Backing Up Backups
An expanding cloud environment is causing a change in the existing backup market. As an increasing number of cloud service providers are launching backup services, existing backup solution providers are also trying hard to meet demands.
According to market research firm IDC Korea on July 2, cloud service providers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are releasing different kinds of backup services from 2014. In particular, an increased demand for cloud backup services, centered on small and mid-sized companies that cannot afford to build their own backup system, is apparently prompting related companies to start a business in Korea.
Cloud backup services make it possible to store backup data in a cloud environment, unlike the existing system that needs a server, storage, and backup solution. Industry analysts are saying that it is possible to build a backup environment with 1/10th of existing storage costs, since it is no longer necessary to buy a separate system.
It is cloud service providers that are leading the market.
Microsoft introduced a cloud service called StorSimple in 2013. Based on its cloud storage service Azure, this service has backup and redundancy removal functions. The number of customers for its cloud backup service grew over 100 percent year-on-year in 2014.
Google rolled out its backup service named Cloud Storage Nearline early this year, adopting an aggressive pricing strategy with US$0.026 per 1GB. Amazon is attracting customers by combining virtual tape library solutions with its own cloud storage service.
As cloud service providers are penetrating the backup market, existing backup solution providers are making an effort to counter it. Instead of competing with cloud service companies, backup software vendors are concentrating on forging a partnership with them to take advantage of their cloud infrastructure in the belief that the cloud environment craze will start in the backup market as well.
EMC, a leading IT storage hardware solution provider, jumped into the Korean cloud backup service market by supplying backup solutions through mobile carriers. Commvault Korea and Quantum Korea are also discussing supplying cloud-based backup solutions in partnership with local Internet data centers. In addition, Oracle and NetApp already launched a full-scale offensive to dominate the market with the release of Storage Archive Cloud and SteelStore, respectively.