CommVault Adds Cloud Connectivity To Its Storage Software
CommVault on Monday said it has added the representational state transfer (REST) protocol to Simpana 8, said Jeff Echols, director of cloud solutions for the Oceanport, N.J.-based storage vendor.
The ability to access storage over the Internet is already common, but customers need the right protocol to access that storage through Web services, Echols said.
Most of the Internet-based storage providers are standardizing on REST via their own APIs, and Simpana 8 already works with the Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and Nirvanix Storage Delivery Network (SDN) offerings, Echols said. Compatibility with the EMC Atmos and one other unnamed cloud storage offering is expected soon, he said.
By building the REST cloud connectivity protocol into Simpana 8, CommVault is providing a single interface that shows customers all their storage, Echols said.
"We are offering one interface that shows everything: backup, archive, all copies of the data," he said. "We don't care if that storage is on-premises or in the cloud. There's only one interface managing the entire infrastructure, including remote offices where much of a company's data resides."
Simpana 8 lets customers choose with which cloud storage vendor they use, Echols said. "We're staying open, unlike many of our competitors which want customers to work only with their data centers," he said. "During the configuration, we ask, 'where do you want to go.' The customer sets up its own account with the cloud partner."
Eagle Software is currently evaluating Simpana 8 with the REST cloud connectivity as a potential offering to customers looking for long-term archiving of their data, said Dave Hiechel, president and CEO of the Salina, Kansas-based solution provider and CommVault partner.
"We don't know that the cloud is fast enough or cheap enough for everyday storage," Hiechel said. "From the pricing I've seen, I can still do storage cheaper using local storage (hardware and software). For CommVault, this is a chance to be ready for when cloud storage can be used for primary storage. But for now, it makes sense for archiving and compliance."
Eagle Software has been designing its own home-grown data center that can be used as a storage cloud for some of its CommVault customers, Hiechel said. "But we may move to work with another provider like Nirvanix to connect to our customers," he said.
In related news, Iron Mountain, a provider of enterprise cloud storage, said on Monday that CommVault has joined the Iron Mountain Developer Program as a first step toward making Iron Mountain's Archive Services Platform available to CommVault customers.