PowerProtect Backup Service Launches

The PowerProtect Backup Service — a SaaS-based backup platform, has launched. Using this platform, Dell EMC customers can protect critical SaaS platforms, handle hybrid backup situations, and also tackle the vexing challenge of end-point protection.

This SaaS Backup service has data storage around the globe, which helps to address data sovereignty concerns some businesses face. For instance, Australian businesses seeking a protection solution for SaaS platforms would be relieved to know all data can be held locally in Australia.

As you’d expect from a SaaS based product, this a fully web-operated solution accessible from any HTML5 compliant browser:

Let’s have a look at the sorts of things you might expect to protect with this service.

As the above graphic suggests, there are some key use-cases addressed by it, in addition to hybrid environment protection. These are:

• Microsoft 365:
  • Exchange Online
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Sharepoint Online
  • Microsoft OneDrive
• Google Workspace:
  • Gmail
  • Google Docs
  • Google Slides
  • Google Drive
• Salesforce
• Endpoints:
  • Laptops
  • Mobile devices – e.g., smartphones.

Now look, I’m personally not much of a fan of Microsoft Teams, having been added to approximately twelvety billion, nine hundred and ninety eight million and one teams. But, I can put my personal attitude towards Teams aside to say that people get very excited about protecting Teams data. This makes sense, since Teams seems to absorb all data it encounters!

While Teams is exciting, it’s not just Teams that people want to protect, of course. Admittedly I don’t personally have many customers that use Google Workplace, but they’re out there – in large numbers, too.

There will always be the question, “What about SaaS platform X?”, but when you look at the three key platforms above: Microsoft 365, Google Workplace and Salesforce, you’ve got the three behemoths covered. And while I’m on the topic of the behemoths – if you have Salesforce in your organisation, ask the business what the cost or risk is for a catastrophic data loss there. Data protection of your Salesforce environment isn’t just important, it’s mission critical to most organisations that use it.

While traditional backup and recovery systems can handle end-point protection, the challenge is that end-point protection and datacentre protection effectively have contrary run models, access requirements, scheduling methods and so on. In fact, this conundrum occupied a fair chunk of my commentary in “Chapter 17, Protecting the Edge” of Data Protection (2nd Edition).

So cloud-based protection for these end-points is logically an excellent idea. Especially when you can mix in some cool remote-security functionality as well – like being able to wipe the device.

It’s more than data protection though – you also get governance controls with eDiscovery, both of which are essential in a modern business environment.

As you’d expect with a cloud-based entity, PowerProtect Backup Service is a subscription solution – you don’t have to buy any infrastructure, and you pay as you go.

The official announcement for the PowerProtect Backup Service can be found here. This is an exciting update to the Dell Technologies data protection portfolio, and I can’t wait to discuss it in detail with my customers.