Scale Computing HC3 Platform Adds Acronis SCS Security Services

Scale Computing is bolstering its HC3 hyperconverged computing platform for public sector customers by adding more Acronis security services.

Customers can now get the Scale Computing HC3 platform with new protection from Acronis SCS Cyber Backup 12.5 Hardened Edition. Scale already had a partner relationship with Acronis to provide other cybersecurity protections for non-public sector customers. Acronis is the parent company to Acronis SCS, which works only with public sector clients.

Scale Computing added the protection of Hardened Acronis SCS security services to better serve public sector customers. Many of those customers already use Scale Computing’s HC3 platform and needed the extra security.

Acronis SCS Cyber Backup 12.5 Hardened Edition is Acronis SCS’ flagship backup software for public sector users. Public-sector customers include federal, state and local government, public utilities, education, health care and nonprofit organizations.

The Hardened Edition is for public sector organizations that require the highest security for their workloads and users. That includes sensitive “no-internet” air-gapped environments, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and industrial control systems.

Hardened Edition includes built-in active protection against ransomware and a wide range of data recovery protections and options.

Public Sector and Cybersecurity

For many public sector users, cyber threats are the biggest challenge they face, Alan Conboy, who works in the office of the CTO at Scale Computing, told Channel Futures.

Scale Computing’s Alan Conboy

“They’re more likely to get hit by those kinds of things,” he said. “And to get help, they go to their channel partners.”

That’s why channel partners need the answer provided by the expanded partnership with the Acronis SCS Hardened Edition, said Conboy.

“They need a quick, cost-effective and technically-effective package that just stops the threat cold,” Conboy said.

“It takes the security to a new level,” said Conboy. “When the end user at a company clicks on a malicious file in an email, it blocks it and automatically reacts faster than the user knows what is happening.”

The latest deal with Acronis SCS extends the relationship between the companies to better serve public sector customers, he said.

The Partner Benefit

Scale Computing will offer both levels of Acronis security services to customers.

“Partners will be able to help customers find the right product for them,” said Conboy. “It deepens the protections that the channel partners can bring to the table easily and cost-effectively. It helps channel partners help solve today’s problems for customers.”

Scale Computing’s HC3 platform did not previously have these built-in protections for public sector users. The Acronis SCS product integrates directly into Scale Computing’s API stack to make the products work together seamlessly.

Dennis Hahn, an analyst with Omdia, said users need broader services to help them prevent ransomware and other attacks. Many public-sector Scale Computing HCI3 users may not have the deep IT skills of other operations, he said.

Omdia’s Dennis Hahn

“Obtaining an HCI product with the ransomware protection installed and configured properly provides piece of mind,” said Hahn.

HCI products like those offered by Scale Computing make sense for the edge, he added.

“When the IT equipment arrives, capabilities like ransomware protection can easily be provided as part of the full software stack. That makes deployment fast and easy,” said Hahn.