XChange 2016: Veritas Emphasizes Independence With 'Time For Veritas' Campaign

Veritas is going all out to distance itself from its 10-plus years as part of security vendor Symantec with a campaign aimed at re-introducing the company as a leader in data protection and data availability.

The new campaign, called "Time For Veritas," is aimed at helping partners and customers understand the value that an independent Veritas can bring, said Tricia Atchison, senior director of Americas channel marketing.

Atchison, speaking to an audience of solution providers at this week's XChange conference in Los Angeles, said Veritas will be talking about launching its brand -- and not about relaunching it.

[Related: VARs See Some Risk But Much Reward Partnering With The New, Independent Veritas]

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"We feel this is a new day [for Veritas]," she said. "A lot of people know us, but a lot of people don't."

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company in January became an independent provider of data protection and data management software and appliances after Symantec sold it to an investment firm for about $5.3 billion.

Veritas is solidly focused on next-generation opportunities related to the astronomical growth in data even as companies have ever-fewer resources to manage that growth, Atchison said.

That includes not only protecting data, but finding ways to better determine which data is important and which is "dark data" that is not contributing business value, she said. "Of all the data you are storing, less than 2 percent of it is important," she said.

Veritas will rely on its traditional foundation, including such applications as Backup Exec and NetBackup, while focusing on new technologies to meet future requirements for data availability and gaining insight into data values, Atchison said.

The "Time For Veritas" campaign will ensure that partners have access to the marketing information and collateral needed to help customers understand the changes happening at Veritas, she said. "We're really excited about the opportunity ahead of us. ... It's time for Veritas," she said.

A couple of solution providers who either previously worked with Veritas or had no relationship with the vendor in the past said the initiative is giving them an opportunity to take a second look.

The branding initiative is giving Axigent incentive to take a new look at the vendor, said John Dowling, chief sales officer at the Amarillo, Texas-based solution provider, which worked with Veritas before it was acquired by Symantec in 2005 but hasn't since.

"The branding program is edgy, and not as straight-laced and conservative as I pictured Symantec to be," Dowling told CRN. "We're a small company, edgy, a risk-taker. I understand that Veritas is working in a crowded market and needs to find a way to stand out."

Douglas Grosfield, president and CEO of Five Nines IT Solutions, a Kitchener, Ontario-based solution provider that partnered with Veritas in the past but now works with a number of the vendor's competitors, told CRN that he needs to look at Veritas again.

"I heard what she said about the importance of understanding 'dark data, '" Grosfield said. "It's intriguing. It's true that a pretty low percentage of data is critical. Most data is historical and should have been cleaned up a long time ago, or it never should have been stored in the first place."