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Expanding on its 2006 acquisition of deduplication specialist Avamar Technologies, EMC on Sept. 6 launched what it calls the storage industrys first deduplication and backup tool designed specifically to run on VMware virtual machines.
VMware, with about 85 percent of the server virtualization market, is a sister subsidiary of Avamar under the common ownership of EMC, based in Hopkinton, Mass.
EMCs Avamar Virtual Edition for VMware Infrastructure and Avamar Data Store are packages that combine Avamars existing deduplication abilities with the server and storage efficiencies of VMwares Virtual Infrastructure, EMC Avamar Vice President Jed Yueh told eWEEK.
Data deduplication is a tool that eliminates redundant data throughout the storage network and adds a high level of efficiency and cost-effectiveness within the network. Virtualization captures computing resources and runs them on shared physical infrastructure in such a way that each appears to exist in its own separate physical environment, significantly reducing power consumption.
“The thing were announcing is two examples of the kind of integration that made the acquisition of Avamar by EMC so interesting,” Yueh told eWEEK. “Were leveraging two core strengths of EMC: One is our system strength for the Avamar data store, and two is our virtualization strength through VMware.
“What were really doing is taking backup and recovery and simplifying it by packaging up and making easier to deploy and deliver an overall more highly functional and reliable kind of solution for enterprises,” he said.
EMC Avamar software already provides users with data deduplication benefits for VMware, reducing the time required to back up data by up to 90 percent, Yueh said, but now VMware users can deploy EMC Avamar software within the virtual infrastructure and eliminate the need for dedicated backup servers.
Click here to read about EMCs acquisition of data loss prevention specialist Tablus.
For remote office data protection, Avamar Virtual Edition for VMware Infrastructure combines backup and recovery with replication, so both recovery methods can ride on a shared virtual infrastructure, Yueh said. As a result, users can mitigate risk by eliminating the need to ship tapes from site to site. This is accomplished by replicating data between virtual machines or from VMs to the new Data Store—or to standard servers.
The new software package supports up to 1 terabyte of deduplicated backup capacity, which under a typical backup schedule would require approximately 37TB of traditional tape or disk storage, Yueh said.
“EMC combines two of the hottest technologies in the market today by delivering the first deduplication backup and recovery software fully supported on a VMware server host,” said Lauren Whitehouse, storage analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group. “They are leveraging their intellectual property to deliver new and unique data protection solutions for the next-generation data center.”
EMC Avamar Data Store is currently available from EMC and its authorized resellers. EMC Avamar Virtual Edition for VMware Infrastructure will be available in November 2007 from EMC and its authorized resellers.
Earlier in the week, EMC announced that it is getting into the information management consulting business, thanks to its recent acquisition of BusinessEdge Solutions, a privately held, industry-focused business and technology consulting firm. BusinessEdge will operate within EMC Global Services.
The new information management services practice will help EMCs largest users in key industry verticals derive more profit from their information management investments, a company spokesperson said. The vertical sectors are financial services, life sciences and communications, and the media and content industries.
EMC has been waging a campaign of growth through corporate acquisition. Click here to read more.
BusinessEdge brings to EMC a blue-chip client list and well-established, multiyear customer relationships within the Fortune 500, the spokesperson said. BusinessEdge has deep vertical industry thought leadership and business consulting and delivery capabilities in compliance and risk management, business process analysis and improvement, and information management, according to the company.
EMC Global Services, with a staff of 11,000, provides consulting, implementation, integration and support services to help users around the world get the most value out of their information strategies, EMC said.
The new services practice will be lead by BusinessEdges co-founders, Peter Gibson and Shailendra Jain. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on revenue or EPS for 2007.
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