Who's big in backup?
Backup software is rarely measured as an independent category. These ten vendors were dominant players in the overall storage software market in 2001, according to Gartner Dataquest. While hardware manufacturers naturally promote their own software, many resellers will bundle their preferred software with storage hardware, even when an alternative is available.
EMC
Key backup software: Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) and TimeFinder, CLARiiON MirrorView and SnapView
Storage management software market share: 30.4%
EMC's products are highly integrated with its two hardware lines, which has been a key factor in its strong market share.
www.emc.com
Veritas Software
Key backup software: Backup Exec, NetBackup, BareMetal Restore
Storage management software market share: 19.8%
Greatly expanded its market share with the 1999 purchase of Seagate Software,which gave it a firm foothold in the Windows
market.
www.veritas.com
IBM
Key backup software: Tivoli Storage Manager (also available in Extended Edition and for Storage Area Networks)
Storage management software market share: 14.2%
IBM heavily promotes the use of Storage Manager alongside other Tivoli products.
www.ibm.com
Computer Associates
Key backup software: BrightStor Enterprise, BrightStor ARCserve, BrightStor Mobile Backup, BrightStor CA-Disk
Storage management software market share: 4.1%
CA has integrated all its backup and storage solutions under the BrightStor brand.
www.ca.com
Compaq
Key backup software: StorageWorks, SANworks
Storage management software market share: 4%
Following Compaq's merger with HP, total market share is likely to increase.
www.hp.com
Legato Systems
Key backup software: NetWorker, RepliStor
Storage management software market share: 2.9%
www.legato.com
BMC Software
Key backup software: MAINVIEW SRM
Storage management software market share: 2.8%
www.bmc.com
StorageTek
Key backup software: Application Storage Manager, packages licensed from third parties
Storage management software market share: 2.4%
www.storagetek.com.
Network Appliance
Key backup software: SnapDrive, Snap-Mirror, SnapManager, SnapRestore, SnapVault
Storage management software market share: 2.2%
www.netapp.com
Hitachi Data Systems
Key backup software: Multiplatform Backup/Restore, Hitachi eCopy
Storage management software market share: 1.9%
www.hds.com.
Backup software: what you need to know
- Integrate hardware and software. Many backup software systems are designed to work in close conjunction with storage hardware. Take advantage of this to minimise your workload.
- Define policies. Your backup system should be part of a broader strategic plan for IT maintenance and availability, and based on well-thought out policies.
- Plan, strategise, and automate.
Zero-in-tervention systems may be a pipe dream, but having a well-planned approach to backup will minimise the amount of time you spend and free you for more productive tasks. - Backup is like insurance. In general, you can't make a specific case for ROI just for backup (though you may be able to as part of a broader storage strategy). However, the cost of restoring data will generally justify your backup investment.
- Don't forget software. While the most important data to backup is unique business information, maintaining backup copies of key application installersâ€"or even better, mirrors of functional systemsâ€"will get you up and running much faster in the event of a disaster.
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