Asigra Adds Mobile Device Support To Cloud Backup

Asigra announced a new version of its cloud-based backup and recovery software that now supports handheld devices such as tablets and smartphones, has added improvements intended to make the software more attractive to providers, and provides performance improvements of up to 400%, as well as support for 10-Gbps interfaces. The company claims that it is the first backup, recovery and restore (BURR) product to support handheld devices, including devices running the Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

While Erik Dauplaise, project manager of infrastructure services for UNFI, a national distributor of organic and nutritional food, says he is looking forward to the new version to upgrade his five Canadian distribution centers that are currently running the existing version of the software, he is interested in the new version primarily because of its improvements in speed, he says. Other parts of the company perform backup and recovery in an offsite facility, but the Canadian distribution centers, which were acquired a couple of years ago, were already running the Asigra software and decided not to switch it out. While the company could end up supporting the Asigra software more widely, either to bring it in-house or to support the mobile devices the company already uses that don’t have a backup plan, such a decision would be made at a level above his, Dauplaise says.

DS-Consumer allows managed service providers (MSPs) to perform cloud backup and recovery for consumers and provide users with a local as well as an off-site copy of the data, which allows them to roll back to any point in time. Other enhancements include a reduction in deployment and maintenance time requirements, greater operational efficiency and improvements in license management. The software also includes a Web-based Command Center that helps administrators manage the Asigra environment.

The user organizations that will be particularly interested in the new version of the software will be MSPs because a number of features--such as a virtual license server, a network operations and control module, a multitenant client component and a consumer-grade endpoint service--will make it easier for MSPs to administer and help them make more money, says Lauren Whitehouse, senior analyst for Enterprise Strategy Group. While several analysts praised the supportfor handheld devices, other vendors are likely to be adding this feature in the near future, says Henry Baltazar, senior analyst of storage & systems for The 451 Group.

The software is available now for prices starting at $2,000 for 1 Tbyte of backup and recovery space. It is now integrated with NetApp and features application programming interface-level integration with NetApp Fabric Attached Storage devices. The applications for handheld devices that work with it have been available for some time through the Apple App Store, Android Market and Amazon Appstore because vendors need to submit their apps in advance due to legal processes, says Ashar Baig, senior director of product marketing for the company.

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