Features - Storage Innovations:

BakBone STRENGTHENS GLOBAL LINUX ADVANTAGE

Building on its commitment to and support of Linux for the enterprise, BakBone Software, a global provider of data protection software, unveiled the Linux Advantage, a worldwide initiative supporting the industry's leading Linux distributors. Working closely with Linux Advantage partners Red Hat, SUSE LINUX, Red Flag Software Co (China), MIRACLE LINUX Co (Japan), Conectiva (Latin America) and Turbolinux (China and Japan), BakBone will guarantee that NetVault, the company's award-winning software, is certified on each of the partners' Linux distributions and provides customers with robust protection of their business-critical data.

"Customers are looking to Linux as a platform for database and application needs -- and, increasingly, these are becoming more mission-critical," said Keith Rickard, president and CEO of BakBone. "One of the obstacles to Linux adoption in the enterprise data center has been the concern about sacrificing data protection strategies for open systems. BakBone's support for the distributions of each Linux Advantage partner will enable their Linux customers to aggressively accelerate their Linux adoption plans. Their customers can now confidently deploy a highly available, scalable and performance-driven Linux infrastructure with the same level of data protection that they are familiar with in other operating systems like UNIX and Windows."

Reinforcing the industry's broadest support for platforms and applications in heterogeneous environments, BakBone's data protection commitment allows BakBone to work with each partner's respective technical, engineering and development teams, enabling their customers to confidently integrate Linux into the enterprise for their mission-critical applications. With this move, BakBone now supports more Linux-based database applications and versions than any one in the industry and sets the stage for broadening its data protection guarantee to Linux Advantage's future enterprise application partners.

"Data protection is the most difficult job for the IT administrator. In a recent ESG survey, 25 percent of IT administrators discuss how backup and recovery jobs fail -- that is one in four. This is becoming even more complicated with the introduction of Linux into the data center," said Steve Kenniston, technology analyst for Enterprise Storage Group. "BakBone's backup and recovery product, NetVault, has the ability to meet today's enterprise-level data protection needs and the ability to scale in the future. With its unique modular architecture, NetVault's ease-of-use and performance gives companies both the protection they need on Linux as well as the cost-savings and flexibility they desire."

Linux Advantage partners will receive the BakBone Linux Advantage "Data Protection. Guaranteed" logo identifying them as program partners. Additionally, BakBone will explore joint marketing and development opportunities with each Linux Advantage partner. BakBone's ongoing commitment to certifying and supporting partner distributions with NetVault backup and recovery software will help ensure customer confidence in deploying enterprise applications on Linux distributions.

In 1996, BakBone's data protection technology was architected and written on Linux as a development platform. By 1999, work on the code base was completed and now, as a native Linux application, NetVault enables customers to deploy Linux without the compromises associated with porting. Through NetVault's modular architecture, customers can enjoy the same levels of data protection across Linux, UNIX and Windows platforms.

Open Source leaders including Red Hat, SUSE LINUX, Red Flag, MIRACLE LINUX Co, Conectiva and Turbolinux have welcomed the Linux Advantage program citing key benefits for customers who want to leverage the freedom of choice and the cost-savings Linux provides while safely deploying Linux in their mission-critical environments.