Veeam release backup offerings for Microsoft Cloud platforms; adds data protection, scalability, enhanced control of cloud-based data

Veeam Software announced on Monday public beta release of the latest Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365v4 at Microsoft Ignite 2019. Additionally, the company will be offering Microsoft Ignite attendees a sneak peek of a NEW cloud-native data protection solution for Microsoft Azure workloads, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure. 

Version 4 also includes added security with at-rest encryption for data in object storage and faster backup performance. These solutions support the company’s cloud strategy and provide Microsoft users with additional data protection, scalability, and enhanced control of their cloud-based data. 

With Office 365, Microsoft is responsible for the uptime of the Office 365 infrastructure, but backup and management of the data is the customer’s responsibility. 

The NEW Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v4 offers direct integration with Microsoft’s Azure Blob Storage, giving companies that want to keep their Office 365 data in Azure a cost-effective, scalable and secure solution for doing so. This latest release also adds additional performance improvements for backing up Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive for Business.

Ease of use is built into the new Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure with turn-key deployment via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, while recovery capabilities are also delivered with features like file-level recovery for native snapshots and Veeam backups. 

A built-in cloud cost estimator tool will provide customers with greater cost controls and savings while integration with Veeam Backup & Replication will allow customers to take control of their cloud data by protecting and managing Azure backups alongside their cloud, virtual and physical data.

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v4 enables IT decision makers from cloud-first companies who prefer to store their Office 365 backups in Azure a cloud-optimized solution leveraging cost-efficient Azure Blob Storage for doing so. Significant benefits of the new version include the ability for customers to reduce costs with object storage and only pay for what is consumed; leverage unlimited scalability with unlimited storage capacity; and simplify deployment in the public cloud and no complex planning.

Silver Peak expands integration with Microsoft Cloud Services; automates enterprise branch office connectivity to Office 365, Azure Virtual WAN

Silver Peak announced on Monday expanded product integration with Microsoft cloud services. Its expanded integration enables enterprise IT organizations to centrally define workflows within Unity Orchestrator to automate direct branch connectivity to Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure across deployments of the business-driven Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform. 

These advancements allow cloud-first enterprises to deliver the highest quality of application experience to branch users, dramatically simplify network operations for IT, and achieve a multiplier effect on Microsoft cloud investments.

As cloud-first enterprises embrace leading productivity tools like Office 365, IT organizations are tasked with delivering the highest levels of performance to achieve the full productivity benefit. 

To help enterprises deliver the best Office 365 experience, Microsoft has defined a set of connectivity best practices for connecting branch office users over the internet to the closest Office 365 service front door. The Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform is now fully integrated with Office 365 IP address and URL web services, providing default support for Microsoft connectivity best practices. 

This expanded integration extends the value of advanced capabilities like First-packet iQ application classification and local DNS resolution (for Office 365 endpoints), allowing EdgeConnect to identify and classify Office 365 application traffic on the first packet and now automatically directs it to the nearest Office 365 endpoint. Directing traffic to the nearest endpoint significantly reduces round trip latency for the full suite of Office 365 applications, assuring the highest levels of performance.

For enterprises migrating applications from the corporate data center to the cloud, Microsoft Azure offers a compelling value proposition. The Azure cloud infrastructure spans Microsoft’s worldwide footprint of global data centers, hubs and entry points interconnected over Microsoft’s private high-performance global network. 

The Azure Virtual WAN service provides an API-driven software-defined paradigm that enables Unity Orchestrator to perform per-branch geolocation of the closest Azure hub, and then automatically establish, monitor and maintain IPsec tunnels from each branch location into Azure. This ensures that application traffic traverses the shortest distance possible on the public internet before merging onto the Azure backbone. 

Using the Silver Peak cloud API, network administrators can now establish and automate integration workflows within Unity Orchestrator, enabling joint customers to build optimized network access to workloads and resources hosted in Azure VNETs, fully leveraging the performance advantages of the Microsoft global backbone network.

“Virtually all Silver Peak customers rely on a combination of Microsoft products and cloud services, and the expanded integration announced today enables our joint customers to maximize user experience with Office 365 and Azure,” said Fraser Street, vice president of technical alliances for Silver Peak. “Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to customers to deliver a portfolio of API-driven integrations to automate connectivity to the most widely deployed, business-critical cloud applications and services from recognized leaders like Microsoft.”