Veeam's backup and disaster recovery (BDR) business momentum continues to accelerate, and that has inspired emerging data protection rivals to take direct aim at the company.
Among the latest financial, business and partner milestones from Veeam:
- 39 straight quarters of record bookings growth;
- 21 percent year-over-year (YoY) growth in total bookings;
- 12,000 customers; and
- 58 percent YoY growth in named enterprise accounts.
Roll all those milestones together, and Veeam is on track to become a $1 billion company in 2018, the company says.
Veeam's momentum extends across all geographies, according to Co-CEO and President Peter McKay. All regions reported double-digit YoY total bookings growth for Q1, he added.
"We are off to another great start for another record year, and I have complete confidence that our continued momentum, executive leadership, and our unique Hyper-Availability Platform will enable us to become the next billion-dollar software company this year,” he asserts.
Amongst the first quarter highlights was the accelerated adoption of Veeam Hyper-Availability Platform with more than 150,000 downloads since its release in December 2017. The company continues to average 4,000 new customers per month with new names like Pernod Ricard Hong Kong Limited, Landmark Information Group, and Ameritas amongst them.
Veeam Partner Program
Veeam’s partner engagements have been yielding results as well -- especially when it comes to enterprise-class relationships. The examples include:
- Veeam and HP Enterprise joint opportunities have increased by 148 percent YoY on the back of Veeam joining the HPE Complete Program.
- Veeam and Cisco deals have grown 299 percent quarter over quarter in the first quarter of 2018.
- Veeam was also added to the NetApp Global Price List, which it says will increase its foothold in enterprise accounts.
Channel Chief Kevin Rooney predicted that the company's enterprise momentum was set to kick into high gear in 2018. Apparently, he was right.
Acquisitions may also help to fuel growth. The company in January 2017 acquired N2WS for its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions in an all-cash deal. There has also been momentum from the company’s subscription products, with Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 subscription sales jumping more than 3,000 percent YoY. The quarter also saw the company release its Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Release 3.
It's safe to expect more strategic and partner updates when the VeeamOn 2018 conference kicks off in May.
Competition Looms
Veeam's momentum has caught the attention of rivals. Chief among them is Unitrends, which recently launched an aggressively priced VM backup solution for VMware administrators. The product takes a direct swing at Veeam as it specifically targets VMware administrators in SMBs, a segment that Unitrends says Veeam is overlooking.
“As VMware Administrators scan the market for backup solutions, they're faced with a barrage of offerings that only add complexity and cost as these solutions are not built to meet their specific needs,” Unitrends said in a release. “With vBE, they can turn to a solution fit for the enterprise, but simplified and priced specifically for the VMware Admin. With a focus on protecting the modern, highly virtualized datacenter against the latest downtime threats, including ransomware, vBE rejuvenates both the innovation and superior customer support that the VMware administrator deserves.”
Unitrends also is building relationships across the channel. The Unitrends MSP arm has growing partnerships with Kaseya and Spanning Cloud.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Unitrends can build the type of momentum that Veeam has generated.
Additional insights from Joe Panettieri.