BackupAssist continues to be one of the only backup software products on the market that integrates with the performance reports of Windows Small Business Servers, including SBS 2003, SBS 2008 and now, with the release of BackupAssist v6.2.4, SBS 2011 as well.

SBS performance reports give users a quick view of the overall health of their server, including any issues that need attention. With BackupAssist’s Performance Report Integration, System Administrators can see the status of the latest BackupAssist backup simply by reviewing the SBS Performance Report summary on any Small Business Server.

“We’ve always done our best to integrate with as many of the features that are already built into Windows as possible. A business owner has already invested money in Windows, so it makes sense to take advantage of its capabilities where you can and when appropriate. Where there are gaps in Microsoft, we try to fill them with our own solutions, but where there are features that just need a little extra polish to make them functional, we use them as much as we can,” explains Linus Chang, CEO and Lead Developer of BackupAssist.

“While the Microsoft SBS backup wizard is lacking in several key features, such as email reporting, user-friendly media rotation and full hardware support, fundamentally it provides a great way of backing up and restoring an entire system from bare metal. This is precisely why we leverage off this built-in Windows functionality. There’s no reason why a third-party software vendor like us shouldn’t integrate with features already in Windows: it saves on development time, which ultimately saves the consumer a lot of money without sacrificing on functionality,” comments Linus.

“We’d already developed BackupAssist to integrate with SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 reporting, so it made perfect sense to update the software to be compatible with SBS 2011 as well,” continues Linus Chang.

SBS Performance Report Integration is enabled as part of the normal BackupAssist installation and setup process – no special configuration is required. After installing BackupAssist v6.2.4 or later, upon accessing the Backup and Server Storage section of the Microsoft Windows SBS Console, users will see a message indicating that BackupAssist is managing backups on your system.

“Upon launching the Windows SBS Console, a user will be able to see the status of their backup immediately within the server report summary, which has been directly inserted by BackupAssist. Users can even click the ‘Details’ link for a detailed HTML report of the BackupAssist backup,” explains Linus.

SBS Report Integration comes free as part of a BackupAssist license purchase and works with any backup job configured in BackupAssist. You can download a 30-day free trial of BackupAssist from their website http://www.backupassist.com

Contact details:

Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.

+61-3-9899-4681

Press@cortexit.com

Cortex I.T. Labs has just released an Italian language version of BackupAssist v6 that can be downloaded and purchased from their Italian distributor, Achab S.r.l..

“This is an important outcome of a partnership that is working to benefit both our existing channel partners and their customers. New and existing clients will find the Italian version of BackupAssist more intuitive to use and more appealing to buy because the language barrier has been removed. Our channel partners will find it easier to recommend, simpler to deploy and easier to support. Everyone benefits from this initiative,” says Andrea Veca, CEO of  Achab S.r.l.

“It’s exciting that we’re delivering an Italian version of BackupAssist through Achab S.r.l and her channel partners. Now that BackupAssist has been adapted to the Italian market, we hope more businesses, schools and government organisations can realise a secure multi-tiered backup strategy that is easy to administer, avoids vendor lock-in and comes at a fraction of the cost of other backup software solutions,” said Steven Chua, Business Development Manager for Cortex I.T. Labs.

Since the release of version 6, BackupAssist has continued to grow in popularity, being one of the most cost-effective and reliable Windows backup software products in the small and medium business (SMB) market. The demand for an Italian language version of BackupAssist was only further evidence of this fact.

“We worked very hard on version 6 of BackupAssist, adding many features geared towards simplifying Windows backup for I.T. System Administrators and Service Providers alike, as well as making sure we were compatible with emerging Microsoft products like Windows Hyper-V and Server 2008 R2,” commented Linus Chang, CEO and Lead Developer of BackupAssist.

In addition to improving BackupAssist to comply with new Microsoft technologies, the BackupAssist Development Team prides itself on being able to work closely with its distribution partners to make sure that their needs are fulfilled.

“Our distribution partners work hard for us, so we are always attentive when they approach us with a request. This was our third attempt at translating BackupAssist from English to another language, and while each has presented its own challenges, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the entire translation process. While of course it would be easier to manage a single English version of BackupAssist, we understand the desire to have software in your native language, and we’re very happy to be able to offer another localized version of BackupAssist,” added Steven Chua.

The launch of the new Italian language version of BackupAssist is part of an ongoing effort to make the software accessible to more users worldwide, and Cortex I.T. Labs plans to translate the BackupAssist product into even more languages in addition to the English, German, French and Italian translations already available.

You can download a 30-day free trial of the Italian version of BackupAssist from BackupAssist’s exclusive Italian distributor, Achab, at http://www.achab.it/

Contact details:

Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.

+61-3-9899-4681

Press@cortexit.com

Achab S.r.l. – Italian distributor of BackupAssist

+39 02 54108204

Daria Trespidi

ufficio.stampa@achab.it

Melbourne, Australia – September 20, 2010 - Cortex I.T. Labs have just released an update of their BackupAssist product that extends its “brilliantly simple” backup facilities to cover the latest Windows 2010 Business Products including Exchange Server 2010 and SQL Server 2010 and much more besides, without increasing the price.

New BackupAssist v6 is packed with new features focused on tackling tricky Windows backup problems and reducing complications and hassles for I.T. Systems Administrators and Service Providers serving small and medium (SMB) businesses. It offers new features for fully automated backups on Windows Hyper-V Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 and will be ready to facilitate easy internet offsite backups via Rsync to a much wider variety of “Cloud” hosting services, with improved security through AES-256 encryption and file name obfuscation.

While most backup software developers have been facing difficult times during the economic downturn, BackupAssist products have been going from strength to strength. It’s a product that really has been tailored to the SMB user, offering ease of use, world’s best practice backup strategies that help to optimize existing hardware and most importantly of all, a sensible licensing structure that makes it a value purchase for any size business, including the smallest.

“BackupAssist rose rapidly in popularity when it was first released in 2002, because it was the most cost-effective, versatile and reliable Windows backup software product on the market” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. Labs and Lead Developer of the BackupAssist product. “Now it’s even better. And there’s no need for us to raise the price of this latest release, because despite the world-wide economic downturn, sales of the product continue to increase and that supports our development costs” he adds.

With a basic price point of just US$249.00 it’s no wonder I.T. Service Providers and Systems Administrators worldwide are beating a path to Cortex I.T. Labs’ door to get BackupAssist. “Our products have the added cost-saving advantages of a flexible licensing structure and reasonably priced subscription update program.” Linus says. “We’ve basically made it so that once you purchase the product, you’ll never have to buy backup software again. It’s also a set-and-forget product – once you have your backup program set-up, BackupAssist helps you manage the whole thing with a click of a mouse. These are huge benefits for SMBs managing their own data protection and of course, the product has built-in business benefits for I.T. Service Providers as well.”

In addition to developing the product to respond with backup solutions for newer Windows Business Products, the BackupAssist Development Team also works closely with its Resellers and end-user customers to develop features to meet their every day needs. This gives BackupAssist a genuine advantage over most other backup software products available on the market.

“Our biggest concern is giving our customers exactly what they need” says Linus. “More and more of our customers are using “Cloud” Hosting Services to store backups offsite” Linus points out as an example. “This is a wise move no matter what size business you run, because it’s the only way to reliably protect your business information in the event of major data loss scenarios like natural disasters or theft of hardware. We work hard to support world’s best practices like these because our ultimate goal is to provide the best protection possible for our customer’s data. BackupAssist v6 is fully equipped to facilitate cost-effective Rsync data transfer over the wire and now offers the best data encryption security available” he adds.

BackupAssist v6 also includes the facility for VSS Application Backup and Restore in the BackupAssist File Replication, ZIP and Rsync Engines as well as an easy search facility when selecting what VSS Applications you want to back up when Drive Imaging. “Backing up your VSS Applications is also a world’s best practice standard, so it’s important that you can do it easily with BackupAssist” Linus adds.

Download a 30-day free trial at www.backupassist.com

Purchasing information:

BackupAssist v6 – US$249

BackupAssist Add-on products vary from US$129 – US$249.

Purchase BackupAssist v6 online at www.backupassist.com

Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:

Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.

+61-3-9899-4681

Press@cortexit.com

According to Cortex I.T. Labs, when the next version of their BackupAssist product is released shortly, it will be all set to provide more “brilliantly simple” backup facilities for Windows 2010 Business Products including Exchange Server 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2. It will also provide new features for fully automated backups on Windows Hyper-V Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 and will be ready to facilitate easy internet offsite backups via Rsync to a much wider variety of “Cloud” hosting services, with greater encryption and security features than ever before.

Indeed, the new product also appears to be packed with new features focused on tackling tricky Windows backup problems and reducing complications and hassles for SMB I.T. Systems Administrators and Service Providers alike. But what’s really remarkable is that the new product will be marketed at the same low price point as the previous version, despite offering a great many more capabilities.

“BackupAssist rose rapidly in popularity when it was first released in 2002, because it was the most cost-effective, versatile and reliable Windows backup software product on the market” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. Labs and Lead Developer of the BackupAssist product. “There’s no need for us to raise the price of this latest release, because despite the world-wide economic downturn, sales of the product continue to increase and that supports our development costs” he adds.

BackupAssist’s US$249 price point makes it very attractive to its target market – SMBs, as well as I.T. Service Providers looking to value-add to their services. It is marketed primarily for SMB users on its USP of ease of use and versatility, providing backup facilities for the complete range of Windows Server products in one simple package.

 “Our service promise to our customers is to maintain those fundamental values of the product” says Linus. “BackupAssist v6 fulfils that promise by providing updates to cover newer products, by improving backup and restore facilities across the board and by further developing our facilities for Windows Hyper-V users.”

Besides developing the product to respond with backup solutions for newer Windows Business Products, the BackupAssist Development Team works closely with its Resellers and end-user customers to develop features to meet their every day needs, to continue to simplify backup procedures and to facilitate world’s best-practice data retention standards.

“More and more of our customers are using “Cloud” Hosting Services to store backups offsite” Linus points out as an example. “This is a wise move no matter what size business you run, because it’s the only way to reliably protect your business information in the event of major data loss scenarios like natural disasters or theft of hardware. We work hard to support world’s best practices like these because our ultimate goal is to provide the best protection possible for our customer’s data. BackupAssist v6 is fully equipped to facilitate cost-effective Rsync data transfer over the wire and now offers the best data encryption security available” he adds.

“We’ve also included the facility for VSS Application Backup and Restore in the BackupAssist File Replication, ZIP and Rsync Engines as well as an easy search facility when selecting what VSS Applications you want to back up when Drive Imaging” he says. “Backing up your VSS Applications is also a world’s best practice standard, so it’s important that you can do it easily with BackupAssist” Linus adds.

Purchasing information:
BackupAssist v6 (release date not yet announced) will cost- US$249
BackupAssist Add-on products vary from US$129 – US$249.
Purchase BackupAssist v5 with Upgrade Protection online at http://www.backupassist.com/ to upgrade to BackupAssist v6 free as soon it is released.
 (Visit www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies)

Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
+61-3-9899-4681
Press@cortexit.com

Melbourne, Australia – May 14, 2010 – The SBS Migration IT Pro Conference in New Orleans, USA starting on May 28 focuses on Optimization: Get a Better Reality. It is a prime example of the industry rising up to support its members with effective solutions at a time when the entire industry is facing a particularly difficult challenge.
 

Times are tough for all businesses in today’s economic climate – but particularly for I.T. Professionals relying on companies with frozen budgets to create their bottom line. Their role has suddenly changed from sourcing new technology and designing systems to support a company’s information growth, to one where maximizing existing assets and finding new economies is of paramount importance.
 

“Optimization has never been quite this necessary in the past” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and lead developer of its flagship product BackupAssist. “The new technology itself provided efficiencies, so the expenditure of purchasing it was justified. But now, companies all around the world have experienced massive budget cuts – they now have to meet the growing I.T. needs of their businesses with a lot less funds. That means I.T. Professionals have to change their way of thinking.”

 “BackupAssist is a fantastic product for any business looking for ways to maximize existing investments in Windows products. It is very cost-effective because it utilizes the technology they’ve already paid for in Windows. It also has built-in features that help I.T. Consultants service more clients, more professionally with greater profitability. It is a great fit with the optimization theme of this conference” Linus adds.

 BackupAssist was originally designed to achieve savings, simplicity and ease of use for SMBs establishing world’s-best practice backup strategies. Many SMBs found that more recognized backup software brands were just too complicated and came with a huge price tag that didn’t make sense.  BackupAssist is also designed in such a way that businesses can integrate new technology and backup strategies  with existing systems to make it easier for SMBs to grow.
Today BackupAssist is used by all kinds of companies in over 93 countries on more than 50,000 Windows Servers. “Its benefits in facilitating optimization strategies is no accident…optimization has always been very important to SMBs” says Linus.  “BackupAssist is a tried and true product that is already set-up to help with the challenge of optimization… its application potential has simply widened now the necessity of implementing optimization strategies has become more universal.”

Contact details:
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
To find out more about attending the SBS Migration IT Pro Conference in New Orleans USA from May 28 – 30 2010, visit www.conference2010.sbsmigration.com/. To find out more about BackupAssist visit www.backupassist.com

The CMC facilities mean I.T. Professionals can take ongoing service contracts for multiple SMB clients without increasing labor costs, so they can now offer services to smaller companies that would not have been financially viable as clients in the past. Many BackupAssist Gold Resellers have reported that it increases efficiency by up to 40% – a major consideration in tough economic times when optimization is the key to maintaining profitability.

 “SMB clients tend to have few staff experienced with I.T. management and often need a lot of hand-holding” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and lead developer of BackupAssist. “The BackupAssist CMC makes these customers a lot easier to service.”

The BackupAssist Centralized Monitoring Console allows multiple backups for multiple servers and multiple clients to be monitored from one consolidated daily report. This can arrive on your desk as a daily email report, or be accessed anytime online via your own personalized and secure BackupAssist Gold Reseller Portal.

The CMC automatically identifies the results of all scheduled backups by client, prioritizing any problem areas and backups that have failed to run. It even identifies probable causes for each error and automatically provides a link to the BackupAssist Knowledge base with step-by-step instructions on how to fix it – saving hours on running diagnostics and performing the tests and trial and error fixes that are usually required when using other backup software.

BackupAssist is so easy to use that an SMB’s I.T. Consultant can usually identify both the problem and the fix in seconds. They can even help an SMB client rectify the problem over the phone or by email, minimizing the requirement to waste time on site visits.

“Our Gold Resellers can also use the CMC to generate reports. It helps save time on compiling weekly backup result report logs, monthly data growth analysis and server usage reports. They can all be generated in a few minutes with a click of a button and you can even brand them with your own company logo” says Linus.

“What’s more, there are many other ways I.T. Service Providers can improve their business efficiency using BackupAssist and its add-on products” Linus adds. “It places the full range of Windows backup options at your fingertips – and that’s a great time-saver in itself.” says Linus.

To find out more about the BackupAssist Centralized Monitoring Console, visit http://www.backupassist.com/BackupAssist/tour_Monitoring.html and view the CMC video demonstration.

To enquire about becoming a BackupAssist Gold Reseller, visit http://www.backupassist.com/BackupAssist/download2.php?download_type=_STANDARD to download a free 30 day trial of BackupAssist, and visit http://www.backupassist.com/reseller/eoi.php and fill out the form to receive a Reseller Information Pack that includes pricing information in your local currency.

Contact details:

Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.

+61-3-9899-4681

linus.chang@cortexit.com

Windows  Hyper-V is an attractive option for SMBs, because it reduces hardware and running costs and provides an easier way to integrate components in specialized I.T. system setups. However, Windows  Hyper-V has been creating insurmountable backup and data protection headaches that drive up costs and make it an impractical and unrealistic option for most SMBs.

Now Cortex I.T, a world-leading backup software developer, has neatly resolved these issues with a new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution. It’s an easily affordable option that simplifies and automates vital data protection functions for Windows  Hyper-V and significantly reduces ongoing labor and maintenance costs.

“Many SMBs invested in new Hyper-V systems to save on costs, only to discover that the backup and restore operations are difficult, frustrating and expensive” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist. “These days, an SMBs entire business relies on the quality of their data – so the inadequate data protection facilities were also exposing them to a big risk” he adds.

Windows  Hyper-V Server only offers limited drive imaging facilities to perform backup and restore operations. The usual image backup consists of a single VHD file of the Host and Windows  offers no facilities to dig down into the VHD file to retrieve any data that may be required from the Guest VM. This meant there was no option other than to run a second backup of each Guest VM individually, and this was time consuming, used incredible amounts of data storage space, required manual scripting and was very unreliable. What’s more, manually locating and transferring files during restore operations was a complicated nightmare.

“Windows  is designed to make it possible and affordable for anyone to use a computer” says Linus. “We believe the same should be true for backups. Data protection is very important to every business, so BackupAssist is designed and created specifically for the purpose of making backups as simple and easy as possible on any Windows  system.”

The new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution consists of the BackupAssist v5.4 base license used together with the new BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Console Add-on. It uses ‘granular technology’ to make it possible to dig down into a VHD file and quickly retrieve files from within, eliminating the need for multiple backups of Host and Guest VMs.

“This saves a lot of time and data storage space” says Linus. “There’s no manual scripting, all the media rotations and scheduling are built in and we’ve made it all very easy to manage with simple wizards. And you can restore any file in under three minutes – even from the Guest VMs. It’s so easy that just about anyone can do it.”

BackupAssist doesn’t leave it there. The base license includes backup solutions for all Windows  systems (old and new), and there are affordable add-ons that solve specific problems like the missing Tape Drive Support on Windows  Server 2008 and the problems inherent in mailbox backups for Microsoft  Exchange Servers. To find out more, visit www.backupassist.com

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist v5.4 – US$249
BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on – US$249
(Visit www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies)
Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com

Melbourne, Australia – 14 January 2010 - While the cost efficiencies of server virtualization technologies – like Microsoft’s® Hyper-V Server – have been shining a new light on the world’s SMB I.T. market, I.T. Consultants and SMB Systems Administrators everywhere have been plunged into a living nightmare caused by new complications with performing Hyper-V backup and restore tasks.

Cortex I.T. has just launched a new BackupAssist Hyper-V solution that simplifies and automates these vital data protection functions for Windows® Hyper-V products, revolutionizing the processes and making Hyper-V more viable for SMBs.

“It’s an affordable solution that makes it possible for more SMBs to consider the economies of Hyper-V” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist products. “At BackupAssist, our mission is to create the easiest backups possible on any Windows® system. You shouldn’t need a computer science degree to run a backup and it shouldn’t cost the earth!” adds Linus.

Backups for Windows® Hyper-V have proved to be complicated and frustrating because of the limited drive imaging facilities that Microsoft have provided for performing backup and restore operations. The usual image backup consists of a single VHD file of the Host and with no facilities to dig down into the VHD file, it’s almost impossible to retrieve files from the Guest VMs without running a second backup for each Guest VM individually.

 “Most SMBs have 3-5 Guest VMs on their Host machine – but some have as many as 20 or more. Creating a comprehensive daily backup for all of them manually could take someone all night… and you can imagine how complicated it would be to perform restores!” says Linus.

 “Our new Hyper-V solution needed to be fast, simple and very affordable” says Linus. “We achieved this by using ‘granular technology’ that makes it easy to dig down into a VHD file and quickly retrieve files from within.

“So with BackupAssist, all you need is a single one-pass image backup of the Host to be able to retrieve whatever file you need from any Guest VM!  You don’t need a second backup of the Guest VMs at all. What’s more, your backup will run automatically in less time and use less data storage space. While your restores will only take minutes using our revolutionary new granular restore console – it’s just point and click. We’ve also made the setup very simple with easy to follow wizards, built-in scheduling and media rotations, so just about anyone can do it” he adds.

For the BackupAssist Hyper-V solution you’ll need BackupAssist v5.4 (US$249) and the new BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Console Add-on (US$249).  That’s a total package price of just US$498 and easily affordable for SMBs. (What’s more, BackupAssist v5.4 also provides a comprehensive package of solutions for all Windows® backup requirements for that price, offering great value for money.)

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist v5.4 – US$249
BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on – US$249
(Visit www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies)
Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
 Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com

Melbourne, Australia – November 17, 2009 – When Microsoft decided to drop NTBackup from its new release Windows operating systems, they created problems for I.T. Service Providers and System Administrators of SMBs performing their system backups. With this change in best-practice procedures, many administrators found they needed to relearn basic tasks and discovered that some other tasks, like backing up to tape, simply couldn’t be done.

“There were so many people crying out for help, we decided to create www.NTBackup-replacement.info so they can just go online to get answers, fast! We’ve included tutorials and how-to guides to give information on how to perform the common tasks they used to do with NTBackup” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T and Lead Developer of BackupAssist products.

The site has simple tutorials that guide you through the process of creating backups for Windows Server 2008, without using NTBackup at all. It shows how to perform backups to tape, backups to file, how to backup Exchange Servers and how to backup and restore your Server’s System State using simple step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow. There are also informative articles and Whitepapers which aim to answer the immediate backup problems Systems Administrators face when setting up a new Server and backup system.

“The information on the site is designed to cut out the confusion and give you a quick solution, so you can start doing backups right away” says Linus. “And for situations where tasks cannot be performed using the built-in Windows backup tools, such as backing up to tape, we’ve also included a link to a free trial download of BackupAssist, which can be used as a replacement for NTBackup in many scenarios.” he adds.

BackupAssist uses the ZIP64 open standard to perform backups. So you can use the free trial download of BackupAssist to create any backups you need right now, then retrieve your data using any .ZIP software (WinZip, TugZIP, Zip-7 and so on). So you don’t even need to purchase BackupAssist to get your data back later.

“We’ve put in a lot of effort into this site – it’s a collection of answers to the most common questions we’ve been getting from System Administrators. We’re constantly adding to it, so the site will always have the very latest and most relevant information. And best of all – it’s free. Anyone can access the information without passwords or membership fees.” Linus adds.

About Cortex I.T. and BackupAssist products
BackupAssist is the flagship product of Cortex I.T. Pty Ltd, an Australian technology company based in Melbourne that specializes in software products for small to medium business. Since its launch in 2002, BackupAssist has gained rapid popularity and is now used on over 50,000 Servers in more than 93 countries worldwide. It’s a complete backup solution for all Windows backup requirements, with schemes for the full range of data storage options built-in. Its simplicity makes it suitable for an extremely wide range of users in addition to the small business market, including more than 2,000 I.T. Service Providers, educational institutions in many countries, large publicly listed companies and many government organizations. For more information visit www.backupassist.com or www.cortexit.com

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist – US$249
BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on – US$129
(Total package: US$378. Visit www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies.)
Discounts available for not-for-profit organizations.  Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
Linus Chang, Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Level 4, 991 Whitehorse Road
Box Hill, VIC 3128

+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com

Melbourne, Australia – October 22, 2009 – It seems the BackupAssist tape drive solution for Windows Server 2008 really is the solution everyone’s been waiting for. Since the public release of the product on September 16th 2009, Cortex I.T. has clocked more than 3,000 downloads of BackupAssist v5 with the new BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on.

“The response is not surprising really, even though we haven’t done much advertising yet” says Linus Chang CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist. “We’ve had a lot of customers asking for help with tape drive support for Windows Server 2008. The product really does fill a gap in the backup software market – the competitor’s products are just too expensive or too complicated for SMBs.”

When Microsoft decided to leave tape drive support out of their new release Windows operating systems, they created a need for a 3rd party software solution to replace it. The BackupAssist solution is so amazingly simple, that many say Microsoft should just have included it in the first place – its tape backup support that uses the ZIP64 open standard to automatically compress data for easy storage on tape.

“I think people are relieved to see a solution they can trust for a price they can afford” says Linus. “.ZIP may have been around for a long time – 23 years to be exact – but it has stood the test of time. Everyone knows it’s a tried and true method of performing backups. The BackupAssist solution finally makes .ZIP suitable for business use. It is very reassuring because you can rely on the stored information being accessible ten years from now…no matter what Microsoft does next.”

Think of the BackupAssist Zip Engine as ‘ZIP Turbocharged.’ It has multi-threading architecture, tuned for performance, outperforms the old WinZIP by a factor of three on entry-level servers and takes ZIP64 to the next level by automating the whole .ZIP process. That makes it one of the best tape backup solutions for Server 2008 on the market, suitable for even the most demanding business backups, at a fraction of the cost of the major competitor.

The BackupAssist solution gives you real-time data compression on the fly, 256-bit AES data encryption and puts it all together in a package with an extremely user-friendly interface and easy to follow wizards. You even get a fantastic Restore Console that makes it amazingly quick and easy to search backups and restore them to either an original or alternative destination – other ZIP software just isn’t as powerful.

“BackupAssist Resellers all over the world are specifying this product to protect their client’s tape drive investments” says Linus. “Our new Zip-To-Tape Add-on is yet another important feature set to our family of products that enables our Resellers to provide a full range of services to their clients. BackupAssist includes solutions for Drive Imaging, Exchange, SQL and Rsync. It’s not just for tape support on Server 2008, it’s a complete software package that covers all your backup needs. Whether you’re an IT service provider or an end-user, it’s simple, easy to use and very inexpensive.”

BackupAssist v5 US$249.
BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on US$129.
Total package: US$378.

BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-On Features

• Support for tape drives – backup to a standalone tape drive.
• Multi-threading architecture – outperforms WinZIP by a factor of three.
• Open .ZIP format –stores backups as .ZIP files for easy access on any Windows machine.
• Real-time data compression (on-the-fly), saving tape storage space.
• 256-bit AES data encryption to give your backups password protection.
• Easy, perfect restore including time stamps, NTFS attributes, ADS etc.
• User-friendly interface with easy to follow wizards. No training necessary.
• OS: Windows 2008 Family, Windows 2003 Family, Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
Discounts available for not-for-profit organizations. Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
Linus Chang, Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com