This article is more than 1 year old

Veeam varies virty voyage with free endpoint backup tool

No wonder Symantec's struggling to turn a quid

Veeam has set a new price for endpoint backup software: $0. That's £0, ¥0 and €0 for readers beyond the USA.

That low, low, price applies to a new product called Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE that pretty much does what it says on the can: install the code on a Windows machine and you can instruct it to back up “files, volumes or your entire computer” to “an internal or external hard drive, a NAS share or a Veeam Backup Repository.”

The company says the tool will recovery of files or even bare-metal recovery of Windows PCs. Backup files will be stored in Veeam's very own VBK format, presumably to assist integration with the company's other data-wrangling products.

That decision makes the tool something that Veeam probably hopes will lead to deeper engagements with those who adopt the free product, a familiar ploy in these days of freemium business models.

The new tool is, however, a bit of a departure for Veeam as the company spends most of its time worrying about data stored in virtual environments and keeping data centres humming. The canned statement about the new tool offers some hints of what the company is up to, as it offers CEO Ratmir Timashev saying “ … if the IT organization still has a few physical servers left in their data center, Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE can help fill that gap.”

He also opines that “endpoints will always remain physical, and they need to be backed up as well.”

Indeed they do. But as the likes of Symantec show, turning a quid providing such software is no mean trick these days, although there is a ray of hope in Veeam's scanty support policy that says “... will attempt to provide support for users of Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE but does not provide response goals or response guarantees for this service.” That's not a level of comfort many will find satisfying, and therefore another hint that those who like the tool may find it leads to more profound chats with the folks in green.

It will also likely be used by the likes of Symantec, CommVault and other backup vendors to suggest the free tool is risky.

If you're undeterred by those facts or future FUD, betas of Veeam's new tool will arrive in November, and the product is expected to become generally available in early 2015. Signups for the tool can be accomplished here. ®

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