Data Domain claims its DD200 appliance, which has entered beta testing since May, is able to store backup data on disk up to 20 times more efficiently than traditional tape backup systems (see Data Domain Gets Compressed). It expects to ship the DD200, which has a starting list price of $58,000, early this fall.
As ATA disk drives continue to get cheaper, many vendors are jumping into the market with systems that can store vast amounts of data on disk, including EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Network Appliance Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP), and Storage Technology Corp. (StorageTek) (NYSE: STK) (see Disk Backup's a Red-Hot Idea and Disk Backup 101).
Slootman believes the major disk array vendors are actually helping smaller players like Data Domain: "They're plowing the way to acceptance of disk-based backup," he says. But he acknowledges that getting initial traction is a huge challenge for any startup.
"You have to knock on doors pretty hard," says Slootman. "For us, having solid, referenceable customers is priority No. 1."
In addition to recruiting Slootman, Data Domain has appointed Neal Ater to its board of directors. Ater, CEO of peer-to-peer content-delivery software company Jibe Inc., was previously in charge of backup software Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS) (see Veritas Loses Pair of Senior VPs).
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
