Commvault Targets Midrange, SMB Market With New 'Metallic' Division

'We want to provide new support to the channel. We want to send a strong external message about our plans. And we want to send a strong internal message,’ Commvault’s Robert Kaloustian tells CRN about the introduction of the new division and its new SaaS offerings for midmarket customers.

Data protection and management software vendor Commvault Monday signaled it has finally embraced the midrange and SMB market with the introduction of a new division, Metallic, charged with developing Software-as-a-Service-based data protection offerings.

With Metallic, introduced at this week's Commvault Go partner conference, Commvault will continue its current long-term focus on the enterprise data protection business while taking an entrepreneurial approach to the midrange and SMB markets the company did not address in the past.

Metallic includes a platform of SaaS offerings focused on midmarket customers, said Robert Kaloustian, senior vice president and general manager of the new Metallic division of Tinton Falls, N.J.-based Commvault

[Related: Commvault's New Channel Strategy: ‘Partner-Led’ Featuring New Rebates]

Commvault has a long history of leadership in the enterprise data protection business, Kaloustian told CRN.

Metallic takes advantage of Commvault's data protection experience but is a new series of offerings with new innovation based on information gathered in meetings with hundreds of Commvault and non-Commvault midrange clients, Kaloustian said.

"This is an important initiative for Sanjay [Mirchandani, Commvault president and CEO]," he said. “We want to provide new support to the channel. We want to send a strong external message about our plans. And we want to send a strong internal message."

The formation of Metallic is a good move for Commvault, which really has never had a midmarket and SMB play at all, said Mark Teter, chief technology officer at Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider and Commvault channel partner.

"This is a greenfield opportunity for Commvault," Teter told CRN. "While Commvault was focused on the enterprise, up popped a bunch of new companies like Rubrik and Cohesity."

Advanced Systems Group already has Commvault expertise but struggles to bring Commvault to its midmarket clients, Teter said.

"Hopefully this will be our ticket to bring Commvault to our smaller customers," he said. "Right now, whenever we say 'Commvault' to a midmarket customer, we really have nothing to offer."

Teter said he is also looking forward to see how Metallic fits in a managed services world.

Kaloustian, when asked about plans for an MSP offering from Metallic, said it is still too early to talk about that part of the business.

Janet Giesen, head of go-to-market operations for Metallic, told CRN that Commvault decided to use a new brand for its midmarket push because it was looking at a new kind of customer experience compared with its traditional offerings.

"The 'Commvault' brand is enterprise-focused," Giesen said. "Metallic is looking at protecting data in an e-commerce-type world with smaller companies than Commvault has traditionally addressed. So we wanted to convey a new brand."