Source: Symantec To Release Veritas NetBackup 7.7 Next Week

CRN has learned that Symantec next week plans to unveil the latest version of its NetBackup data protection software.

Veritas NetBackup 7.7 is being targeted at helping channel partners and customers reduce the complexity of their data protection environments even as those environments continue to scale, according to a source close to Symantec.

NetBackup 7.7 is the latest version of NetBackup 7, which was initially introduced in 2010.

[Related: Symantec COO: Partners Will Benefit From Breakup]

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The release of NetBackup 7.7 comes as Symantec is in the process of splitting into two separate companies, Veritas and Symantec. Symantec in 2005 acquired Veritas.

The new Veritas will include Symantec's data protection, archiving, eDiscovery and storage management solutions. The new Symantec will focus on the company's security solutions and services. The split is expected to be complete by year-end.

Symantec Veritas remains a leader in the data protection software market. According to IDC, the company had a 24.2 percent market share in 2013, the latest year for which such data is available.

New to Veritas NetBackup 7.7 is integration with VMware Virtual Volumes, as well as expansion of the number of cloud providers with which the software integrates. NetBackup 7.6 currently supports Amazon, AT&T, Quantum and Rackspace clouds.

Also new are streamlined policies in Microsoft Hyper-V and Microsoft SQL environments to better adapt with workload requirements and make it easier to take advantage of intelligent policies to automate data protection.

NetBackup 7.7 will also better integrate with large scale-out storage environments like NetApp's Clustered Data OnTap, the Symantec source said.

Symantec also is planning to bring new self-service tools to NetBackup 7.7. Those tools include plug-ins for the VMware vSphere web client and Microsoft's SSCMM (System Center Virtual Machine Manager), both of which will be represented within the NetBackup console. The self-service capability will be a separately licensed add-on, and will help virtual machine administrators directly perform backups from the storage itself, the source said.

For solution providers, Veritas NetBackup 7.7 will allow the creation of self-service consoles that can be used as a storefront to bring backup and recovery services to customers, the source said.

One Veritas channel partner, who requested anonymity, said that while Veritas NetBackup 7.7 is a major enhancement to the software, Veritas going forward will face the same kind of challenges as the data protection industry does as a whole as customers change the way they deal with data, including increasing use of the cloud.

"It's hard to sell backup," the solution provider told CRN. "Everybody has backup. It's hard to get customers to change. We still do a lot of support. When doing major storage upgrades, we work with customers to make sure the data protection is done right, and do a lot of testing. But those several-hundred-thousand-dollar orders? We don't see that anymore."

Even so, the solution provider said, Veritas becoming an independent company by year-end is good news for Veritas and the channel.

"The focus on data protection was not there with Symantec," the solution provider said. "Symantec, since it acquired Veritas, brought two sets of sales reps into one. And it's clear when talking to them what side they came from. They sell what they know. It will be nice to have a separate Veritas sales team with people who can come in and say, 'You hear about this solution?' or 'You know about that service?'"'

PUBLISHED JULY 1, 2015