Veritas Software Corp. is ramping up in the area of storage management in an effort to boost utility computing in the IT industry.
The No. 4 software provider plans to deliver advanced storage virtualization (expanding Veritas VolumeManager); will roll out a two-phase strategy for storage resource
management (SMR). The new phase will involve delivering storage as a utility by adding SRM functionality such as storage resource metering, advanced reporting and policy enforcement); and will release a new management dashboard, dubbed Veritas Service Manager, which will offer services including provisioning and backup, monitoring and reporting capabilities.
Gary Bloom, Veritas chairman, president and CEO, says the solutions will help manage storage across a host of different platforms and environments.
Given the jumbled mix of hardware and software solutions today, IT environments are stressed to the limit, says Bloom, and need help aligning IT strategies with business needs.
In addition to storage management moves, the company announced 100 partners have joined the Veritas-Enabled partner program, which offers product training and support on ensuring interoperability with Veritas’ data protection, storage management, high availability and disaster recovery solutions.
Fred Dimson, Veritas Software (Canada) Inc’s general manager, says the company is in talks with Nortel about the program, although he couldn’t give specific details about the plan.
Also on the partner front, the company has expanded its channel program, rolling out a loyalty program that rewards resellers on a points-based incentive plan for taking training sessions and peddling Veritas gear, says Omer Gagnier, indicating about 80 per cent of business in Canada goes through the channel – while the U.S. sees 50 per cent.
On the product front, the company announced feature additions to its flagship product, Veritas NetBackup and Veritas Backup Exec. New features include a desktop/laptop data protection and synchronization technology.
Mark Bregman, executive vice-president of product operations, says the data protection gear is yet another example of products and technologies that are paving the way for utility computing.
The company also launched the Veritas Architect Network (VAN) – which is aimed at system administrators, database administrators and developers – and offers free technical advice and articles on all things storage – a hot topic is certification, says Jeremy Burton, vice-president of marketing.
“”There are no sales involved – it’s strictly for educational purposes.””