Providing Top Data Management and Back-Up Solutions

Q: What is the primary objective of Veeam’s software?

A: Veeam started in 2006. At that time, companies still had large server farms full of physical servers. We were born to provide data backup and replication for companies that were starting to migrate their information to a virtual infrastructure. Fast-forward to today and everything is moving to the cloud. This provides not only cost benefits but also allows for more operational simplicity. On top of this, the amount of information companies manage is accelerating. The market intelligence firm IDC has projected that by 2025, there will be 75 percent more digital information. The amount of information we generate doubles every two years. Veeam’s software is dedicated to backing up and replicating all the information that companies use, in any cloud environment, whether that includes private or public clouds in both physical and virtual locations. We work with all the big cloud players, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google, IBM and Dell EMC. Veeam guarantees that the information managed by final users is safe, regardless of the source and volume. We can work with any technology a client may have and our solutions are easy to install and manage. 

Q: What new software updates are you launching?

A: At a recent annual event for Latin America, our CTO Danny Allen announced that the company will be launching version 11 of our Veeam Backup & Replication software in December with new improvements and functionalities clients have asked for. This new version will be more focused on cloud solutions. In addition, it will have support for Google. Before, we only supported AWS, Microsoft and IBM. Also, we are introducing support for Mac IOS systems. 

Our solution has two parts. One is the VM Orchestrator, which directs the software for data backup and ensures it functions adequately. The second is VM1, which is responsible for monitoring the process and ensuring everything runs efficiently. Our whole range of products come together in what we call the VM Availability Suite, which has two versions. The plus version has a monitoring component. Veeam also has software designed specifically for backup and information management of Microsoft Office 365 data. This ranges from documents to emails and Teams meetings. We are also launching a fifth version of this software with new functionalities and improvements.

Q: What is your approach to data backup and replication?

A: We have a simple three-two-one rule. We believe a company should have at least three copies of their data in at least two different mediums and one of these has to be completely outside of the current cloud solution. The mediums can be local servers, cloud or third-party companies. To give you an example of a data copy outside of the system, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) demands that banks have their info backup on tape.

In the industry, there are two different concepts that define the targets set in our service. There are response time objectives (RTOs), which tell the client how fast we aim to respond. Then we have the recovery point objective (RPOs), which determines how much is guaranteed to be recovered in case information is breached or lost. We handle these two concepts in one: Response Time Recovery Point Objective (RTRPO). We ensure a particular RTRPO for our final user regardless of where they have their information stored. 

Q: Are cloud providers competition for you?

A: We work through our business partners to complement their products. In 95 percent of the cases, new projects for final users come through our business partners, mainly Hewlett-Packard (HP), Cisco, Lenovo, Pure Storage, NetApp, Microsoft, DellEMC, Nutanix and VMWare. To date, there has not been one cloud provider that promises companies it can recover their lost data. This is why these companies are allying with us. We develop the particular tools and functionalities they ask for so they can incorporate them in their solutions. When we commit to a particular product that involves one business partner, we remain fully loyal to them throughout the project. Sometimes, however, different tech partners are involved in the same project. When there is a public tender, we work will all business partners in the same format.

Q: What role does cybercrime mitigation play in your products and services?

A: Cybercrime has increased significantly during the pandemic. At Veeam, we publish an annual report in which we share findings from interviews with our clients across the world. This year, we interviewed 1,500 clients and cybersecurity was the No. 1 concern. Veeam is essentially an insurance against the damage that can be inflicted by a cyberattack. As an example, Garmin, the cycling-ware and gadgets company, was recently hit by a ransomware attack. The attackers asked for US$10 million. However, as Garmin had its data backed up in a secure manner, the attack did not pose a real threat.

Q: In which sectors are your main clients?

A: In Mexico, we have more than 1,600 clients. We entered the market in 2014. Worldwide, we have more than 375,000 clients. They are in government, finance, retail, telecommunications, manufacturing and other sectors. Any company that is seeking backup services can be a potential client, regardless of its size. Apart from our alliances with these companies, we also have distributors. In Mexico, our primary distributors are Compusoluciones, Ingram Micro and Westcon. We also have a reseller ecosystem with more than 900 channels around the country, of which 400 are actively transacting. 

Q: What are your primary objectives in the Mexican market for 2020-21?

A: We want to maintain our leadership position in backup and replication, even as other competitors are leaving the market. We have a market share between 30-33 percent. Our growth in Mexico has been constant, with some years growing up to 50 percent in both revenues and new clients. This is an atypical year but we expect 20 percent growth compared with 2019. We decided to establish a physical presence in the country last year. We now have almost 30 people dedicated to our business partners and final users. 

The COVID-19 contingency has most definitely alerted companies to the need for better infrastructure and our solutions can help any company dealing with cloud servers. Many telecommunications companies are investing in more cloud space. This is because during the pandemic, the demand for internet services has grown. In terms of government clients, there are three segments that are really investing: tax collection services, health departments and security-related bodies like the Navy. Another sector that is investing heavily in the virtual environment is the retail sector.

One of our main advantages is our high client-satisfaction rate, which is 3.5 times higher than the industry average. Nine out of 10 final users of our software recommend us. This allows us to guarantee satisfaction when we offer a new client a proof of concept.

Veeam Software is an IT company that develops backup, disaster recovery and intelligent data management software for virtual, physical and multicloud infrastructures.