Dell Technologies bolstered its multicloud data protection and security portfolio with new systems, software, and services aimed at protecting customer data at the edge, in public clouds, and on-premises.

“The key element of our data protection strategy is to offer modern, simple and resilient solutions. Our multicloud data protection portfolio supports any workload, across any cloud and any consumption model,” Rob Emsley, Dell Technologies director of data protection solutions, told SDxCentral. “Protecting data at the edge can be achieved through Dell Apex backup services, our backup-as-a-service offer, but also by deploying PowerProtect data manager as either software or through our new integrated appliance,” he explained.

The vendor's PowerProtect data manager appliance targets multicloud data protection and is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and operational security capabilities that support the adoption of zero-trust architectures. This initial version of the system is designed for small- and mid-sized use cases that involve 12 to 96 terabytes of data, according to the company.

The system relies on a software-defined architecture that automates asset protection, and in a nod to the rising tide of multicloud and vendor collaboration, integrates VMware's transparent snapshots tool to provide observability into virtual machine (VM) availability without disrupting business operations. It also employs identity and access management (IAM) to allow secure access to restricted functions.

The integration with VMware also targets a range of edge deployments, according to Emsley. “With protection of VMware virtual infrastructure and Kubernetes containers, we can support a variety of customer edge deployments,” he said.

Arrow Electronics Senior Solutions Architect Seife Teklu said Dell's PowerProtect data manager system “is easy to use and quick to deploy” and “will be a compelling option for our small to medium-sized customers needing to modernize data protection.”

The system is globally available this month in more than 15 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Dell also introduced the availability of its cyber recovery software service on Google Cloud, following previous availability on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The offering allows IT teams to deploy an “isolated cyber vault” in Google Cloud to separate and protect data from potential cyberattacks.

This is different from standard cloud-based backup services because it uses networking controls to lock down access to management interfaces, and it requires separate security credentials and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for entry, according to the vendor.

Enterprises can purchase Dell's cyber recovery software, which is globally available today, through the Google Cloud marketplace or from Dell directly.

Dell's Apex data storage portfolio also received updates today with a new backup target option that offers secure backup data storage in a flexible, pay-per-use consumption model.

This service is designed to be easily adopted by customers and streamline the purchase, deployment, and maintenance processes associated with backup storage. According to the vendor, its backup target service will reduce customers' storage footprints while increasing the availability of their data.

Dell Apex VP of Product Management Chad Dunn noted the rapid growth of as-a-service models in on-premises environments for “keep[ing] up with changing customer demands and provid[ing] them with the flexibility to do IT the way they want without having to manage a lot on their own – a critical step for expediting IT transformation.”

Apex backup target will be globally available in Q1 2023 across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.