Storactive Inc. on Wednesday launched a new version of its real-time backup software, aimed at small to midsize enterprises.
The new product, LiveBackup 2.5, works by transparently recording any changes to files as theyre created. That way, the burden is off end users, said Product Manager Steve Sussman, in Marina del Rey, Calif.
The latest version, available now, has support for the Windows XP operating system, can make bootable floppy disks and CDs, and can scale, based on high-end enterprise infrastructure, to support 5,000 clients from one server, he said.
Also, Storactive is building LiveBackup to support Microsoft Corp.s .Net framework, Sussman said.
“Its going to be so .Net that Microsofts going to want to buy it, not that were going to sell it to them,” he said.
For future versions of the software, Storactive developers are working on COM+ protocols, which will result in faster speeds, and on versions of LiveBackup to run on Windows and Linux servers. Support for Microsofts PocketPC mobile operating system is also in the works.
“Theres going to be two interim releases, and a 2.6 release,” Sussman said.
LiveBackup 2.5 starts at $129 per seat, decreasing with volume, Sussman said. For larger organizations in the 1,000-seat range, Storactive hopes to charge $55 to $60 per seat, he added.
For the midsize enterprise worried about end users ignorance of data backup issues, “it should certainly reduce the effects of those pressures. As the saying goes, no ones ever been fired for not backing up, but they do get fired for not being able to recover,” said Dan Tanner, an industry analyst with Aberdeen Group in Boston. But “its like buying an insurance policy—the only way to collect is to die, which you dont want to do.”