News

When Microsoft released Windows Server 2008 without NTBackup tape support, many I.T. Administrators using tape drive backups were outraged. They were left with few choices: write-off their significant investments in tape drive hardware, or attempt to source third party tape backup software – an option that seemed likely to increase the complexity and expense of tape backups to a point where they were no longer a viable backup solution.

Melbourne, Australia – October 14, 2009 – The decision to exclude NTBackup support has left Microsoft with very few fans in the SMB I.T. market. But enter a software company that listens to its customers and creates products to meet the SMB market’s demand for simple, cost-effective backup solutions… and nothing else.

When it was first released in 2002, BackupAssist was immediately welcomed by SMBs looking for simple backup software that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Now the same innovative company has developed the BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on to fill the gap in tape drive support for Windows Server 2008 users… and it’s set to be just as well received as the original BackupAssist software.

The new BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on provides a simple solution to the missing tape drive support problem in Server 2008 and other newer Windows operating systems. It’s a solution that some say should have been included all along – tape backup software that uses the ZIP64 standard to automatically compress data for easy storage on tape.

“We were very surprised when Microsoft decided to drop NTBackup, because we’ve all been happily using it for years” says Linus Chang, Lead Developer and C.E.O. of BackupAssist’s parent company Cortex I.T. “But we were already working on our Zip Engine as a means to compress and encrypt backup data, so when our customers asked for help with tape drive support on Windows Server 2008, we were able to come up with a simple solution very quickly.”

Everyone knows that zipping files and folders is a simple and effective backup method – ZIP is a trusted and proven technology. But think of BackupAssist’s ZIP Engine as ‘ZIP Turbocharged’. It has multi-threading architecture, tuned for performance. It outperforms WinZIP by a factor of three on entry-level servers and takes ZIP64 to the next level by automating the process. That makes it one of the best tape backup solutions on the market, suitable for even the most demanding business backups.

What’s more, data is restorable nearly anywhere thanks to the ZIP open standard – you don’t even need to use BackupAssist software to restore your data – but it’s highly recommended. (BackupAssist V5 includes a new Restore Console which makes it amazingly easy to search your backups and restore data to the original destination – other ZIP software simply won’t do that.)

The BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on gives you real-time data compression on-the-fly, allowing you to store more data on each tape. It also gives you simple 256-bit AES encryption, so you can give your backups password protection. And it’s all put together with an extremely user-friendly interface and easy to follow wizards. “We’ve made the whole process really easy, so you don’t need to get a university degree to operate it.” Linus says.

“Our new Zip-to-Tape Add-on adds yet another important feature set to our family of products, which also includes solutions for imaging, Exchange, SQL and Rsync.” Linus explains. “Together, BackupAssist V5 with the BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on gives you a Server 2008 tape backup solution and a complete software package that covers all your backup needs.”

BackupAssist V5 US$249.
BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on US$149.
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 – backups are stored as .ZIP files for easy access on any Windows-based 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.

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist – US$249
BackupAssist Zip-to-Tape add-on – US$129
(Total package: US$378.)
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

Leading developer of BackupAssist products, Cortex I.T, has hit the market with a breakthrough solution that completely simplifies Hyper-V backup tasks, launching their public beta test today.

Melbourne, Australia – October 5, 2009. – In an exciting development, an Australian company is leading the world’s backup software market with today’s launch of a public beta test of a revolutionary new Hyper-V backup solution… the BackupAssist Hyper-V Granular Restore Console.

“Hyper-V backup is full of confusion and frustration for even the most experienced IT professionals, because there are so many possible data recovery scenarios. Until now there’s been no straightforward, affordable method of creating backup tasks to cover them all” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T and Lead Developer of BackupAssist.

“Our new BackupAssist Hyper-V solution is designed to be a simple, cost-effective answer to a very complicated problem. It eliminates time-consuming manual procedures and overcomes the reliability issues inherent in Hyper-V backups” says Linus.

The beta test launched today gives the market an opportunity to get a sneak peek at the functionality of BackupAssist’s new ‘granular technology’. It simplifies Hyper-V backup tremendously because it requires just one image backup of the Host, which you can use to retrieve files and documents from any number of Guest machines on the Host. “It will save hours of very tedious work for IT Administrators everywhere” says Linus. “We’ve made it so the whole procedure can be completed in a matter of minutes.”

‘Granular technology’ allows you dig into a VHD file and retrieve files from within. Without granular technology, the files and folders within each Guest VM are locked in their respective VHD files, making them inaccessible. To retrieve them, you would need to do a second backup of each individual Guest VM, which could be very time consuming and use a lot of disk space.

“Now you can backup the entire server in one pass” Linus says enthusiastically. “And that’s because the BackupAssist Granular Restore Console makes it fast and easy to dig down into a VHD file to get the data you want. It’s never before been possible to do it this quickly or affordably.

“You can backup unlimited Guest machines, with no extra licensing costs involved. And because you only need one backup, you’ll use less data storage space and reduce hardware costs, too” says Linus. “But for me, the best thing about it is ease of use. You don’t need a degree in computer science to make it work.

”Our new Hyper-V Granular Restore Console will be marketed as the BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on and will be made available together with a BackupAssist base license for less than US$500. Anyone who’d like to sign up now as a Beta Tester can apply at www.backupassist.com” he adds.

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

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

“How do you best backup a Hyper-V server?” That’s the single question that’s been striking fear and panic into even the most experienced IT pros. But thanks to a new and surprisingly elegant Hyper-V backup solution from BackupAssist, all the fear and uncertainties are a thing of the past. And Linus Chang, Lead Developer of BackupAssist will be appearing at SMB Nation’s Fall 2009 Conference in Las Vegas to reveal this new solution live.

Melbourne, Australia – September 16, 2009 – In a possible world first, renowned Australian software entrepreneur and backup strategist, Linus Chang, will reveal how easy it can be to perform Hyper-V backup for unlimited hosts and guests, as well as achieve granular restores, without needing to purchase complicated or expensive agents or needing a PhD in computer scienceAnd in typical BackupAssist style, this solution will slash thousands off the average SMB’s total backup and recovery bill.

“The issue of Hyper-V backup has been particularly sticky. The major competitor’s solution starts from about $5000, which is so far out of the budget of the average SMB, it has been a major stumbling block for SMBs to adopt virtualization technology. It’s taken us nearly a year to design and produce our own solution, but with a total price tag of well under $800 and well thought-out recovery procedures, we know it’ll be a hit!”

BackupAssist has been a pioneer in the SMB backup software industry, providing simple and straightforward solutions to complex problems. Since its creation in 2001, BackupAssist has taken the market by storm, going from zero to backing up over X0,000 servers in 91 countries in a very short period of time.

“The reason we’ve been so successful is because we do something other software suppliers don’t.” says Linus, “We ask our customers what they want. We also ask our customers to test our products in real business environments. It gives us an edge because it means our product is inexpensive, simple and really works for SMBs – the big software companies are just too far removed to understand the problems SMBs encounter day to day” he adds.

Linus will personally presenting this new solution at the Sponsor Presentation Room 111 at 4:40pm on October 3. “It’s only a short overview to outline my Hyper-V backup solution” Linus says modestly, “I’ll be manning the BackupAssist stand myself every day during the event, so I can give advice and help people having trouble with Hyper-V backups, one-on-one.”

”But all I’m prepared to say about our new Hyper-V backup product right now is: it’s an elegant solution that includes a one-pass backup enabling you to recover data from failures on the host, guests or files and databases on the guests. People having Hyper-V backup problems will know what I’m talking about.” he says mysteriously. “If you want to find out more, you’ll have to be at SMB Nation in Las Vegas. Or wait for the general news press release about the product in October.”

Information and reference materials:
www.backupassist.com
www.cortexit.com

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist – US$249
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

We’re absolutely thrilled to have a new website at www.CortexIT.com that accurately represents who we are as a company and the ways we strive to add value to our clients.

This website is the result of months of prototyping, design, writing copy, going through multiple drafts, and the general rigmarole of web development. Thanks go especially to our chief web designer, Tim Willis, whose outstanding work is here for everyone to see in all its glory!