Commvault drops Simpana brand and adds features

Commvault is set to drop the Simpana name from its backup software product. In December 2015 it will simply become Commvault Software and will add a host of new features.

These include opening up the Commvault storage repository to third-party application data, virtually unlimited restore points, extended support for array-based replication, promised third-party analytics application program interfaces (APIs), and security and retention policies – from cradle to grave – for data.

Commvault product markleting director Nigel Tozer said Simpana is being retired because it hasn't gained traction among customers. He said: “The Simpana brand hasn't resonated with the market. Although it's been called Simpana, most people just call it Commvault anyway.”

With the release in December Commvault's storage repository – the back-end software that organises and manages data retained by the product – will accept the migration of data from third-party applications. In other words, data needn't be moved to Commvault during its data protection operations, such as backup or replication, but can simply be migrated there for future access.

The upgraded version – which supercedes Simpana version 10 – will offer virtually unlimited restore points for data. To do this, Commvault logs changed blocks in applications and data and allows customers to roll back to a point in time.

Tozer said: “It used to be that there was backup and there were snapshots and replication. We're trying to bridge the gap between those two and offer push-button access to unlimited recovery points.”

The new version will add support for replication in Nutanix's Acropolis hypervisor and on Pure Storage all-flash arrays, bringing these platforms into the array-based replication manageable from a single screen in Commvault.

Governance-from-inception will also debut in December 2015. This will allow customers to set security and retention policies for specific sets of data that are attached to it, from creation to deletion.

The Commvault repository will also be opened to APIs from third-party analytics providers to allow customers to interrogate data held in it for big data purposes – but Tozer could not say which suppliers would be included in this.