Continuous data protection (CDP) has turned the tables on the usual market scenario. Startups are the elitists, and giants such as Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) are on the outside with their noses pressed against the glass.

Thats because there is a small but aggressive group of CDP gatekeepers who are extremely protective of their technology. Any vendor claims of CDP come under close scrutiny from this group, consisting of startups Mendocino Software, Revivio Inc., Storactive Inc., TimeSpring Software Corp., and XOsoft.

This is a tough bunch, adhering to a strict but not-too-specific definition, one that only a Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) special interest group could formulate:

Actually, CDP proponents find it easier to say what CDP isn’t. Like, it isn’t merely frequent snapshots copied to another server. That’s what Microsoft’s Data Protection Manager does. So when Microsoft announced it was developing a CDP product last year, the CDP crowd squawked. (See Microsoft's Recovery Plan.) Microsoft actually backed off and now calls DPM “near-CDP.” (See Microsoft Backs Up on CDP Claim.)

Then Veritas (now Symantec) chimed in with its crack at CDP, code-named “Panther.” (See Veritas Uncages Panther.) Just another case of snapshots and replication, the elitists said.Symantec, part of the SNIA SIG, claims Panther, unlike DPM, has no limit on the number of snapshots it can take, therefore it’s continuous. An exec from one of the startups accuses Symantec of “trying to expand the definition” of CDP.

Expect the debate to continue long after Symantec launches Panther tomorrow, under the name Backup Exec Continuous Protection Server. Zoweeee!!

That big players aren't resisting the CDP startup elite bodes one thing: They want something from them. Expect at least one or two startups to get acquired. A few more will succeed with CDP as part of larger product platforms, as XOsoft is doing, or through OEMs, as EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is doing through its OEM deal with Mendocino.

As for those who are left, they may find out the hard way that it’s tough to get rich betting against Microsoft and Symantec.

— Dave Raffo, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch0