Symantec has added two new additions to its product line with deduplication and archiving as the main features.
Although they are technically new releases, Backup Exec 2010 and NetBackup 7 are more like upgrades from the previous software products, offering new functionality and better compatibility, according to Symantec.
"The main difference with these products, which they both have in common, is they offer three types of deduplication," said Matthew Lodge, the company's senior director of product marketing.
"It is unique to Symantec to offer all three [at the source, at the media server or through a third party client]."
Backup Exec 2010 is aimed at small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a mantra of 'protect more, store less and save more'.
In addition to offering the deduplication that Symantec is so keen on, it is also embedding archiving technology to intelligently store data on the right tier and allow compatibility with virtualisation software including the latest VMware VSphere 4.0 and Microsoft Hyper V.
"We are taking enterprise class tech and applying it to a high volume mid market business," said Pat Hanavan, vice president of the Symantec Information Group, at a meeting at Symantec's European offices.
"It is not a new product, it is a new option [and] feels like a very natural part of the product."
NetBackup 7 addresses the enterprise market, again featuring deduplication, archiving and data recovery but for the first time also introduces reporting from the system to keep track of everything that is going on, from server inefficiencies to virtual machines that aren't being backed up.
"It is about reducing the amount of data we store and reduce the time to recover it," said Martin Warn, Symantec's marketing manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
"Previously you would have needed separate consoles to manage this but... now this is a single pane of glass where you manage everything from."
Although officially launched today, it will not be available until 1 February on general release. Pricing will be set out per terabyte but deduplication and reporting will come as added extras.
