Axcient Announces New Improvements in Automation and Usability
Get the skinny on hot new capabilities in automation and usability releases for AutoVerify, failback for Hyper-V, and Local Cache in x360Recover.
As a 100% channel-focused solutions provider, Axcient is dedicated to continuously improving the lives of managed service providers (MSPs) and their small to medium-sized business (SMB) clients. Our product development team unveils new features and functionalities within our business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) products through quarterly releases. In the first quarter of 2022, Axcient is launching new capabilities in automation and usability.
Keep reading for a sneak peek into…
- What’s coming and why it’s exciting.
- How automation and a streamlined user experience can increase profits.
- When to consider exploring new vendor options, so you don’t miss out.
“Axcient is excited to kick-off the year with feature releases that are fundamental to Axcient’s core mission statement of curing data loss. Our recent product releases ensure flawless recovery from backup data, minimize the time clients are running off backups, and easily prove the value of backup to MSP clients before they are in a critical situation.
With the ever-increasing threat of ransomware, now more than ever MSPs must ensure that they’ve not only backed up client data, but have confidence in their ability to recover that data quickly and without headaches. Axcient’s AutoVerify for Direct-to-Cloud, Local Cache autohealing, and wizardized failback for Hyper-V gives our partners confidence that client data is protected and easily recoverable after any kind of disaster.”
– Adam Preeo, VP of Products, Axcient
Table of Contents
AutoVerify for Direct-to-Cloud
What is it? AutoVerify is an Axcient feature that automatically verifies the integrity of backups. Say goodbye to time-consuming manual backup verification checks with automated disaster recovery (DR) testing of each protected system. Complete with a daily report and snapshot proof validating recoverability, AutoVerify gives MSPs and their clients confidence in business continuity.
Why it’s exciting! AutoVerify has always been included in Axcient x360Recover BCDR, but starting at the end of January 2022, it is also available in x360Recover Direct-to-Cloud (D2C) in GA. Extending this capability to our hardware-free BCDR infrastructure enhances existing nightly checks with a thorough assessment of all drives and data on protected systems. Every day, MSPs can make sure their backups are available and usable while proving the value of their services to clients. Existing D2C partners can enable AutoVerify by submitting a request to your Partner Success Manager.
Direct-to-Cloud on its own eliminates the cost of expensive appliances, reduces on-site visits and maintenance requests, enables BCDR standardization by solving multiple use cases with just one vendor – and now it also allows you to reallocate the resources spent on manual verification and DR testing to go toward higher-value tasks.
Wizardized Failback Workflow for Hyper-V on Local Cache
What is it? To answer that question, you first have to ask, what is Local Cache? Local Cache is an optional, fully independent D2C feature for MSPs who want to eliminate or deprioritize on-premise storage and directly back up servers and workstations to the cloud instead. It’s a recovery acceleration layer that works in tandem with x360Recover D2C. Pairing D2C with an inexpensive local USB or NAS device substantially decreases recovery and failback times to reduce downtime after data loss occurs. It gives MSPs the ease and affordability of cloud-based backup and disaster recovery (BDR), with the speed of local backup, but no expensive on-site appliance.
Now back to wizardized failback… MSPs with D2C Local Cache can directly create a virtual machine on Hyper-V to recover protected systems. This capability is being wizardized with a new click-through feature in Axcient’s recovery center that enables near-instant recovery for Hyper-V on Local Cache.
Why it’s exciting! The existing failback workflow for Hyper-V has been a multi-step manual process on Local Cache. With wizardized recovery, Axcient uses automation innovation to enable easy failback after recovery in just a few clicks. The much faster failback workflow decreases client downtime with a much less exhaustive recovery workflow. This helps MSPs using Hyper-V on Local Cache meet stringent SLAs with less time and resources required.
Local Cache Autohealing
What is it? An insurance plan for your Local Cache that “automatically heals” backups, so no matter what, backups in the cloud will match backups on Local Cache. Autohealing regularly scans cloud backups against Local Cache backups and fixes any backup discrepancies between the two.
Why it’s exciting! If a Local Cache gets unplugged, has an outage, or suffers a natural disaster, MSPs can rest assured that what’s been backed up in the cloud will still be backed up on Local Cache. By definition, Local Cache directly backs up servers and workstations to the cloud with verification. Now with autohealing, MSPs gain an additional layer of security with automated consistency checks between the cloud and Local Cache. As a result, MSPs always have up-to-date backups on Local Cache for uninterrupted business continuity when performing recovery.
Local Cache Retention Policy
What is it? A customizable retention policy for Local Cache. For example, an MSP can set a 7-day retention policy to guarantee they will always have 7 days of data stored on Local Cache. Anything older than 7 days can be deleted. Now, MSPs can set different retention policies for Local Cache and their data backup up on the cloud. So, you could set a shorter day retention policy in Local Cache but an extended retention policy in the cloud.
Why it’s exciting! Previously, Local Cache did not have an independent and automatic retention policy from the cloud backups. Instead, MSPs had to set limits manually, which required additional time. Now with automatic Local Cache retention, MSPs can quickly and easily tailor the time necessary for data to be retained and differentiate between Local Cache and the cloud, and use a smaller, even more inexpensive device for their Local Cache.
Automation + Usability = MSP Profits
Axcient’s consistent focus on solution innovation is a direct effort to increase MSP profits. Every backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity action we can automate and simplify frees up MSPs’ time and resources for value-added tasks. What’s cutting into profits in the first place is the tedious, time-consuming, and often specialized tasks that come with each vendor’s management processes. As MSPs try to keep up with the demands of their vendors, they increase operational tasks and whittle away at profits.
A solution stack with as few vendors as possible is proven to increase operational maturity and boost profits. The less time you spend onboarding, training, certifying, supporting, and managing vendors, the more time you spend providing services to clients, creating marketing and sales campaigns, mastering a few solutions, building relationships with those vendors, and overall, growing your MSP. Through automation, Axcient improves useability to reduce the time MSPs have to spend within our solutions. This philosophy serves as a foundational principle of Axcient and serves our more than 4,500 MSP partners worldwide.
“Since we started standardizing on Axcient, we started seeing profitability. We’ve been able to grow exponentially, and now we’re at a level we never thought possible. The more we simplify, the more profitable we get. The more leverage we get with Axcient as a partner. We’re able to develop our relationship with Axcient and rely on you guys to help us grow.”
– Neil Hawkins, Partner, and COO at LANAIR Group, LLC
Learn more about simplification for profit-building:
- Reference Architecture and Its Impact on Solution Provider Maturity, Efficiency, and Profitability
- Why Use Four Vendors When You Can Save, Simplify, and Protect with Just One?
- Case Study: Simplifying Vendors Provides MSP-Wide Benefits from Security to Profitability
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