Acronis Receives VMware's vCloud 'Tested' Status For Backup, DR Software

Acronis' flagship software, Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, already works in VMware ESX and vSphere environments to back up data and handle disaster recovery for both physical and virtual servers, said Izzy Azeri, senior vice president and general manager for the Woburn, Mass.-based company.

What's new is the "tested" status the software received from VMware, which is the last step before getting certified, Azeri said. "That's VMware's language -- 'tested,'" he said. "No vendors are certified yet. This is a new program for VMware. We're the first backup and recovery vendor to get this status."

VMware's vCloud technology lets partners set up hybrid cloud environments, which combine the capabilities of both private and public clouds.

"Historically, there have been no options for backups in vCloud," Azeri said. "There's been no way to really protect virtual machines in a vCloud environment. Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 can now work through the vCloud Director to protect all the virtual machines for a customer. For example, an MSP managing hundreds of thousands of virtual machines for its customers can back them all up through the vCloud Director."

Acronis currently has about 15,000 channel partners serving over 150,000 customers worldwide, Azeri said.

In addition to selling its Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 software as a stand-alone product, the company also licenses it to MSPs on a monthly basis, making it easier for such partners to build a backup, recovery, and disaster recovery practice with a monthly revenue model, he said.