“Can Asigra convince enterprises in 2008 that they should begin to use Asigra’s Televaulting software to backup and recovery their data?” was the initial question on my mind as I started preparing this blog entry. But after Asigra told me about some of the enterprise accounts that already used its product, I realized a better question was, “How many more enterprise accounts will Asigra add in 2008?”
In companies with only a few TBs of data and a limited number of operating systems, applications and platforms, the value proposition of Asigra’s Televaulting agentless backup and recovery software is known entity. The little publicized fact is that Asigra already protects hundreds of TBs of data on hundreds of servers with multiple operating systems and applications.
Asigra has emerged in the last few years as one of the leaders, if not the leader, in agentless backup and recovery software for service providers focused on small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and small and midsize enterprises (SMEs). It has primarily done this through strategic alliances with system integrators (SIs) and managed service providers (MSPs) who license Asigra’s Televaulting platform as part of their managed service offering.
Interviews I have had with numerous SMBs and SMEs who use Asigra’s software reveal only positive experiences using Asigra’s software. In fact, many of these businesses can no longer imagine doing backup and recovery in any other way.
The conversation at the enterprise level is more intriguing. Enterprises may have tens or hundreds of TBs of data, hundreds of servers with multiple operating systems, applications of varying criticality and complex networks. So while the principle of backing up and recovering individual servers remains the same, adding all of these components into the mix make this a dramatically different animal. Not only is the problem more complex, the financial justification must justify replacing incumbent solutions from far more visible (to say nothing of larger) vendors.
So what this blog will attempt to do in the coming weeks and months is chronicle how Asigra is addressing these enterprise challenges. In these blog entries I plan to take a look at:
- The features Asigra already has in its Televaulting product that already address these specific enterprise concerns as well as what new features it is adding.
- The alliances Asigra is building with Global Integrators, Outsourcers and MSPs and what additional services these organizations are wrapping around Asigra’s Televaulting platform that make leveraged a managed services solution a viable option for enterprise accounts.
- Enterprise users who have opted to outsource their backups and recoveries and hopefully speak to them directly to understand their motivation for switching and how it is working for them.
2008 promises to be breakout year for Asigra as more enterprise accounts become aware of Asigra’s overall value proposition and more MSPs, SIs and outsourcers specialize in servicing enterprise accounts. As this occurs, I look forward to monitoring their progress both in how Asigra adapts its Televaulting software as well as in what new services MSPs offer that make outsourced backup an attractive option for enterprise shops.