Vendors first started bandying about the phrase “cloud data management” a year or so ago. While that phrase caught my attention, specifics as what one should expect when acquiring a “cloud data management” solution remained nebulous at best. Fast forward to this week’s Veritas Vision 2017 and I finally encountered a vendor that was providing meaningful details as to what cloud data management encompasses while simultaneously performing a 180 behind the scenes.
Ever since I heard the term cloud data management a year or so ago, I loved it. If there was ever a marketing phrase that captured the essence of how every end-user secretly wants to manage all its data while the vendor or vendors promising to deliver it commits to absolutely nothing, this phrase nailed it. A vendor could shape and mold that definition however it wanted and know that end-users would listen to the pitch even if deep down the users knew it was marketing spin at its best.
Of course, Veritas promptly blew up these pre-conceived notions of mine this week at Vision 2017. While at the event, Veritas provided specifics about its cloud data management strategy that rang true if for no other reason that they had a high degree of veracity to them. Sure, Veritas may refer to its current strategy as “360 Data Management.” But to my ears it sure sounded like someone had finally articulated, in a meaningful way, what cloud data management means and the way in which they could deliver on it.
Source: Veritas
The above graphic is the one that Veritas repeatedly rolls out when it discusses its 360 Data Management strategy. While notable in that it is one of the few vendors that can articulate the particulars of its data management strategy, it more importantly has three important components to it that currently makes its strategy more viable than many of its competitors. Consider:
- Its existing product portfolio maps very neatly into its 360 Data Management strategy. One might argue (probably rightfully so) that Veritas derived its 360 Data Management strategy from its existing product portfolio that it has built-up over the years. However, many of these same critics have also contended that Veritas has been nothing but a company with an amalgamation of point products with no comprehensive vision. Well, guess what, the world changed over the past 12-24 months and it bent decidedly bent in the direction of software. Give Veritas some credit. It astutely recognized this shift, saw that its portfolio aligned damn well with how enterprises want to manage their data going forward, and had the hutzpah to craft a vision that it could deliver based upon the products it had in-house.
- It is not resting on its laurels. Last year when Veritas first announced its 360 Data Management strategy, I admit, I inwardly groaned a bit. In its first release, all it did was essentially mine the data in its own NetBackup catalogs. Hello, McFly! Veritas is only now thinking of this? To its credit, this past week it expanded the list of products to which to which its Information Map connectors can access to over 20. These include Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, and Google Cloud among others. Again, I must applaud Veritas for its efforts on this front. While this news may not be momentous or earth-shattering, it visibly reflects a commitment to delivering on and expanding the viability of its 360 Data Management strategy beyond just NetBackup catalogs.
- The cloud plays very well in this strategy. Veritas knows that plays in the enterprise space and it also knows that enterprises want to go to the cloud. While nowhere in its vision image above does it overtly say “cloud”, guess what? It doesn’t have to. It screams, “Cloud!” This is why many of its announcements at Veritas Vision around its CloudMobility, Information Map, NetBackup Catalyst, and other products talk about efficiently moving data to and from the cloud and then monitoring and managing it whether it resides on-premises, in the cloud, or both.
One other change it has made internally (and this is where the 180 initially comes in,) is how it communicates this vision. When Veritas was part of Symantec, it stopped sharing its roadmap with current and prospective customers. In this area, Veritas has made a 180, customers who ask and sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Veritas can gain access to this road map.
Veritas may communicate that the only 180 turn it has made in the last 18 months or so since it was spun out of Symantec is its new freedom to communicate its road map to current and/or prospective customers. While that may be true, the real 180 it has made entails it successfully putting together a cohesive vision that articulates the value of products in its portfolio in a context that enterprises are desperate to hear. Equally impressive, Veritas’ software-first focus better positions it than its competitors to enable enterprises to realize this ideal.