Users download the Symform client and specify which folder they want to upload to the cloud (their “sync” folder). Then they designate a “contribution” folder with the storage capacity they want to provide to the Symform cloud. The Symform client parses the data in its sync folder, encrypts it and disperses it out to the rest of the Symform network. The contribution folder is managed by the Symform cloud and contains pieces of data from the other users throughout the network.

VARs and MSPs that are reselling the Symform service can set up the contribution folder from their own data centers and apply this capacity to their customers’ accounts. This enables them to resell the Symform cloud service without involving their customers in setting up contribution space, etc. They can sell the benefits of data encryption, geo-dispersal and an enterprise cloud service while setting their own prices for the capacity their customers put into the cloud.

Symform’s cost structure is significantly lower than other cloud services, by virtue of its ability to use lower-cost disk capacity that’s already available locally in its clients’ environments — or that’s provided by its partners. Even when procured specifically for the purpose of contributing to the Symform cloud, this capacity is still less expensive on a per-gigabyte basis than the enterprise-caliber disk arrays that regular cloud storage services must acquire, implement and maintain. And, there’s another feature Symform recently announced that resellers can leverage to address a fundamental problem that cloud backup services have.

In its original process, data that’s placed into the sync folder is encrypted, parsed into multiple pieces and then dispersed throughout the Symform cloud. The nodes in this cloud are the contribution folders that all users provide, including, theoretically, the same user that owns that data. In this original scenario, data’s not protected until this entire encryption and dispersal process is complete, which can take quite awhile for smaller users with modest bandwidth.

Symform’s Turboseeding feature separates these two processes and does an export process on the data in the sync folder; that process parses, encrypts and allows the data to be put directly into the contribution folder, which is logically part of the Symform cloud. Or, in the scenario described above, it can be copied to a portable disk drive for transport back to the VAR’s or MSP’s data center.

Users skip the entire initial upload process that makes traditional cloud storage a problem for many businesses. As soon as the Symform client completes the export process, the data is backed up. From that point on, the user is protected and can even start doing incremental backups, without waiting for the initial “cloud seeding” upload process to complete. When the VAR/MSP copies its customer’s data into the contribution folder and completes the upload to the Symform cloud, the customer’s data is available for restores.

Symform is available for users directly, without going through a reseller. But a VAR or MSP shouldn’t have any problem showing its value add by handling the contribution side of the process and providing an instant upload with the Turboseeding feature. Then it can leverage the economics of Symform’s shared cloud architecture to provide a cost-effective cloud backup/storage service with some good margin potential.

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RDX has another application that’s plugging a hole in cloud storage for users. Cloud backup is probably the primary use case for cloud technology. But it has a few shortcomings that can undermine the comfort level that the data protection process is supposed to provide. When data is backed up to the cloud, it’s almost always done with some sort of incremental process. What many users don’t realize is that the restoration of that data set, one that may have accumulated over months or years of daily backups, can take a very long time when relying on the same bandwidth connection that was used to back it up.

The best answer many cloud providers have is to ship file servers, storage appliances or multiple hard drives back to customers. RDX offers a solution that’s faster and certainly more cost-effective. These large data sets can be sent on RDX cartridges overnight to the user, as a traditional backup tape used to be. But since the RDX is a random access device, customers can find the most critical data first and don’t have to search through linear tape. And RDX can enable a faster and more cost-effective upload of data for new customers as well, allowing a new user to complete the setup of the backup system without waiting hours or days for this data to trickle up to the cloud.

Another hole in the cloud that RDX can fill is to provide a simple, local backup of data stored in the cloud for collaboration purposes or by cloud application providers. Users of services such as Dropbox and Google Apps can be at the mercy of their ISP for their most basic operations if their internet connection goes down or is degraded. An on-site backup appliance that supports RDX can give them an effective Plan B for this scenario. With a local copy of their data set on a random access device, they can return to operations without restoring data from tape, while waiting until their bandwidth returns.

A good VAR technology

RDX is a technology with real “gee whiz” value, something that’s often needed to get the attention of new customers. Its ability to improve a cloud implementation can help VARs to provide more complete solutions. And, the way it delivers the simple certainty of a local backup, one that’s available on a disk drive, may help VARs solve a new set of problems.

Recently, Tandberg Data bought the RDX technology from the original developer, ProStor Systems. This is actually good news for VARs since Tandberg is a very strong international manufacturer with a total commitment to the channel. They’re in a position to further the development of the RDX technology and keep VARs’ best interests at the forefront.

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Believe it or not, the question of whether to back up to the cloud is as disconcerting for the customer replacing its familiar, on-site infrastructure as it is to the VAR that’s staring at a potentially lost deal. Again, change isn’t the first choice, especially with something like backup, which is supposed to provide stability to the other areas in the environment.

The cloud adds flexibility, scalability, off-site protection and a Class 1 infrastructure for companies that don’t already have that. But the cloud’s not a product; it’s a technology that can add functionality to many other solutions, like backup. The cloud can be defined as “the appropriate infrastructure, set up in an appropriate location, run by an appropriate organization, plus enough bandwidth to connect with remote users.” And, it’s something that (in theory) almost any company can offer — including those with an existing software business to protect.

A great example is Symantec. It’s in the process of adding online, “as-a-service” versions of its data protection software, starting with Backup Exec.cloud later this year. This will allow the company’s existing customers to move some or all of their data protection to the cloud, if and when it makes sense for them to do so. And, it will allow new potential customers to consider a cloud solution from the vendor they’re familiar with, along with the other cloud offerings they’re looking at. But perhaps most importantly for VARs, and for their customers, it can take the either/or risk out of considering the cloud for their data protection solution. If the customer is more comfortable with a pure on-site infrastructure, it can choose traditional Backup Exec (to which Symantec has added an appliance option). If the customer wants backup-as-a-service upfront, or in the near future, same choice. Or if, like a lot of companies, the customer just doesn’t know which way to go but doesn’t want to be locked in, there’s a solution that can give them all the options.

Adding the cloud as an option to an existing product is something that makes a ton of sense and something we should expect from more and more vendors. This is a good thing for VARs and customers as it reduces the risk of change by providing more alternatives for adopting a new technology, like the cloud.

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Cloud is the technology that’s behind many of the subscription-based offerings that resellers are looking at. For businesses, even in the SMB space, a straight online backup solution may not be the best approach, and hybrid architectures have been a good alternative. By putting an appliance on-site, they offer a combination (hence the term “hybrid”) of the benefits that online and legacy backup systems offer. These include fast restores from data that’s local and automatically putting data off-site, but with reduced bandwidth requirements. Hybrid cloud backup has evolved to become a compelling business proposition for VARs.

First, the technology has advanced to include global deduplication, encryption, remote restores and a host of other features that completely differentiate these products from the consumer-grade offerings that masquerade as business solutions. Secondly, the storage appliance is now available as software that users can run on existing server and storage hardware, or buy commodity hardware to support. The software approach keeps costs and the subscription price down, making this an even more appealing alternative to traditional backup.

The software approach makes this solution well suited for MSPs, which can customize the interface with their brand, and for storage VARs, which can sell the hardware and still brand the user interface if desired. For consultants that provide the IT function for small businesses, this represents an especially appealing option. This software can give them a turnkey data protection answer for their existing customers, one that’s simple to implement and still provides a monthly revenue stream.

For any of these reseller profiles, these new software-based, hybrid cloud storage solutions offer an attractive opportunity. They give the MSP, VAR or consultant an enterprise-class backup and DR solution in an affordable format that they can win deals with in a crowded market space.

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