Security, storage and systems management specialist Symantec announced that customers will now benefit from enhancements
to the Symantec.cloud portfolio of SAAS services. The company announced
a number of service enhancements, which are designed to bring more of
Symantec’s technologies to the cloud and offer increased flexibility of
choice to SMBs (small and midsize businesses).
Service enhancements include Backup Exec.cloud, which automatically
protect the data on customer PCs and servers with online backup and
recovery. Larger organizations wishing to protect remote workers or
smaller satellite offices can use this cloud service while still using
traditional Backup Exec software at the main office. A beta for Backup
Exec.cloud will begin in June and the service will be available later
this year, the company said.
Symantec.cloud email archiving services are designed to help
businesses securely address the challenges of email storage management,
legal discovery and regulatory compliance. The company will introduce
future enhancements to Symantec.cloud email archiving services under
the name Symantec Enterprise Vault.cloud in June 2011.
“The major pain point for most organizations is the ongoing
maintenance and management of their applications, software and
hardware,” said Chris Christiansen, vice president of products and
security for IT research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
“Whether for messaging security or data storage and protection, IT
Managers from organizations of all sizes are seeking cloud-based
solutions they can trust to ease the burden on their time and
resources.”
In addition, a new Apple iPhone app in beta release from
Symantec.cloud, allows customers of email, web, and IM security
offerings to view historical data, reports and charts, as well as
product and service information from their handheld device. The app
also provides administrators with the ability to manage users and
create and issue support tickets from their device.
According to numbers released by the company, the number of
Symantec.cloud users grew 16 percent year over year from 9.2 million
end users in February 2010 to 10.7 million end users in February 2011
in 112 countries. Moreover, Symantec.cloud added a new data center in
South Africa, bringing the total number of cloud service-related data
centers around the globe to 15. Symantec.cloud’s SaaS portfolio
currently includes 16 pre-integrated applications.
“We’ve seen a great deal of momentum in the adoption of cloud-based
services for their ease of management and deployment,” said Rowan
Trollope, senior vice president of Symantec.cloud. “Customers need to
protect their information with fewer resources and as little
administrative hassle as possible.”
Cloud Computing 
