Veeam to target Microsoft channel
Virtualisation backup and management specialist Veeam has launched a new version of its flagship backup product supporting both Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and VMware (NYSE:VMW) platforms as the firm aims to expand its partner community. According to Veeam CEO Ratmir Timashev, “We are growing extremely fast and we will be over $100m in revenue bookings this year.”
The firm has 25,000 customers and sells exclusively through the channel, including 265 UK partners through distributors Magirus and SDG.
Although the backup space is crowded, Timashev believes its exclusive focus on VMware has helped it carve out a sizable marketshare. “Everything we do is around VMware and now we are now are extending that to [Microsoft] Hyper-V,” he says.
As well as supporting both leading virtualisation platforms, the new version 6 product will offer advanced site replication and synchronisation features to help it target larger enterprise customers. The firm is also offering a single product with a single licence to allow channel partners to pitch the software as perfect for hybrid environments.
According to Timashev, Veeam has traditionally targeted companies with around “50 servers” yet in many ways the “very small business” with less than five servers has not virtualised yet. “But Microsoft has the biggest shot to get to this market as Hyper-V is already included in Windows Server.... that is where Microsoft is going after this market,” he remarks.
Timashev believes that around 80 percent of its current partners will have some Microsoft Hyper-V expertise. However both its current distributors are VMware-focused and do not carry Microsoft products. Timashev conceded that the firm might need to add a Microsoft-focused distie into the mix.
Veeam is actively recruiting more partners, with particular interest in the Microsoft focused channel which the CEO believes will help grow its community somewhere between “10 and 20 percent” over the next year.
