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    IBM Unveils Alternative Approach to Data Protection

    Backup and recovery as a rule is a tedious task, usually assigned to one of the most junior members of the IT team. IBM today moved to turn that perception on its head with the launch of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus data protection software that is designed give application owners more control over when backups occur based on service levels they can specify.

    Sam Werner, offering executive for software-defined storage at IBM, says IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is designed to be deployed on top of virtual machines to also make it simpler for anyone in the IT organization to deploy. The basic idea is to provide organizations with an alternative agentless approach to data protection that includes a simplified user interface built around a global search capability that can be employed against data sets residing on-premises or in an external cloud.

    In addition, Werner notes that IBM Spectrum Plus includes support for snapshots that can be used to rapidly or clone virtual machines whenever needed.

    IBM is positioning IBM Spectrum Plus as a complement to its existing IBM Spectrum Protect data protection software that is designed to be employed more by a storage specialist than the average IT person or savvy end user. Nevertheless, IBM has built integration with its existing portfolio of IBM Spectrum Protect software and its latest IBM Spectrum Protect Plus software.

    In general, Werner says legacy constructs surrounding data protection need to give way to more modern approaches that make it simpler for anyone to both backup and archive data and then recover it whenever required.

    “We’re entering a new era of data availability,” says Werner.

    IBMSpectrumProtectPlus

    The new era, of course, can’t come soon enough for most IT organizations. After all, if more end users have a vested interest in making sure their data is available, there should be a lot less in the way of thankless data management tasks for the IT department to handle on its own.

    Mike Vizard
    Mike Vizard
    Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a contributor to publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.

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