Symantec Unveils Windows Management, Backup, and Storage Products and Services

Portfolio helps enterprises deploy Microsoft Windows, protect data

• By James E. Powell
• 02/25/2008

Symantec Corp. has released Symantec Solutions for Windows, a collection of products and services for securing and managing Windows environments, which includes new versions of Symantec’s backup and recovery products.

The company also announced new online services for small and mid-size businesses. Symantec Online Backup offers secure, reliable, online backup and recovery capabilities, while Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec is integrated with Backup Exec 12 and is offered as a hybrid software-as-a-service solution that allows Backup Exec customers to protect their critical data at onsite and offsite locations.

“With Symantec Solutions for Windows, we are providing a single portfolio of integrated solutions that addresses the most pressing management, security, and availability requirements for organizations running Windows today,” said John Magee, vice president of product marketing, Symantec, in a statement. “Symantec’s world-class software and services can help organizations of all sizes get the most out of their investment in Windows systems and servers.”

The Symantec Solutions for Windows portfolio supports all versions of Windows, including Windows Server 2008. Integration is key in the release:

• Backup Exec is integrated with the new Symantec Online Storage available through Symantec Protection Network, offering businesses a hosted solution for offsite storage and disaster recovery

• Symantec’s ThreatCon global security alerting system is integrated with Backup Exec and Backup Exec System Recovery; backups can be launched automatically when a heightened security threat level is detected

• Backup Exec and NetBackup work with Symantec Enterprise Vault to provide efficient backup and granular recovery for critical archives

• Symantec Endpoint Protection and Backup Exec System Recovery interact with the Altiris Client Management platform so system administrators can manage and monitor backup, recovery, and endpoint security operations from within the Altiris management console

• Backup Exec and Backup Exec System Recovery work together to provide disaster recovery protection for Windows Server 2008 and other platforms

New Data Protection Options

“Symantec Online Backup provides us with a good alternative to purchasing, configuring and maintaining an on-premises solution, which is a big benefit given our limited IT staff resources ,” said Blou Baker, network administrator, Tucker Rocky Distributing, in a statement issued by Symantec. “With Symantec Online Backup, we have a way to backup and protect our information online, strengthening our existing backup and recovery strategy and reducing the burden of dealing with tapes.”

Symantec Online Backup protects critical information to managed, reliable data storage facilities maintained in Symantec-operated data centers. Customers can browse their data files, manage protection settings, and initiate restores from a Web browser over the Internet.

"It is essential that we have redundant, reliable backup solution for mobile users and remote office staff. While we need enterprise-class protection, we have a small IT staff so our backup solution must also be easy to manage. In the past, this combination has been difficult to find,” said Christopher Booth, information technology director,” Telsco Industries dba Weathermatic. “Symantec Online Backup requires no up-front investment in hardware or software and provides us with a highly reliable backup solution that can easily fit into our existing IT data backup policies.”

Using Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec, Backup Exec 12 users can manage off-site storage for their backups from within the Backup Exec software. Customers can back up and store data onsite with tape or disk and securely store data online for disaster recovery and can tailor the product to their specific needs for storage capacity and data retention.

More information about Symantec Protection Network and the new backup and protection services can be found at http://www.spn.com.