Zerto 8 Backup Brings Google Cloud Integration, Deeper Azure, AWS Features

Zerto has expanded its flagship data protection, backup and recovery suite, giving it new integration with Google Cloud, broader connections with Azure and AWS and several new features with VMware platforms.

The Zerto backup updates aim to help business users and their partners improve their data-protection processes, including expanded recovery and mobility for hybrid and multicloud environments in a wide range of uses.

The new version (8.0) now integrates with Google Cloud’s VMware-as-a-service offering, which will allow users to protect and migrate VMware workloads in Google Cloud Platform, and a broader integration with Microsoft Azure for easier scalability of large deployments. The expanded Azure support now includes Microsoft Hyper-V Gen 2 virtual machines and allows users of Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for VMs to use Microsoft Azure as a target for disaster recovery without having to convert the VMs to legacy formats. Also new in Zerto 8.0 is the ability for AWS Storage Gateway to be used as a target site for cheaper and easy cloud archive and data protection.

The new integration of Zerto with Google Cloud Platform resulted directly from a steady stream of requests from customers and prospects who wanted to be able to use their Zerto deployments with their Google clouds, Caroline Seymour, vice president of product marketing of Zerto, told Channel Futures.

Zerto’s Caroline Seymour

“We’re seeing an increase in our MSPs leveraging public cloud to build out their service offerings,” she said. “We’ve never before had, from a Zerto standpoint, a relationship with Google. Our customers have been asking us how they can get disaster recovery for Google Cloud instead of just on premises.”

The new version also includes features aimed at the company’s channel partners, including an expanded VMware vCloud Director (vCD) connection with Zerto’s self-service recovery portal for MSPs, said Seymour. To accomplish this, Zerto integrated its self-service extension with the built-in tenant UI in vCloud Director, giving MSPs an easier way to standardize on it to configure and enable services for customers, she said. Also added was standalone VM support, providing a design improvement within vCloud Director vApp, which now allows MSPs to protect standalone VMs in one virtual protection group.

“This is a big one for our MSPs, who asked for this,” said Seymour.

Also in Zerto 8.0 are new analytics capabilities, including a VM view feature that now shows unprotected VMs to users. Previously, only protected VMs were shown.

“This is great for MSPs because they can help customers see what is and isn’t being protected,” said Seymour. “We always saw the protected view whether it was on premises or in the cloud. It helps MSPs size up what resources are needed for additional VMs that they want to protect for organizations.”

Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told Channel Futures that Zerto’s enhanced offerings reflect broader adoption of hybrid multicloud deployments by companies of every kind.

Pund-IT’s Charles King

“By taking these steps, Zerto will ensure that its channel partners have access to the kinds of cloud solutions and services that their customers want and need,” said King.

Another analyst, Christophe Bertrand of Enterprise Strategy Group, said the addition of the new features and capabilities will be welcome for customers and channel partners.

“Zerto’s platform is truly expanding with a series of improvements that make it both broader in terms of supported platforms – hybrid, multicloud and platform integrations – and deeper with new features such as the integration with vCD,” said Bertrand. “It is also adding much-needed automation for what can be complex disaster-recovery orchestration tasks such as automated failback for Azure and AWS, and a new GUI for recoveries.”

The new support for the AWS storage gateway also is notable, said Bertrand, because it allows Zerto to provide archiving capabilities.

ESG’s Christophe Bertrand

“The improved reporting and associated capabilities complete the picture of what seems to be a very rich platform update,” he said. “Channel partners will definitely benefit from these new capabilities that will not only make their lives easier for those who deliver services, but also open up more opportunities with the expanded platform coverage and the addition of Google capabilities.”

The addition of Google Cloud support is particularly important, said Bertrand, because many organizations leverage multiple cloud vendors, meaning that those workloads and data sets must be protected wherever they reside.

“The broader the coverage, and the easier to use, the better platform,” he said. “Zerto’s platform is maturing and expanding, furthering its capabilities to optimize disaster recovery.”