Veeam To Detail Kubernetes, Cloud-Native Backup Strategies

Containers and the cloud will be key topics of next week's virtual VeeamON 2020 conference, which starts Wednesday morning.

Data storage and data management technology developer Veeam is ramping up its new Kubernetes container initiative as well as spotlighting its efforts to develop backups for cloud-native applications on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Veeam plans to unveil its strategy for working more closely with Kubernetes containers during the VeeamON 2020 conference, scheduled to take place June 17 – 18 as a virtual event in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered tech events since early spring.

Solution providers are eager to hear what Veeam's Kubernetes plans entail following its move last month to partner with Los Altos, Calif.-based Kasten on delivering Kubernetes-native backups.

"There are only a handful of niche data protection players talking Kubernetes. Not many of the major players are really talking about except for maybe Dell Technologies and Commvault. I'll be looking to see what Veeam does," said Manny Punzo, director of data protection and management at Technologent, an Irvine, Calif.-based solution provider and Veeam channel partner who plans to attend the VeeamON 2020 conference. "Customers are now talking about containers and how to protect container data."

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Punzo is also looking for details on how Veeam plans to differentiate itself from rivals.

"There's so much competition in this industry," Punzo said. "Backup is backup. Disaster recovery is disaster recovery. I'm looking to see how Veeam differentiates itself. Veeam wants to be a U.S. company to better tap into this market. I want to see their plan," he added, referencing Veeam's move in the wake of its acquisition earlier this year by private equity company Insight Partners to relocate its global headquarters from Baar, Switzerland to the U.S. to work closer with the world's large public cloud providers.

Veeam at the event also plans to focus on the Veeam Availability Suite v10, which was introduced in February and has so far seen the introduction of backups for cloud-native applications in AWS and Azure environments as well as for Microsoft 365 data, said Danny Allan, Veeam's chief technology officer (pictured).

Veeam will also look at upcoming capabilities planned for Veeam Availability Suite, as well as highlight the company's push to be a major player in the data management market, Allan told CRN.

For Veeam, data management has five core capabilities, including data protection, cloud mobility, data visibility and monitoring, orchestration to make everything seamless and automated, and governance and compliance, Allan said.

"All five will be highlighted at the conference," he said. "We already have capabilities in all five. But we will also be highlighting additional capabilities that were both introduced in the first half of 2020 and will be introduced in the second half of 2020 and into the future."

Another big highlight will be Veeam's annual data protection report based on a survey of 1,500 global enterprise executives, only about five percent of which are currently Veeam customers, said Jim Kruger, chief marketing at Veeam.

Among the respondents, 49 percent currently back up data to public and backup-as-a-service providers, but 77 percent expect to do so in the next two years, including 34 percent who plan to focus on self-managed backups and 43 percent on backup-as-a-service, he said.

The survey also found the average cost of downtime is $68,000 per hour for enterprises, and that the number one challenge they are seeing is cyberthreats including ransomware, he said.

As of Friday, the conference has over 23,000 registered attendees including 12,000 channel strategic channel partners and Veeam Cloud and Service Providers.