HYCU, which started out with a purpose-built backup solution for Nutanix, and added one for GCP earlier this year, has introduced a major enhancement to the GCP offering.
Optimized bucket storage consumption in the new HYCU for GCP update.
HYCU, which makes native backup solutions for specific enterprise cloud platforms, has announced major enhancements to its backup and recovery SaaS offering for Google Cloud Platform [GCP]. They are now announcing that they are the first and only Google native backup solution to support scale-out and scale up SAP HANA workloads. They have also added support for the MySQL and PostgreSQL open source data bases. The solution itself has been upgraded, with enhanced efficiency for data transfer and storage, and improvements to dynamic and scale-out logic that make the backup more cost-efficient.
HYCU started out as a native backup solution for Nutanix, unveiled at the Nutanix 2017 .NEXT event by services-focused data protection company Comtrade Software, and spun out of Comtrade a year later. The Nutanix HYCU solution has had its functionality expanded multiple times since, and remains HYCU’s major product. However, earlier this year they launched a second purpose-built native solution, for Google Cloud Platform.
“GCP reached out to us about creating HYCU for GCP,” said Subbiah Sundaram, VP Products at HYCU. “We became the first focused native backup service built for Google and the first in their Marketplace. While our branded HYCU software was late to market overall, that also enabled us to make it very simple. Our system automatically uses native snapshots, is fully integrated into GCP Identity and Access Management, and backups into Google buckets. There is nothing to install, manage or upgrade. It is unintrusive, doesn’t impact the production process, and its self-service capability makes it ideal for MSPs. To get it, you just go to Google Marketplace and Subscribe with Google Credentials, so it’s just like using any other Google service.”
Sundaram said that HYCU for GCP has done very well since the launch.
“The adoption rate has been fantastic,” he said. “We sell it in Google Marketplace and through Google sellers who sell to customers and Google partners who do the same. They all get fully comped. It’s like selling any other Google service. We also have special incentives for partners when they join our program. It’s a horizontal solution, with customers in diverse areas like retail, semiconductors, and non-profits. Our customers go from Fortune 500 to SMBs. We have ones from a couple of VMs to thousands of VMs.”
HYCU did a soft introduction of this specific launch, working with large multinational organizations, particularly in retail which is heavily GCP.
“The customer ask with this release was to save them money on backup storage cost,” Sundaram said. “They also wanted support for open source databases in the cloud to ‘cut their VM taxes.’”
Sundaram said that HYCU also had specific requests from Google Sellers and Google Partners.
“They wanted us to support SAP HANA, to provide a good backup solution for that on GCP,” he indicated. “They also wanted us to help customers get more of their data onto Google.”
Sundaram said that to cut costs, HYCU chose to rethink their approach for the cloud rather than create another virtual dedupe appliance.
“It’s a compute-free, always-on incremental backup that gives storage savings, because you don’t have to pay for extra compute,” he said. “The smart archive leverages incremental backups to reduce unnecessary movement. It also uses Google Storage’s auto-tiering capabilities for moving data to a cheaper tier.”
HYCU for GCP has also responded to requests by expanding its ecosystem.
“We are the first and only Google native backup solution to support scale-out and scale-up HANA workloads,” Sundaram said. “In addition, for open source databases, MySQL and PostgreSQL are the most popular in Google, so we have added support for them.”
New built-in backup reporting
Reporting has also been improved. Built-in backup reporting has been added, so customers can now schedule reports based on generations versions.
HYCU for GCP will continue to have the same Go-To-Market strategy as before. It is listed as a service on Google Marketplace, and will be sold by Google, HYCU and authorized Google Cloud Service Provider partners. It is priced on source capacity and frequency of backup, with discounted tiers for annual commitments.
Finally, Sundaram indicated that HYCU will be continuing to build out its multi-cloud backup and recovery strategy.
“We do have plans for others, and things are coming, likely within a quarter,” he said.
