Managed Services, Backup And Recovery, And Networking News From October 2015
By The Business Solutions Network
Each month, Business Solutions reports news on business in the channel. This month in managed services, backup and recovery, and networking news, Barracuda has entered in an agreement to acquire Intronis, Solarwinds N-able introduces a new remote control access platform, Carbonite announced its portfolio of disaster recovery solutions, SYNNEX boosts its K-12 solution set, Continuum upgrades its backup and disaster recovery (BDR) platform, and CompTIA introduces cybersecurity training.
Barracuda To Acquire Intronis
Barracuda Networks revealed it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Intronis. This acquisition is expected to expand Barracuda’s channel reach with the addition of nearly 2,000 MSPs (managed services providers) (with less than a 10 percent overlap with existing active Barracuda partners) and a purpose-built platform designed to streamline how MSPs service the data protection needs of their customers.
“We believe a larger opportunity exists to add Barracuda’s security and data protection solutions to the Intronis platform to expand its offerings,” says BJ Jenkins, CEO and president of Barracuda.
According to CompTIA’s 4th Annual Managed Services Trends Survey, there is a growing number of customers looking to MSPs to procure, deploy, and manage their IT initiatives. Specifically, 72 percent of respondents use an MSP for backup/disaster recovery initiatives, while 68 percent rely on their MSP for their security initiatives.
At the same time, a growing number of traditional VAR partners are embracing the MSP model as a platform to better address the requirements of their customers. With the addition of Intronis, Barracuda believes it will be better positioned to address these requirements.
SolarWinds N-able Introduces MSP Anywhere
SolarWinds N-able recently announced a new remote control access and support platform that grants MSPs on-demand, secure remote access to their customers’ computers. The new cloud-based software is called SolarWinds N-able MSP Anywhere and was acquired as part of the company’s recent purchase of BeAnywhere.
Engineered for use by IT support and services organizations, MSP Anywhere offers peer-to-peer technology that allows for instant and on-demand remote support and access to Windows PCs and Macs, as well as iOS and Android-based mobile devices from virtually any device. The MSP Anywhere console enables users to manage incoming requests and provides greater collaboration with fellow technicians to speed resolution times and deliver real-time customer support as needed. The cloud service is sold on a per month/concurrent technician subscription basis.
Carbonite Enhances Portfolio
Carbonite recently announced an enhanced portfolio of software and hardware disaster recovery solutions featuring server image backup and bare metal recovery. Included in the new disaster recovery portfolio are five new backup appliances ranging in size from four to eight terabytes and a new version of Carbonite Server Backup — Carbonite Server Advanced. With multiple form factors, including software-only, hybrid solutions, and all-in-one mini-towers and rack-mounts, Carbonite’s new disaster recovery solutions are designed to give flexibility to SMBs.
“The average cost of an hour of downtime for an SMB ranges from $8,220 to $25,600, and without bare metal recovery, it can take well over 24 hours to restore an operating system, reinstall programs and recover data,” says Laura DuBois, program vice president for IDC’s storage practice. “Three-quarters of SMBs cite the threat of downtime as the biggest driver for business continuity solutions, so it is critical that vendors such as Carbonite provide solutions that enable small businesses to get back up and running quickly, at a price they can afford.”
Carbonite Server Advanced gives businesses bare metal recovery and flexible, granular protection for their critical server data. Other features include the ability to set separate retention policies for local and cloud backups, as well as the ability to ensure optimal recovery point objectives (RPOs) by tailoring backup schedules and retention.
Carbonite Backup Appliances include all-in-one hybrid backup — leverage local backup with Carbonite-provided hardware for speed of backup and recovery, and cloud backup for ultimate data protection. Also, the solution allows you to monitor and manage all backed up devices from a centralized dashboard including advanced scheduling, retention, and bandwidth settings to maximize performance and meet RPOs.
SYNNEX Boosts K-12 Education Solution Set
SYNNEX Corp. has joined forces with Microsoft and Lightspeed Systems to offer a mobile device management system for Windows to K-12 education solutions providers, along with a suite of SYNNEX’ white glove integration services. SYNNEX and Lightspeed offer three different management solutions.
Web Filter ensures compliance, student safety, flexible policies, reporting, and access to valuable Web resources without overblocking. Mobile Manager delivers an MDM (mobile device management) solution to help roll out, manage, and safely utilize mobile devices for learning, providing cloud-based management of devices, learning, app pushing, feature control, and reporting. Classroom Orchestrator provides classroom management to help overcome the challenge of monitoring a full classroom of devices, empowering teachers to keep students engaged and on-task.
SYNNEX’ suite of white glove integration services includes presales consultation, full Lightspeed Systems management bundle for Windows, preflight readiness (SYNNEX assigns the school-specific settings, enrolls the mobile device into the school’s management console, and delivers hardware), and more.
Lightspeed can manage any Windows device using Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10. Currently, SYNNEX is offering a bundled solution with Lightspeed and Windows-enabled Acer Cloudbooks.
Continuum Upgrades Platform
Continuum has upgraded its fully managed BDR platform, Continuity247. The new features, based on feedback from MSP partners after Continuity247’s initial launch, include instant restore for virtual workloads, the choice of hardware or software RAID, and desktop support.
The Continuity247 fully managed option is supported by the company’s NOC (Network Operations Center) where certified professionals proactively monitor, troubleshoot, and remediate any problems to ensure backups continuously run 24/7/365. Cloud storage via two redundant IBM Cloud data centers in the United States ensures security, reliability, and availability of MSP customer data. The data centers are ISO 27001- and ISO 27018-compliant and operated by certified security and IT professionals. This directly addresses data latency concerns and helps MSP customers, especially those from the financial services, government, and healthcare industries, to comply with strict regulatory requirements. Continuum will convert any existing Vault appliances to Continuity247 at no cost.
CompTIA Introduces Cybersecurity Training
CompTIA recently introduced a new training course aimed at building cybersecurity awareness and knowledge. CompTIA CyberSecure is a self-paced, online course designed to educate everyone in the workplace — from the front desk receptionist to the company owner or chief executive — on the cybersecurity best practices that are vital to protecting the business.
“Employees are the first line of defense in an organization’s cybersecurity perimeter, but we can’t expect them to act securely if we don’t provide them with the proper training,” says Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA.
Research from CompTIA and other sources consistently shows that employees — more so than policies, products, or technologies — are the biggest factor in workplace security breaches. This risk is only heightened as the workforce becomes more mobile and more connected devices come into the workplace.
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