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Veeam Availability Console for MSPs: Easing DRaaS, Managed Backup Services?

Danny Allan
Danny Allan

Veeam's backup and disaster recovery (BDR) software is quite popular, but a new offering could further boost the software's popularity with MSPs and CSPs.

Indeed, the new Veeam Availability Console should help partners to more easily manage, track, and invoice for solutions like Backup as a Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), the company says.

The tool should also appeal to resellers and newer MSPs looking to launch a managed backup service business, which would allow them to capture new revenue streams, the company asserts. The console can also be used by distributed enterprises operating in an IT service delivery model, according to Veeam.

“Our strategy is to make it as easy as possible for our partners to provide valuable and profitable services to their customers, and the release of Veeam Availability Console is part of delivering on that strategy,” Danny Allan, VP of product strategy, Veeam, said in a prepared statement.

Features

Key features of Veeam Availability Console, the company said, include:

  • Simplified customer onboarding, with the ability to centrally provision and manage all customers in one place;
  • Remote network discovery of customer environments to deploy Veeam’s virtual, physical and cloud-based Availability solutions;
  • Supports virtual, physical and cloud-based servers and endpoints;
  • Remote management and monitoring of Veeam backups and replicas for customers in an all-in-one dashboard view;
  • Tracking, billing and invoicing to ensure complete, real-time visibility of consumed resources, with white-label invoices;
  • Self-service management and status monitoring using a multi-tenant portal by partners and end customers; and
  • RESTful API to easily integrate Veeam Availability Console functionality into existing management portals and workflows, and automating common management tasks.

Veeam Strategy, Competition

The license is free and fully supported for Veeam Cloud and Service Provider (VCSP) partners. Joining the VCSP program is free and requires no obligation to purchase paid Veeam solutions, the company says.

The dashboard is one piece of a larger expansion strategy. Instead of building its own cloud services, Veeam designs its software for customers and third-party service providers to run on their own. The company increasingly partners with large hardware companies (Cisco Systems, Dell EMC, HP Enterprise, etc.) to reach enterprise customers. Much of the company's midmarket and SMB strategy leans heavily on partners.

Still, the MSP-centric SMB sector in particular is getting crowded with competitors. Emerging rival Datto is increasingly considered the 800 pound gorilla in the MSP-centric data protection market. The company is set to merge with Autotask later this quarter and will double-down on its pure MSP base.

Additional rivals (including AcronisBarracuda MSPContinuumeFolderInfrascaleSolarWinds MSPStorageCraft and Storage Guardian,) have sticky relationships with MSPs. And Carbonite is preparing to launch a DRaaS service sometime in the first half of 2018, ChannelE2E reported yesterday.

Despite all that competitive posturing, Veeam remains in growth mode. The company expects revenues to reach about $1.5 billion by 2020, up from an $800 million target this year, according to a May 2017 forecast from the company.