Commvault launched a shiny new cloud-native data protection venture today aptly named Metallic Backup to kick off its Commvault GO conference this week in Denver. 

The consumption-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) backup product was engineered for the parent company's most requested use cases: firms with up to 2,500 employees — mid-market customers — as an alternative to Commvault’s current line of enterprise products. 

However, according to Robert Kaloustian, general manager of Metallic, “Because it’s enterprise grade, built on Commvault DNA, it’s fit for any size company.”

Metallic has monthly or annual subscriptions in three offerings: Metallic Core Backup and Recovery, Metallic Office 365 Backup and Recovery, and Metallic Endpoint Backup and Recovery.

Commvault says it made the move to expand its product menu to include options for customers whose backup needs might otherwise have led them to seek out a different provider.

“The mid-market is interested in a simple, SaaS experience that would scale with them as they matured into enterprises – and that we, at Commvault, were perfectly positioned to create this solution,” said Kaloustian. 

Metallic will operate as a division of Commvault merging the core of the company.

Metallic’s launch comes on the heels of Commvault's deal to buy software-defined storage startup Hedvig for $225 million in its first acquisition since Sanjay Mirchandani was named president and CEO earlier this year.

“None of Commvault’s core technologies will operate as islands. Hedvig and Metallic are no exceptions,” Kaloustian explained. “Metallic leverages the core enterprise technology we’ve developed over the last 20 years into a simple SaaS experience. Our vision for Hedvig includes integration of its core SDS technology into both Commvault and Metallic’s code base.” 

In a move to unify storage and data management to remedy data fragmentation for businesses, the acquisition of Headvig in tandem with the launch of Metallic suggests Commvault is pulling out a new, more inclusive roadmap to remain competitive amongst customers that can’t afford a six-digit data management service. 

It could be Commvault’s response to heightened competition from SaaS-based backup providers like Clumio and Druva that offer backup services lower in both cost and complexity. It’s also likely a move to keep up with Rubrik and Cohesity whose platforms are popular in the mid-market range because of their lower cost and simplicity of deployment, operation, and maintenance.