Make More Money with Business Continuity
Backup. Disaster recover. Business continuity. Somewhere along the line, these ideas blurred together. We’ve talked before on this blog about the differences, but what does that mean for you?
The truth is that many people out there today claim to be offering business continuity. And why wouldn’t they? It’s a “sexier” phrase, one that doesn’t immediately bring to mind volcanoes and dramatic lightning shows and meteors. Nobody likes to think about a disaster and it seems like shooting yourself in the foot to start the conversation talking about disaster recovery. So of course, offer business continuity instead.
This opens a door for you. If you can figure out how to start offering true business continuity, not just backup and disaster recovery with a little bit of lipstick on it, then you’re in a position to start pulling away from the crowd. The trick, is to take what you already have and do more.
Last week, we published a new white paper called “Three Untapped Sources of Business Continuity Revenue” that explores a few ways you can do just that: take what you have and do more.
In what ways are you offering more than just disaster recovery?
Virtually There
We hope you saw the news that StorageCraft is now an “Elite” member of the VMware Technology Alliance Program. We’ve been part of TAP for several years now, and our technology has been integrated in VMware’s converter tool for about five years. It’s a natural partnership for us since we’ve been specializing in virtualizing data from the beginning. It’s why we’re virtualization experts.
Virtualization is great for protecting your systems and data for so many reasons. Because it’s not just about the backup — it’s about the recovery. If your data backup is virtualized, it’s very quick and relatively easy to restore all of that information, especially if you’re using best-in-class ShadowProtect backup. This is why StorageCraft places so much emphasis on having a local backup — not just an off-site/cloud backup. Nine times out of ten, the disaster you will need to recover from will be a local disaster: a server crash, human error or power failure, for example. If you have a local ShadowProtect backup, recovery is a snap.
If you haven’t standardized on virtual machines yet and you’re thinking about how to do it, keep ShadowProtect in mind. It will backup all of your physical systems, simplify migration to new, virtual hardware and then backup all of those virtual servers. You’ll want to check out ShadowProtect Virtual and our new pricing for virtual servers in ShadowProtect for Managed Service Providers. When it comes to virtualization, we’ve been there, done that and we may even write the book.
StorageCraft Reaches Elite Status in VMware Technology Alliance Partner Program
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Jan. 26, 2012 — StorageCraft Technology Corporation, the provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration, data protection and security solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, today announced it has moved to the Elite level in VMware’s global Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program.
The VMware TAP program helps technology vendors integrate their products with VMware virtualization software and deliver timely, joint solutions to mutual customers.
StorageCraft’s move to the Elite level of the VMware TAP program will accelerate its delivery of solutions for the VMware environment and will further develop its already strong relationship with VMware.
StorageCraft® ShadowProtect Virtual™ delivers backup and disaster recovery solutions to VMware virtual environments by allowing users to backup anything in a Windows physical or virtual environment and recover it anywhere. Users can recover data from another type of hypervisor to a VMware virtual machine as well as to physical environments, including recovery to dissimilar hardware, with ShadowProtect Hardware Independent Restore technology.
“We’re happy to officially be part of VMware’s TAP program at the Elite level, as we’ve enjoyed a mutually productive working relationship for some time now. The additional tools, benefits and support of an Elite level membership and our association with VMware gives us a great advantage in continuing to deliver best-in-class virtual solutions for our users,” said Curt James, vice president of marketing and business development for StorageCraft.
StorageCraft places a high priority on creating products to meet the virtualization needs of its partners. It recently offered new pricing for virtual server pricing on ShadowProtect® for Managed Service Providers™. In addition, ShadowProtect Virtual is a finalist for Storage magazine’s Product of the Year in the Backup and Disaster Recovery Software and Services category for the second year in a row.
With more than 2,000 members worldwide, the VMware TAP program works with best-of-breed technology partners to provide them a comprehensive set of VMware technical and marketing services, support, tools and expertise to deliver enhanced value to joint customers.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, please visit www.storagecraft.com.
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Business Continuity and Change
Last week, I had lunch with my niece. She’s interested in becoming a writer and she wanted to talk about what to expect. I explained to her the many encouraging and discouraging things I’ve learned about being a writer, trying to help her make a decision with her eyes open. I hope that what she took away was this: be prepared. The publishing world is tough, especially now that it is changing so rapidly. If she wants to be successful, she needs to take the time to figure out exactly what she wants to accomplish, do a lot of research, then set up a plan for how she’s going to accomplish it so that when those disastrously dark days come (and they will come when you’re trying to be a professional writer), she’ll have the support of her knowledge, planning, and ambition to carry her through.
When I got back to work, I realized that what I’d said applies to businesses, too. A lot of things can get in the way of your success, and the best way to protect yourself from all of it is to have a plan. A business continuity plan. Of course you know that. You don’t want your business to be swept away by some disaster. But as I told my niece, there’s more to watch out for than disasters. There’s change.
One of the biggest challenges she’ll face in becoming a writer will be the massive upheavals that will continue to wrack the publishing industry in the years to come. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but change is also a pretty fundamental part of the IT world as well. Last week, IT World posted this article about the evolution from the standard BIOS in your computer to the new and improved Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). This is a huge change that will add all sorts of new functionality to your computer, but it also brings with it all sorts of questions and challenges.
This is just one example, but we all know that changes like this are happening all the time. SOPA/PIPA nearly changed the way websites run. Windows 8 is coming at the end of this year. Mobile computing is becoming more and more prevalent. It’s one thing to have a plan in place that protects you against user error, or hacker attacks, or natural disasters, but have you thought about how to protect yourself against change?
As I told my niece, the key is to take your time, figure out what your long-term business goals are, and then make a plan. If you’re prepared, if you know that change is coming and you’ve thought in advance about how to deal with that change, then you’ll be able to deal with it when it comes.
You Asked, We Listened
By now you may have heard that we’ve announced new virtual server pricing for MSPs on our flagship product, ShadowProtect®. We’ve had special pricing for virtual servers for a while, and our MSP partners have been asking for the same thing with ShadowProtect® for Managed Service Providers™. Now the price discount is across the board — both for MSPs and perpetual licenses.
This isn’t just an exercise in patting ourselves on the back for making the change. I might break an arm doing that. But it is to make the point that we do ask for your feedback. And we do listen to it when you give it. We want to hear what you have to say about our products, our partner program and StorageCraft as a company.
This year, we’ll be rolling out new products, introducing new programs and making changes to our current offerings. Like any company, we anticipate that we’ll have to make adjustments along the way. We hope that you’ll be open to telling us if something isn’t working for you — and if it is! We like to hear the good things, too. The StorageCraft team plans to add new ways for you to tell us how our business continuity solutions are helping you and your customers as well as the creative ways you’re using them. We are working on some cool incentives to share that feedback, so please stay tuned.
You talk, and we will listen. We promise.
ShadowProtect Virtual Named 2011 Product of the Year Finalist
For the second year in a row, ShadowProtect is a finalist for the prestigious Storage magazine Product of the Year awards. SearchStorage.com posted an article about this year’s finalists in the Backup and Disaster Recovery Software and Services category.
From the article:
StorageCraft Technology Corp. ShadowProtect Virtual
StorageCraft ShadowProtect Virtual backs up Windows systems and can recover to a virtual machine, physical hardware or the cloud. New to this version: backup for virtual and physical environments, including support for Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, Oracle VirtualBox and VMware; the ability to boot a backup of a virtual machine directly for fast access to data without performing a restore; and a new centralized management console.
It’s said a lot, but it’s a big honor just to be nominated. And we’re proud that we’ve reached this achievement two years in a row.
StorageCraft Announces Virtual Server Pricing for MSPs
ShadowProtect for Managed Service Providers gets new pricing option
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DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Jan. 19, 2012 – StorageCraft Technology Corporation, a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, has announced new virtual server pricing for StorageCraft® ShadowProtect® for Managed Service Providers™.
The new pricing will be available beginning February 1, 2012, but managed service providers (MSPs) may begin installing it on virtual servers immediately.
In addition, MSPs who have signed up for the StorageCraft MSP Rebate Program will receive a $6 rebate for virtual servers they add (over and above their “base” installation number) during their rebate period.
“Many of our partners asked us to provide separate pricing for virtual servers for ShadowProtect for Managed Service Providers, and this new option is a direct response to that. Our channel partners are important to us, and their feedback is an important factor in our decision-making process,” said Curt James, vice president of marketing and business development at StorageCraft.
ShadowProtect for Managed Service Providers features benefits from the award-winning ShadowProtect product line, such as recovery from bare metal to dissimilar hardware or to and from virtual environments, and it gives MSPs the power to deactivate ShadowProtect licenses remotely from the MSP licensing console.
“Our goal is to make it easier for our partners in the channel to provide virtualization and business continuity solutions to their customers, and providing pricing options tailored to virtualized environments is one way to accomplish that,” said James.
This pricing option will be available to MSPs in North America. To get more information, please contact StorageCraft at sales@storagecraft.com.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, visit www.storagecraft.com.
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StorageCraft and ShadowProtect are trademarks of StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Are SAS 70 Type II Data Centers Dead? Yes, and No! Long Live SSAE 16!
At a recent trade show I attended, the subject of SAS 70 Type II data centers came up … and it was stated that “customers should only use a data center that is SAS 70 Type II certified”. I have to agree with that sentiment; however, a new standard — the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16 — effectively replaces the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) for reporting periods ending on or after June 15, 2011.
So, if you’ve not see it already, you’ll see data center providers touting they’ve completed a “SSAE 16 Type II” audit. And after June 15 of next year, stating a data center is SAS 70 Type II compliant will not mean anything expect that the data center provider has not kept up on getting an external audit of their systems and procedures!
You see, these audits and the reports that result from them are only valid for a year. That’s right. Data centers must pass an audit every year in order to claim they have met these auditing standards. And if you’re trusting a data center with your data, you certainly want your provider to do this.
So what are SSAE 16 (SOC 1) and SSAE 16 SOC 2 reports?
SSAE 16 is a Service Organization Control (SOC) Type 1 report which documents the auditors’ opinion regarding the accuracy, completeness and suitability of the design of internal controls as of a set date.
An SOC Type 2 report (commonly referred to as “SSAE 16 Type II”) validates the implementation of the SSAE 16 report over a set period of time, typically 6 months to a year and requires sample testing of each control for operating effectiveness during the specified period. An SSAE 16 Type 2 Report is officially a “Report on management’s description of a service organization’s system and the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of controls”.
In other words, the data center provider describes their system and how the design of that system is well suited and effective in meeting its purpose. Then, independent auditors validate what management has described in order to generate the SSAE 16 Type 2 report. Type 2 reports cover controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and/or privacy.
In the data center world, an SSAE 16 Type 2 report can give you assurances that your data center:
- Maintains sufficient data and power redundancy
- Maintains appropriate physical security controls (Man Trap, Security Guards, Biometric Scanning, Video Cameras)
- Maintains appropriate logical security controls (information is classified and protected as committed or agreed)
- Monitors for excessive temperature fluctuations
- Reviews alerts on a timely basis
- Has proper fire/water detection and protection
SSAE 16 Type II Certified! Well, not really, but I have a SOC 3 report for you!
No official SSAE 16 “certification” exists (and neither did a SAS 70 certification). You may hear the SSAE 16 “certification” term thrown around by marketers like me, but that’s just because it sounds much cooler than “We’ve completed a SSAE 16 Type II audit.” which sounds so boring I almost fell asleep typing it. But what’s important is any data center you trust with your data has in the past completed a SAS 70 Type II audit and have either completed or will complete a SSAE 16 Type 2 audit — and can provide the report documenting their successful completion.
You typically won’t get an organization’s SSAE 16 SOC 2 report unless you request it specifically. You see, an SOC 1 report is an “auditor-to-auditor” communication and SOC 2 reports are generally “restricted use reports”. But an SOC 3 report is a general use report a data center provider can deliver to current and prospective customers to demonstrate their data center has appropriate controls in place to mitigate risks related to security, privacy, etc. That’s not to say you can’t get a data center’s SOC 2 report depending on your needs … and here are some guidelines about what SOC report is right for you.
It’s your data. So hold your data center provider to a high standard and insist on independent audit validation — because it’s your business and data to loose.
StorageCraft Offers New Purchase Options on Backup and Disaster Recovery Software
New choices based on feedback from channel partners
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Dec. 12, 2011 – StorageCraft Technology Corporation, a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, is now offering new purchase options for its ShadowProtect® solutions, thanks to suggestions and feedback from managed service providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs).
“It’s not enough to offer a product without listening to feedback from the channel. We want to develop solutions that are useful and that make sense to our partners, and these new options reflect the feedback we heard from them. Their feedback is critical to us, and we want them to understand that they have a voice,” said Mike Kunz, vice president of sales at StorageCraft.
StorageCraft is offering the following purchase options:
ShadowProtect Virtual Server 1-pack
StorageCraft originally offered ShadowProtect Virtual in 6-pack bundles, but it developed the 3-pack option after receiving feedback from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that wouldn’t use that many licenses. The single-pack version is also the result of partner feedback, and it ends up serving the same purpose.
“We’re committed to helping SMBs grow successfully. Now they can order the exact amount of licenses they need without overspending on their budgets for licenses they won’t use,” said Curt James, vice president of marketing and business development at StorageCraft.
This product offering is available through StorageCraft’s authorized distribution partners in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
ShadowProtect Bundles
The new bundle options give MSPs and VARs flexibility with ShadowProtect Small Business Server, Server and Desktop products. The bundles include:
- ShadowProtect Small Business Server (one license) and ShadowProtect Desktop (10 licenses)
- ShadowProtect Server (one license) and ShadowProtect Desktop (10 licenses
These bundles are available in the United States and Canada only through StorageCraft’s distribution partners, Lifeboat Distribution and SYNNEX.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, visit www.storagecraft.com.
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StorageCraft and ShadowProtect are trademarks of StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Servosity releases DR Server and DR Desktop
From their Greenville, SC headquarters, long time business-to-business backup provider Servosity has excelled at delivering robust file-based backup services (Servosity has multiple Tier 3 data centers which meet or exceed SAS-70 Type II standards). And now, Servosity announced their DR Server and DR Desktop backup service which delivers advanced disaster recovery capabilities including full-system bare metal restore to dissimilar hardware and full-system virtual machine recovery for Windows servers and Desktops.
Servosity leverages ShadowProtect in their DR Server and DR Desktop offerings and worked closely with StorageCraft in rolling out the service. Congratulations to Servosity and we wish you great success!
If you’d like to learn more, sign up for an intro webinar: http://www2.servosity.com/l/10112/2011-11-11/5XJ9
StorageCraft Partners With Highly Reliable Systems: New End-to-End Backup Solution
Alliance delivers best-in-class backup and disaster recovery solutions
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A., – Nov. 8, 2011 – StorageCraft Technology Corporation, a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, and Highly Reliable Systems, a manufacturer of backup and disaster recovery systems, have partnered to provide a complete end-to-end backup and disaster recovery solution for the SMB market.
“The ideal backup and disaster recovery infrastructure demands both innovative software and reliable storage devices. This alliance with Highly Reliable Systems gives small and medium businesses the ability to create an environment that ensures fast, flexible and reliable recovery and restoration of its data, at a price point that makes sense,” said Curt James, vice president of marketing and business development at StorageCraft.
StorageCraft and Highly Reliable Systems share the goal of making it profitable for value-added resellers (VARs) and managed service providers (MSPs) to deliver backup, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. Highly Reliable Systems manufactures quality, hot pluggable, disk-based backup and storage systems designed with easy off-site capabilities with removable drives. StorageCraft® ShadowProtect® provides best-in-class backup and recovery software, and coupled with Highly Reliable Systems backup devices, it creates a simple, affordable backup and disaster recovery solution for SMBs.
Highly Reliable Systems’ hardware platform works seamlessly with the entire StorageCraft product line to combine backup procedures that are easy to manage with the ability to move backup images off-site with removable drives. Customers can also leverage the solution to replicate their backup data to a remote data center of their choice for added redundancy and protection against catastrophic disasters.
“We found a natural partnership early on with StorageCraft. As a leading U.S. manufacturer of storage optimized for backup, we found a real value in being able to refer resellers to a quality product. When you pair our devices with their software, you have a reliable disaster recovery solution capable of backing up over 400GB per hour and restoring in just a few minutes,” said Jeff Bowling, vice president of business development for Highly Reliable Systems.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, visit www.storagecraft.com.
About Highly Reliable Systems
Highly Reliable Systems, Inc. is a US manufacturer of backup and disaster recovery hardware solutions based in Reno, NV. Highly Reliable Systems specializes in engineering backup and recovery devices that use fully enclosed, protected and hot swappable hard drives, which allow for extremely fast backup and restore and also provide an easy way to physically transport data and backup images offsite.
www.high-rely.com
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StorageCraft and ShadowProtect are trademarks of StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
StorageCraft Alliance Partner, Datto, Wins Another “Best New Product” Award
A big shout out to our friends at Datto that pulled down another Best New Product award at ASCII SMB IT Success Summit in NY/NJ for their SIRIS business continuity solution.
This is the fourth award SIRIS has won in 2011 and the second consecutive ‘Best New Product’ award at an ASCII Success Summit!
If you haven’t heard, Datto now uses the new ShadowSnap driver from StorageCraft in the SIRIS solution. Check out their vBlog, with Datto CEO Austin McCord, talking everything ShadowSnap.
Congratulations Datto!
What is ShadowProtect?
We just finished up this overview video for our ShadowProtect backup and disaster recovery software, and we’re excited to work on more videos like this that provide a quick snapshot about our company and products.
What videos would you like to see us produce? We’re not above taking requests …
Artisan Infrastructure and StorageCraft Webinar Series
StorageCraft partners with industry leaders to give you opportunities and options for expanding your offerings and elevating your business leveraging StorageCraft solutions. We are pleased to have a joint webinar series with alliance partner Artisan Infrastructure, wholesaler of the Cornerstone virtual Private Data Center (vPDC) platform.
ShadowControl ImageManager: Using New Features with Cornerstone
Thu, Oct 27, 3 pm EDT/Noon PDT Watch Replay
You’ll learn best practices for utilizing Artisan Infrastructure Cornerstone as the cloud repository for storing ShadowProtect backup images and implementing a disaster recovery plan for your customers – easily and profitably.
Discover how the recently released ShadowControl ImageManager provides:
- Faster, easier off site replication to Cornerstore with ShadowStream
- More control over managing backup images created with ShadowProtect
- Tools to verify and re-verify ShadowProtect backup image files
Maximize Business Continuity with StorageCraft and Artisan Infrastructure
Tue, Nov 15, 3 pm EST/Noon PST Watch Replay
Learn how Artisan Infrastructure’s virtual private data center platform, Cornerstone, pre-installed with ShadowProtect enables you to:
- Easily provide a near-line and off-site backup and disaster recovery solution
- Remotely test, evaluate and monitor ShadowProtect and deploy in less than a few minutes
- Retain complete autonomy to deploy and manage your own cloud solutions
ShadowProtect and Artisan Infrastructure “How To”
Thu, Dec 15, 1 pm EST/10 am PST Register Today!
Get down to the nuts and bolts of using ShadowProtect and ShadowControl ImageManager with Artisan Infrastructure Cornerstone vPDC platform to:
- Easily provide a near-line and off-site backup and disaster recovery solution
- Remotely test, evaluate and monitor ShadowProtect and deploy in less than a few minutes
- Retain complete autonomy to deploy and manage your own cloud solutions
Defining backup, disaster recovery and business continuity
There’s a great article by James E. Gaskin in the latest issue of ChannelPro that talks about the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity. It’s a great idea to talk about and clarify terms like this that are being used in various ways throughout the industry
We certainly appreciate any effort to explain these terms, but it’s important for us to note that we’re pretty particular with how we use them at StorageCraft. For Gaskin, these terms are more or less all descriptions of different types of disaster recovery. At StorageCraft, however, we see things more broadly. For us, backup is simply the act of securing data both locally and remotely. Disaster recovery, on the other hand, is the restoration of that data in the event of any kind of disaster, large and small.
While backup and disaster recovery are more or less events that occur at specific (though sometimes recurring) times, business continuity is a process. It’s that combination of best practices, procedures, and mindsets that keeps your business running no matter what happens. True business continuity includes physical processes like how to turn on the power after a blackout and such. That said, backup and DR are essential elements of good business continuity, especially in this day and age where data and applications are becoming more and more crucial to business operation and survival.
For us, ShadowProtect is primarily a BDR solution. It makes backup images, replicates them offsite, and checks to make sure those backup images are up-to-date and working. When necessary, it also facilitates flawless disaster recovery. Hardware Independent Restore is one way ShadowProtect ensures awesome DR, as is HeadStart Restore (which is a part of ShadowControl ImageManager).
However, ShadowProtect is also a business continuity solution, especially when paired with ShadowControl Image Manager, because it makes it easy for people to maintain a consistent operation, even in the event of a disaster. HeadStart Restore is one way to do this, and VirtualBoot enables a business to literally continue operating from their laptop while they’re waiting for the real disaster recovery to take place on a new server.
What do these terms mean to you? Do you interpret them differently? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
StorageCraft listed in Utah 100 by Mountain West Capital Network
It’s been a busy week around here, so we’re a little behind in talking about our most recent award. We received recognition from the Mountain West Capital Network here in Salt Lake City last week when the MWCN held its annual Utah 100 luncheon. The Utah 100 honors the state’s 100 fastest growing companies, the top 15 revenue growth companies and the “Emerging Elite,” which are selected from thousands of eligible applicants solicited throughout the state.
StorageCraft ranked 20th in the Utah 100 in our first year on the list!
We were (and still are, quite frankly) very excited about this. We’re proud to be noticed for our success; it’s a great testament to the hard work, passion and creativity of our people, and we plan to continue this high standard of performance for a long time to come.
It also feels humbling and gratifying to be on the list with several other successful companies that represent a pretty broad set of industries, including technology, biomedical, healthcare, retail, construction and financial services. Congratulations to all of our fellow winners!
StorageCraft, Datto Partner to Create a New Standard for BDR Solutions
Enriched partnership delivers a complete end-to-end business continuity solution for MSPs and VARs across the channel
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Sept. 27, 2011 – StorageCraft Technology Corporation and Datto Inc. have joined forces to offer a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution that combines two award-winning products, StorageCraft® ShadowProtect® technology and Datto’s SIRIS.
“Providing real, day-to-day business continuity is critical for our channel partners. We’re teaming with Datto to give our MSPs and VARs a reliable solution that harnesses the power of ShadowProtect and SIRIS. Our technology is already integrated in Datto’s Viridian product offerings, but integrating it into SIRIS will create a more complete solutions offering. Channel partners will benefit from having a standardized solution that simply does what it’s supposed to do,” said Curt James, vice president of marketing and business development at StorageCraft.
ShadowProtect provides fast and reliable disaster recovery, data protection and system migration to get servers online as quickly as possible. It delivers rapid recovery from bare metal to dissimilar hardware or to and from virtual environments. It also provides the tools to centrally manage point-in-time backup images and restore them in a matter of minutes. The easy-to-use management console allows for simultaneous push installs of ShadowProtect to all Windows servers from a centralized location.
Datto’s SIRIS is a revolutionary backup and disaster recovery solution specifically designed to save MSPs and VARs time and money. SIRIS is rapidly gaining momentum in the channel and has earned ‘Best New Product’ recognition at both ASCII Chicago and Boston Success Summits this year. SIRIS dramatically simplifies and streamlines the backup process by eliminating the traditional backup chain and converts data straight to .vmdk files. SIRIS is the only BDR solution that offers instant on- and off-site virtualization, backup verification and true business continuity.
“Datto is extremely excited to partner with one of the best backup companies to enhance Datto’s SIRIS, a true business continuity solution. The third generation of Datto’s SIRIS has new features, better reliability and will look to set a new standard for BDR solutions in the channel. The synergy of StorageCraft’s technology coupled with Datto’s offerings will represent an epic win for our partners and the channel,” said Austin McChord, CEO of Datto.
Datto will offer free demos of the new SIRIS device at their booth at the upcoming SMB Nation Fall Conference in Las Vegas, NV. The conference takes place at the Rio Conference Center September 29 – October 2, 2011.
StorageCraft and Datto will also hold a joint webinar on October 5, 2011 at 2:00pm EDT to demo and explain SIRIS’ new features and benefits. To register for the webinar visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/654178720.
About Datto Inc.
Datto Inc. is an award-winning provider of hardware based on- and off-site backup and disaster recovery solutions. Datto’s innovative and affordable solutions are changing the way the channel delivers complete business continuity and are offered exclusively through our resale partners – over 1,600 IT service providers across North America and the UK. For more information, http://www.dattobackup.com.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides innovative backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, visit www.storagecraft.com.
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StorageCraft and ShadowProtect are registered trademarks or trademarks of StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
StorageCraft Releases ShadowControl ImageManager
Management tools and services give users greater control, flexibility
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Sept. 20, 2011 – StorageCraft Technology Corporation, a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, announces the release of StorageCraft ShadowControl™ ImageManager™ 5, software designed to help manage, customize and enhance the backup process.
ShadowControl ImageManager works in conjunction with StorageCraft ShadowProtect®, the award-winning line of backup and disaster recovery software. It includes tools and services that allow users to replicate backup images to the cloud, pre-stage backups as virtual machines, consolidate backup image files and monitor and manage backups created with ShadowProtect.
“Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) don’t often have the resources to manage costly systems that would provide redundancy in their computer environments. ShadowControl ImageManager gives them flexible, reliable tools to make that possible,” said Brandon Nordquist, vice president of product management at StorageCraft.
ShadowControl ImageManager increases control over backup images created with ShadowProtect®, which allows the user to more efficiently manage physical, virtual or cloud backups.
New and notable features of ShadowControl ImageManager include:
- ShadowStream™ accelerates the file transfer of backup images up to five times faster than traditional file transfer does. Its technology transports ShadowProtect backup files off-site quickly and reliably by controlling bandwidth capacity.
- intelligentFTP™ enables the user to filter files for replication locally, to the network, or to an off-site location. The user can set parameters for the replication, whether it’s every incremental backup or just backup files that have been verified.
- HeadStart Restore® reduces the recovery window by proactively constructing the backup image as a virtual machine, allowing the user to restore the system in minutes, saving critical time.
In addition, ShadowControl ImageManager provides management tools that allow users to verify and re-verify backup image files over time to make sure they are still intact. ShadowControl ImageManager also consolidates backup image files and allows the user to set up retention parameters locally and in the cloud, saving valuable storage space both on-site and off -site. Users can set up email notifications to track the status of backup images as well.
“SMBs have a critical need for simplified, automated business continuity solutions because they often cannot afford the infrastructure and resources required to manage complicated systems. Products like this one from StorageCraft are important because they provide backup and disaster recovery solutions to a large, underserved SMB market,” said Deni Connor, principal analyst for Storage Strategies NOW.
Pricing and Availability
ShadowControl ImageManager is included free with a ShadowProtect license. Jobs using ShadowStream, intelligentFTP and HeadStart Restore require additional licensing fees, depending on the software the user selects, and are available through Lifeboat Distribution, SYNNEX and authorized StorageCraft solution providers, managed service providers and value-added resellers.
For additional information about pricing and licensing, visit the ShadowControl ImageManager product page, contact StorageCraft Sales at (801) 545-4711 or email sales@storagecraft.com.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, please visit www.storagecraft.com.
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Some background on our new backup and disaster recovery software
As we prepared for the launch of ShadowControl ImageManager(TM), we kept talking about how we wanted our partners to feel like they could control the backup and disaster recovery process, rather than just manage it. To us, the word manage feels like just getting by or being able to just handle it.
The ImageManager technology has always been a standard component of ShadowProtect since we release version 3 a few years ago, but it’s now branded as ShadowControl ImageManager with features like ShadowStream(TM), intelligentFTP(TM) and HeadStart Restore(R), the user can customize his or her settings to what best suits the scenario. Need to transfer large files over a highly-latent connection? Use ShadowStream. Are you already a pro at setting up off-site FTP servers? Then intelligentFTP may meet your needs. Want to pre-stage your backup image, making it possible to recover your data within minutes? HeadStart Restore is the tool for you. ShadowControl ImageManager puts you squarely in the driver’s seat.
We’ve also worked on creating pricing that makes sense. We encourage our partners to create customizable backup and disaster recovery solutions for their customers, and making you buy licenses and jobs you’ll never use just doesn’t fit with that philosophy. With the pricing structure for ShadowControl ImageManager, you pay only for the licensed jobs you need. Your pricing and perks will rely on your current configuration, so it’s best to contact one of our distribution partners – Lifeboat Distribution or SYNNEX – or one of our inside sales reps to get specifics.
Questions? Check out the product page or get in touch with our sales department; they’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Check out the ShadowControl ImageManager press release.
StorageCraft’s New MSP Rebate Program
StorageCraft is launching its first-ever rebate for its MSP program. Starting Thursday, September 1, StorageCraft MSP partners in Canada and the United States can sign up for rebates on every new StorageCraft ShadowProtect license they add. The rebate will last for six months.
Here’s how it works. First, you must be a StorageCraft MSP. If you are an MSP and you haven’t signed up for the StorageCraft Profit-Ability Partner Program yet, now is the perfect time to join. You can find details on the program and sign up here: www.StorageCraft.com/Profit-Ability.
If you’re already a StorageCraft MSP, you get to go straight to the next step. On September 1st, login into the StorageCraft MSP Licensing console (https://msp.storagecraft.com/msp), and accept the MSP Rebate Program agreement. It’s that easy.
You may want to wait to sign up until you’re sure you have customers lined up, because you have three months to join: the program runs September 1 – November 30. Plus, you’ll want to take advantage of the program as much as possible, since your rebate period will begin the first full month after you sign up and will last for six months after that.
Need to know more? We’re holding two webinars this week to give you more details. Sign up for one – or both – to give you more detail on the program and benefits.
Sign up for Wednesday’s webinar @ 1:00 EDT/ 10:00 PDT.
Sign up for Thursday’s webinar @ 2:00 EDT/ 11:00 PDT.
Plus visit www.MSPWallet.com for more information.
Backup software company grows team, revenue
StorageCraft hires 100th employee, earns Fast 50 status in Utah
DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – August 25, 2011 –StorageCraft Technology Corporation, the provider of best in class backup, disaster recovery, system migration, data protection and security solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, recently hit the 100-employee mark, creating the largest team since the company’s inception in 2004.
However, it’s not just the number that matters; it’s the substance behind it. A growing team at StorageCraft equates to better customer support, increased backup and disaster recovery software development, and increased ability of the sales and marketing teams to respond to the needs of the growing number of StorageCraft’s global channel partners as well.
StorageCraft has hired people for its product development, marketing, sales, and technical support teams in the last year, resulting in an employee count that has doubled in the last 12 months. Although StorageCraft hired its 100th employee from within the United States, the expanding team provides critical support to the company’s growing global footprint that includes a presence in most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.
A bigger, stronger team translates to a growing bottom line, too. Utah Business named StorageCraft to its Fast 50 list in 2011, recognizing it as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the state of Utah, based on a 5-year snapshot of growth percentage between 2005 and 2010.
“Our goal is to build a team of smart, highly-engaged, and proven performers who know how to work hard and achieve success. We grow into a stronger company with every new addition, and this is just an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the fact that people really do come first at our company,” said Tracee Comstock, director of human resources at StorageCraft.
Its award-winning flagship product, ShadowProtect, provides business continuity solutions for small- and medium-sized companies around the world. ShadowProtect is available in Desktop, Server, Small Business Server, IT, Granular Recovery for Exchange, Managed Service Providers, and Virtual editions.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best in class backup, disaster recovery, system migration, data protection and security solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, visit www.storagecraft.com.
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Why you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one cloud
Cloud computing has been the “next big thing” for the past couple of years, with every tech company under the sun trying to figure out a way to leverage cloud technology and every service provider looking for ways to support it. Cloud technology is pretty cool and can really save the day, when it works.
But as with all technology, the question isn’t if it will fail, but when. Many people have spent the last two years re-thinking their infrastructure, moving critical servers and server backups to the cloud, where they will be “safe.” That’s a recipe for disaster, because, as CRN has highlighted very succinctly, there have been many headline-grabbing cloud outages in the first half of this year alone. If you bought into the hype completely and you’ve put all of your eggs in the cloud basket, you may find yourself in serious trouble with a lot of broken eggs.
The remedy for this should be obvious. Rather than move all your critical server operations to the cloud, you should continue to keep a near-line server backup onsite, as your first line of defense. Companies that have a local backup – in addition to their cloud backup – don’t lose any sleep over cloud failures. It’s a blip on the screen and barely worth noting.
Let’s consider a scenario that’s a compound failure: your local server goes down and your cloud provider lets you know you can’t failover into the cloud because their data center was hit by lightning last night, which is exactly what caused a recent Amazon cloud failure in Europe. This is precisely why you need near-line backup as well. IT administrators know if they’re using a best-in-class business continuity solution like ShadowProtect, they can get servers running again in a few short minutes. If they’re also running StorageCraft’s HeadStart Restore technology in conjunction with ShadowProtect, users would barely notice the server went down.
So when putting together or revising your disaster recovery plan, save yourself some headaches and only give one ear to the hype. Make sure your plan covers multiple failures and includes near-line and off-site backup.
MSPmentor names StorageCraft CEO as MSP leader
MSPmentor just released the MSPmentor 250, the organization’s annual look at the executives, entrepreneurs, experts, coaches and community leaders shaping the global managed services market. We’re excited to announce that our president and CEO, Jeff Shreeve, made the list.
Jeff is one of the original five founders of StorageCraft and has been here since the beginning in 2004. He has extensive management experience in a variety of technology-based industries. He served as President of Advanced Geometrics, a geophysical research company; Vice President of Megalogics, Inc., and later CEO of DataCatchers, Inc., both developers of job costing systems. In addition, he served as Operations Manager of Rival Energy, an experimental energy development company and as Managing Member of Spectral Group, LLC, a software system development company. Jeff has also served in public management, including a term as the Salt Lake County Chief Deputy Auditor. He holds a Juris Doctorate degree from The University of Utah College of Law.
Upcoming webinars for our partners
Over the next two weeks, we’re putting together some excellent webinars to help you learn about opportunities to grow your business and to get trained on ShadowProtect.
Joint Webinars
StorageCraft partners with other industry leaders to give you opportunities and options for expanding your offerings and elevating your business. This month we have joint webinars with Intel, Artisan Infrastructure and Symform.
The Intel Hybrid Cloud featuring StorageCraft- Register Today!
Thu, Aug 11, 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
Discover how the Intel Hybrid Cloud program, featuring the Intel AppUp Small Business Service, allows you to:
- Provide customers with server software and services on a pay-as-you-go basis
- Deliver the stability and confidence of on-premises hardware
- Easily sell, deploy and manage ShadowProtect via the Intel Hybrid Cloud
Maximize Business Continuity with StorageCraft and Artisan Infrastructure – Register Today!
Wed, Aug 17, 11 am EDT/8 am PDT
Learn how Artisan Infrastructure’s virtual private data center platform, Cornerstone, pre-installed with ShadowProtect enables you to:
- Easily provide a near-line and off-site backup and disaster recovery solution
- Remotely test, evaluate and monitor ShadowProtect and deploy in less than a few minutes
- Retain complete autonomy to deploy and manage your own cloud solutions
Profitable, Easy Data Protection and Disaster Recovery in the Cloud with StorageCraft and Symform – Register Today!
Thu, Aug 18, 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT
See how the Business Continuity Suite powered by StorageCraft and Symform delivers:
- Unlimited cloud and local backup for a low, flat fee
- Greater redundancy and security – 256-bit encryption and geo-dispersion
- Outstanding price for your customers, great margins for you
StorageCraft Webinars
Take advantage of StorageCraft webinars to learn the latest and greatest ways to leverage ShadowProtect as part of your solutions portfolio.
Hardware Independent Restore – Register Today!
Thu, Aug 11, 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT
Learn how to recover to dissimilar hardware, even virtual hardware, using Hardware Independent Restore.
Using Granular Recovery for Microsoft Exchange – Register Today!
Thu, Aug 18, 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT
See how ShadowProtect Granular Recovery for Exchange allows you to easily recover mailboxes, search email messages and attachments and migrate to new Exchange servers
Virtualization and Storage – Register Today!
Thu, Aug 25, 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT
Discover how to leverage StorageCraft solutions, such as ShadowProtect Virtual, to make the most of today’s virtualization technology and win new business.
StorageCraft Launches Enhanced Partner Program
Program focuses on increasing partner profitability
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DRAPER, Utah, U.S.A. – Aug. 1, 2011 – Partners of StorageCraft Technology Corporation, a provider of best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops, have a newly-revamped program to help increase their profitability.
StorageCraft announced today the launch of its upgraded program with input from its partner advisory board, a select group of value-added resellers and managed service providers chosen to deliver feedback to StorageCraft about its partner and channel programs.
The new look of StorageCraft’s partner program includes a tiered approach, which allows partners to achieve incremental benchmarks by hitting revenue goals or completing training courses.
“We listened to our partners and sought to deliver on what they would like to see in a partner program. We wanted to create a program that was easy to follow and wouldn’t force our partners to jump through hoops to be successful. We understand that not all partners are alike, so we made the program flexible to ensure an equal opportunity for success, regardless of size or circumstance,” said Nicole Petriello, director of channel programs for StorageCraft.
All partners, regardless of tier, will receive access to StorageCraft’s online partner portal, a dedicated account manager, deal registration, and free sales and product training. Partners who qualify for the upper tiers can take advantage of additional benefits like joint marketing, a dedicated technical resource, and a presence on the StorageCraft website. StorageCraft will re-evaluate the status of each partner every six months.
“If you have not looked at StorageCraft’s partner program lately, it is time to take another look. The new revamped program has many of the features partners having been asking for. I know they reached out to a number of partners, myself included, for a wish list and hit almost all of them,” said Andy Goodman of DownHome Computers.
To learn more about StorageCraft’s updated partner program or to sign up to get more information, please visit the partner program page. StorageCraft will also host webinars on August 2 and August 3 for partners to review the new program.
About StorageCraft Technology Corporation
StorageCraft Technology Corporation provides best-in-class backup, disaster recovery, system migration and data protection solutions for servers, desktops and laptops. StorageCraft delivers software products that reduce downtime, improve security and stability for systems and data and lower the total cost of ownership for servers, desktops and laptops. For more information, please visit www.storagecraft.com
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