"If HP had Invented Sushi, it Would have Called it Cold, Dead Fish"; Why Unitrends Uses In-house Backup Software

Today's Rapid Recovery 4.0 backup software announcement from Unitrends continues to reinforce one of the growing trends in disk-based backup - ever more powerful backup software bundled on backup appliances intended for use by small and midsize businesses (SMBs). No longer do these size companies need to cobble together their own backup solution or rely upon a value-added reseller (VAR) to architect one. Instead SMBs can realistically expect to obtain fairly robust, near-turnkey backup solutions for prices starting at $5,000. The real trick when going down this path is selecting a backup appliance that can scale capacity as your business grows as well as offers backup software that meets the specific needs of your company's environment.

Just off the cuff, I am aware of at least three companies that bundle fairly robust backup software with their backup appliance: Overland Storage's Snap Server (includes BakBone Software's NetVault:Backup), STORserver's Data Protection Appliance (includes Tivoli Storage Manager) and Unitrends Data Protection Units (includes Rapid Recovery backup software).

In Unitrends case, its Data Protection Unit (DPU) deviates from the path that other vendors are following by developing and offering its in-house Rapid Recovery backup software in conjunction with its backup appliance. Like any other design decision, this has both its upsides and its downsides. On the upside, Unitrends obviously has more control over the direction of the backup software, what features it adds to the software and how quickly those features come to market. The features it offers can also be more tailored for the specific market segment which it serves.

Today's software release makes it evident that is exactly what Unitrends has done. While most other providers of backup software are touting the introduction of continuous data protection (CDP) and deduplication into their backup software, Rapid Recovery is more focused on what Unitrends has identified as its top three priorities among its existing customer base: (1) Data backup and archiving; (2) Bare metal recovery; and (3) Offsite e-vaulting.

These priorities are evident by what is highlighted in today's press release where it talks about centralized control of backups, improved backup scheduling capabilities and a new backup wizard for faster creation and scheduling of backup jobs as well as better reporting capabilities. These features are not the type of announcements that necessarily send shockwaves through the storage industry but make it evident that Unitrends is staying in touch with its customer base and delivering features that they can use Day 1.

The in-house development of its Rapid Recovery backup software is further evidenced by Unitrends continuing support and enhancement of features for Netware users. While Unitrends' CEO Duncan McPherson readily admits that Netware is not a growing market, Unitrends also finds current Netware users underserved in the backup space. Many of these users made a substantial investment in Novell a long time ago and now find it difficult, painful and costly to change.

Since there is still a lot of Novell in the education and government spaces, Unitrends finds that because it owns and controls the development of its Rapid Recovery software, it can take it in directions that best suit its client base. That partially explains McPherson's response when asked why Unitrends continues to develop its own backup software and does not rely upon more well-known software from other third parties. He wants Unitrends to focus on delivering features its customers need today, not years from now. As to the name "Rapid Recovery" for its backup software, he admits that Unitrends suffers from the same problem in marketing that HP suffers from. "If HP had invented sushi, they would have called it cold, dead fish," says McPherson.

SMBs are finding themselves the unexpected beneficiaries of the many changes occurring in data protection at the enterprise space. Not only are they getting more features from which to choose, the features that they have to choose from are becoming increasingly more powerful at ever lower price points. The cautionary note here is what Unitrends makes evident, just because the appliance is powerful does not mean it is the right solution for your company. Because with so much control over these appliances and what goes in them, the vendor may be taking the appliance and the software included with it down a path that does not align with what your company's specific IT needs and goals may be.