Veritas aims to boost NetBackup with simplified UI and setup

Veritas has announced an upgrade to its NetBackup backup software product in which it claims setup for simple backups has been reduced from 30 steps to “three clicks”.

The improvement comes alongside upgrades to version 8.1.2 that also include instant recovery of VMware workloads, additional Rest APIs to connect to third-party products, an agentless upgrade process and a new capacity monitoring and planning tool, Smart Meter.

Core to the upgrade are the claims to provide a simplified user experience, which are the fruits of the work of a “dedicated design team”, according to Ian Wood, head of business practices with Veritas.

“Netbackup 8.1.2 will allow an admin to select and backup a file in three clicks. Something that might have taken 30 steps before. It is web-based so works from any device, including mobile and is role based.”

Meanwhile, the new version has Instant Access for VMware, that allows VM admins to gain instant access to virtual machine backups including granular components, such as the file or an application within the VM.

Also new is Smart Meter, which gives insight into data usage in historical terms and allows admins to plan for future usage.

The upgrade is the latest in Veritas NetBackup product, which dates back to the 1990s. It is enterprise focussed, with its Backup Exec aiming more at the mid-market.

Enterprise backup software was dominated by a few key products for a decade or so – including NetBackup, EMC’s Networker, HP’s Data Protector, IBM TSM and Commvault Simpana – but in recent times strong competitors like Veeam have emerged, on the wave of virtualisation.

More recently backup via software-defined appliances, as well as hyper-converged infrastructure nodes, and with cloud connectivity has become a trend.

So, to some extent, Veritas is maintaining a long-standing product, but meanwhile, on a parallel track it is keeping up with new movements in the market.

In April, it released its Flex Appliance, which is a software-defined appliance in which data protection components – such as master servers, policy management, media servers, data movers and data deduplication – can be deployed in mix-and-match style via containers and allow for segmentation of different environments including the cloud.

At the same time Veritas released Access Appliance, which provides secondary storage for backup via pre-built hardware or as software-only versions and is intended as, for example, a tape replacement. It can be used with Flex Appliance to provide a full backup appliance with on-board capacity.