Microsoft Launches System Center Data Protection Manager as Part of Its Universal Distributed Storage Vision

 

New DPM solutions immediately available from partners enable businesses of all sizes to take advantage of disk-based backup

MISSISSAUGA, ON — Sept. 27, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate general availability of Microsoft^® System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM), the next step forward in the company’s Universal Distributed Storage strategy. Data Protection Manager promises to lower the total cost of ownership for backup and recovery while enabling entirely new customer scenarios around rapid and reliable recovery and near-continuous protection.

 

“The System Center Data Protection Manager meets the growing demand among Canadian companies for more effective back-up and recovery systems,” said Derick Wong, senior security product manager, Microsoft Canada. “Unlike traditional tape-based solutions, the DPM disk-based system allows customers to recover data faster and conduct backups more frequently, which makes it an essential IT investment for companies from all industries.”

 

 

Storage on Windows: the most cost-effective platform

 

 

The release of DPM is a step closer toward the realization of Microsoft’s vision for Universal Distributed Storage, aimed at delivering distributed storage solutions built on industry standard hardware. Microsoft will work with industry partners to bring high-end functionality to a range of devices, PCs and servers at a low total cost of ownership. Microsoft’s goal is for Windows^® to manage storage more cost-effectively than other platforms, centralized on a Storage Area Network (SAN) or on a remote worker’s desktop.

 

According to Toolbox Solutions, a Brampton, Ontario-based company that stores sales data and develops reports for manufacturers, retailers and brokers, DPM provides essential protection for organizations that rely on data to drive business. The company deployed DPM as the main back-up system to more than 400 gigabytes of data after its tape-based system proved too unreliable.

 

 

Never completely satisfied with tape backup

 

“We backed up our data on tape for a number of years, but we were never completely satisfied with the solution because it was a struggle to continuously replace tapes and ensure the system was operating properly,” said Mark Shepherd, vice president, Toolbox Solutions. “Since data is the life-blood of our company, we decided to implement DPM because it offers a far more efficient and reliable way to back up and retrieve data. DPM has given our IT team newfound peace of mind, not to mention relief from dealing with the cumbersome tape-based system we had in the past.”

Customers can deploy DPM today without disruption to existing IT infrastructure environments. Microsoft continues to work with its partner ecosystem of over 40 original equipment manufacturers and independent software and hardware vendors to enable the broadest choice of affordable backup and recovery solutions available based on Data Protection Manager.

“Our customers are looking for technology that ensures critical business data is protected and easily recoverable in the advent of a systems failure or another unforeseen mishap,” said Andy Papadopoulos, president of Microsoft Gold Certified partner LegendCorp. “Microsoft’s DPM provides the type of protection that allows IT managers and CIOs to sleep at night, rest assured that company data is safe.”

 

Microsoft also announced findings from a report it commissioned from VeriTest, the independent testing division of Lionbridge Technologies Inc. The VeriTest report concluded that Data Protection Manager provided significant, tangible benefits over the tape-based backup solutions that were tested in the study. In the VeriTest benchmark tests, DPM, a disk-based backup product, provided the following benefits relative to tape backup products:

·        DPM provided 11.6x faster file recovery with disc than equivalent file recovery from tape backup using Veritas Backup Exec 10 software.*

·        DPM completed an incremental backup job 3.7x faster with disc than equivalent incremental tape backup using Veritas Backup Exec 10 software.*

New Solutions From Industry-Leading Storage Partners Available Immediately

 

Today storage partners announced the immediate availability of solutions and applications integrated with Data Protection Manager and support for DPM. Storage partners include Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), CommVault Systems Inc., Computer Associates International Inc., Dell Inc., EqualLogic Inc., Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP,  Intel Corporation, Quantum Corp. and Yosemite Technologies Inc.:

·        HP announced the immediate availability of HP ProLiant Data Protection Storage Servers, a new line of data protection products built on Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager. Estimated U.S. prices for these appliances begin at less than $6,000 (U.S.). 

·        Quantum is announcing its DPM5500, an appliance based on System Center Data Protection Manager. Quantum’s high-performance disk system provides customers with increased granularity of restores, differentiated features such as hardware-based compression for lower cost of ownership, and integrated data migration to tape.

·        Fujitsu Siemens is announcing a Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager-based appliance running on FibreCAT hardware that will provide exceptional value in protecting Windows file servers.

·        CommVault, Yosemite and Computer Associates announced software solutions to complete the archiving scenario for DPM data.

 

Microsoft also announced the beta release of Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, targeted for release to manufacturing by the end of 2005, and the company’s intent to build solutions from storage industry partners. In addition, to address the growing needs of branch offices, industry partners such as Brocade, Network Engines Inc. and Tacit Networks Inc. will be offering branch office appliance solutions built on the Windows Server platform. Together with its established storage technologies and Windows Server platform innovations, Microsoft, along with its industry partners, is enabling a truly integrated end-to-end, cost-effective and robust storage solution for customers.