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IBMs Tivoli unit is providing a backup safety net for businesses trying to cope with growing legions of remote workers storing critical information on laptops and mobile devices.
IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files enables customers to automatically back up in real time and recover all created file types so data is never lost or compromised in the event of stolen equipment, accidental deletion or data corruption, said Michael Nelson, director of Information on Demand at IBM, in Armonk, N.Y.
The product allows a user to back up in several places simultaneously, thereby storing data continually onto a server connected through a network. Customers can configure the software by file type or size, write directly to a tape in a corporate network, and write to an external device (such as a machines memory card), so offline backup can occur.
Available for download Sept. 16 for $35 per laptop or desktop and $995 per server processor, the software builds a copy on the local machine and then sends another copy to a remote server for safekeeping.
Traditionally, ensuring backups of remotely created and stored data has proven problematic for organizations, particularly smaller companies. Winston Grey, IT manager for Consigli Construction Co. Inc., in Milford, Mass., said the need to keep all data on a particular job for at least seven years, coupled with his companys multiple sites, required automated backup intervention.
“We have a lot of users keeping a lot of files on laptops, and most of our important system data is on those local drives,” said Grey. “Weve lost a few, and before this product there was no way to re-create that data … so we needed something that wasnt interrupting the user [during backup] and copies to whatever parameters we decide.”
A key benefit of IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files for Grey is that the product saves him from having to actively deploy his technicians in the field to ensure backup.
“This is definitely going to put us in a different place,” Grey said.
Microsoft Corp., of Redmond, Wash., meanwhile is readying for release in late September its System Center DPM (Data Protection Manager). Currently in beta, the product is designed to offer disk-based backup and recovery.
However, the product currently only backs up Microsoft file servers and does not include backup support for Exchange or SQL Server.
LiveVault Corp. will introduce its new LiveVault InSync for DPM offering at the time of DPMs launch. The product uses electronic vaulting to move data off-site and adds continuous-data-protection-level backup for non-Microsoft databases and applications, said Bob Cramer, CEO of LiveVault, in Marlboro, Mass.
Cramer said his companys product will feature long-term retention, extending DPMs multiple-point-in-time-versions capability from days to months and years based on set policies. LiveVaults online InSync service will directly link to databases for remote backup.