The News: Kyndryl and Veritas Technologies have introduced two new services, Data Protection Risk Assessment with Veritas and Incident Recovery with Veritas. These services aim to help enterprises protect and recover critical data in on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. The Data Protection Risk Assessment analyzes IT infrastructure against industry best practices and identifies risks and vulnerabilities, while Incident Recovery offers fully managed cyber recovery services with AI-based data management capabilities. Additional detail is available in Veritas’ Press Release.
Kyndryl and Veritas Launch Managed Services for Ransomware Risk Assessment and Recovery
Analyst Take: Ransomware is moving fast as a key threat in the modern industry landscape. Attackers are continuously adapting and innovating their approaches to maximize damage and the breadth of organizations that they can impact. One of the key problems is that, at the same time, IT teams are strapped for headcount and time, as they look to protect environments that are more sprawling and complex than ever before.
Efficient recovery from cyber incidents is no easy task for IT Operations, but it is also critical in mitigating the fallout from cyber-attacks. With this in mind, it is not surprising that customers are turning to managed services for support; in recent research from The Futurum Group (formerly Evaluator Group), 17% of respondents reported using managed services for cyber-resiliency planning/recovery, and one in five respondents noted plans to implement managed services over the next 12 months.
In response, Kyndryl and Veritas announced in June 2022 a partnership to deliver Veritas data protection and management capabilities as-a-service, spanning deployment, migration, and delivery. The new services launched effective July 2023, both of which are available to new and existing customers, include:
- Data Protection Risk Assessment Service
- Analyzes the customer’s IT infrastructure and data, spanning hybrid multi-cloud environments, against industry best practices for cyber-resilience – regardless of the deployed vendors and solutions.
- Specifically, the service – a consulting engagement led by Kyndryl – combines Kyndryl’s framework for cyber-resiliency to identify vulnerabilities. Veritas’ data management technologies, including NetBackup, typically serve as the solution outcome of the risk assessment.
- Incident Recovery Service
- Delivered by Kyndryl as a managed service encompassing backup and recovery from disasters and cyber incidents.
- Utilizes Veritas AI-based autonomous data management capabilities, including Alta SaaS Protection, Enterprise Vault, NetBackup software and appliances, and Recovery Vault. Key capabilities include:
- Intelligent automation
- Consistent operations across clouds for recovery
- Anomaly detection
- Operational isolation
- Immutable storage
In our conversations with IT Operations, the growing requirement for IT environment audits for cyber-resiliency and compliance purposes is evident. We also consistently hear concerns regarding being “prepared enough” for ransomware, and what exactly that looks like. The Kyndryl and Veritas service will help IT Operations with both of these challenges, and they are flexible enough to be customized according to particular business and compliance requirements. The Veritas technology that they are built on has a long history addressing enterprise data protection requirements, and it is steadily being evolved to address modern delivery mechanisms and to provide modern capabilities (for additional detail, see our research on Veritas NetBackup). Veritas is an early mover compared to data protection peers in forming a relationship for cyber-resiliency with a managed service provider, and the breadth of its product capabilities will provide continued differentiation.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Kyndryl’s 4th Quarter and Full Year 2023 Earnings
Kyndryl and Fortinet Launch Managed SASE Solution to Simplify Zero Trust Networking
Cyber-Detection and Recovery Drive Commvault’s Portfolio Strategy
Author Information
With a focus on data security, protection, and management, Krista has a particular focus on how these strategies play out in multi-cloud environments. She brings approximately 15 years of experience providing research and advisory services and creating thought leadership content. Her vantage point spans technology and vendor portfolio developments; customer buying behavior trends; and vendor ecosystems, go-to-market positioning, and business models. Her work has appeared in major publications including eWeek, TechTarget and The Register.
Prior to joining The Futurum Group, Krista led the data protection practice for Evaluator Group and the data center practice of analyst firm Technology Business Research. She also created articles, product analyses, and blogs on all things storage and data protection and management for analyst firm Storage Switzerland and led market intelligence initiatives for media company TechTarget.
