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A San Francisco startup has introduced a continuous data protection technology that avoids the traditional tape-based methods used by most small businesses.
Lasso CDP from Lasso Logic is a disk-based continuous data protection software tool that offers both local and off-site data protection in real time. The software instantly backs up individual files or databases any time changes are made on any PC, laptop or server, even while files are open, through an application resident on each backup client.
The new information is instantaneously replicated both locally and off-site, providing instant recovery of data on-site and efficient disaster recovery off-site. Users needing to recover data can do so from the local Lasso CDP host server, said Lasso CEO Steve Goodman.
The product also offers remote access and administration through any Internet-enabled device.
“If you want to share files with a customer, you can do that on the backup box, because its local. Just set up a share and all of them will have access, so you dont have to e-mail files back and forth,” he said.
Lasso Logics product specifically avoids tape technology—technology Goodman said small businesses have been forced to use because of its lower cost.
“Tape is notoriously unreliable, and has a high failure rate. Its incredibly slow to recover from, and it requires a manual process of rotating tapes every day. And, most importantly, you have to physically take those tapes off-site in the event of a disaster. It was all small businesses had until the price of disks came down, but there is no reason to use a tape-based backup system anymore,” he said.
Because of those factors, Goodman chose to focus his efforts on developing a low-cost, easy-to-use tapeless backup aimed at companies with less than 150 employees or workgroups within larger enterprises.
The niche Lasso Logic is targeting is one that needs more backup solutions, said David Hill, a principal with Mesabi Group LLC of Westwood, Mass.
“They are providing help to a market segment that needs help,” he said. “Very small businesses may use tape today, which requires sophistication and discipline that they probably lack. A system that just runs after it has been properly set up initially and sticks to disk technology rather than introducing tape should be a lot easier.”
Lasso CDP also could be used by individuals, because the products pull system means that the user doesnt have to remember to initiate backups, Hill noted.
Lasso Logics focus carves out a unique space for the startup, Hill said. Other CDP vendors have different perspectives on the market, he notes. Revivio Inc., for example, focuses on key data for the enterprise, while Mimosa Systems Inc. concentrates on Microsoft Exchange and Veritas Software Corp.s Panther focuses on file systems.
Lasso CDP starts at $1,449 through Lasso Logics authorized partners. Customers that want off-site backup and annual maintenance incur extra charges.