Veritas Vacuums Desktop Data

Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) today announced details of its software for backing up desktop and laptop PCs -- code-named Project Shadow -- that's integrated with its server-oriented backup and recovery packages (see Veritas Backs Up Desktops).

The Desktop and Laptop Option [ed. note: cleverly named, indeed!] will be available as part of the next versions of Veritas's Backup Exec and NetBackup software, which are due out in December 2003. The PC-backup software, which the company says was developed as an entirely new code-base, is available only for Windows clients.

Veritas has offered a separate backup software package for desktop and laptop PCs, called NetBackup Professional. But because this requires a dedicated server with its own dedicated storage, it wasn't as appealing to customers, says Steve Kenniston, senior analyst at Enterprise Storage Group Inc.

"They recognized that the product that they had -- while it was a good product -- didn't meet all the requirements their customers had," he says. "I think there are literally thousands of boxes of NetBackup Pro sitting on shelves somewhere, because it wasn't a simple upgrade."

With the new option, desktop clients are managed from the management console of NetBackup or Backup Exec, says Lanna Metcalf, product marketing manager at Veritas. The client software also offers a continuous backup capability that transmits files to the backup server as they're created or changed, and an "invisible" client that doesn't allow users to modify settings.However, the Veritas desktop backup software lacks one significant feature that's provided by Connected Corp.'s DataProtector, one of the main players in the segment: DataProtector stores only one copy of any given document, even if it's stored on the machines of multiple different users. That can dramatically cut down the amount of storage needed to back up hundreds of desktops, says Tom Mackowski, senior technical product manager at Connected.

"Project Shadow actually increases the amount of storage required to back up PCs... it's an additional strain on that infrastructure," he says.

Veritas spokesman Jeremy Roe says customers aren't interested in this feature. "In speaking to our customers and prospects, we discovered that single-instance storage technology ranked fairly low on their list of priorities," he says.

Meanwhile, Metcalf points out that the Connected software has the same drawback as NetBackup Pro as a standalone solution. "Because this is the first integrated solution of its kind, we don't consider [Connected's DataProtector] direct competition," she says.

In any case, Veritas is hoping to tap what it sees as an underserved market. According to Veritas, the problem of companies not protecting data assets on desktops and laptops is pervasive: The company commissioned a study from research firm NFO Prognostics, which found that 60 percent of typical mobile users' data isn't backed up.A common practice for backing up desktops -- but one that's not very effective, according to Metcalf -- is to set up file servers and tell users to copy important documents themselves. "People know they need to do this, but they kid themselves with these stopgap measures," she says.

Veritas will sell the Desktop and Laptop Option at starting list prices of $495 for 100 seats for Backup Exec, and $2,500 for 250 seats for NetBackup. And why is the NetBackup version so much more expensive per user? "Over time we'll have added functionality in the NetBackup version," says Glenn Groshans, director of product marketing at Veritas. Such as what? "We're not announcing future plans." Ah.

The software is still in beta testing; Veritas declined to name customers that are kicking the tires on it. Metcalf, however, notes that Veritas is using the software internally for its distributed workforce -- and the client is in invisible mode, she adds, to ensure that the company's laptops are automatically backed up, whether or not users want them to be. Good to see Veritas is eating its own cat chow!

Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch