ARCSERVE CLOUD DIRECT BACKUP IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ANZ CLIENTS!
So what is Cloud Direct? Well simply, it is Backup that goes to the Cloud.. err.. Directly… Obvious really!
Who is Arcserve Cloud Direct for? The answer to that depends on “where” your client is located and how they feel about data sovereignty. Yip, currently, Cloud Direct’s “Cloud” is hosted in USA & UK, so if your client insists on “local ANZ cloud” then Cloud Direct can be ruled out..
If Data Soverignty is not an issue.. Then Cloud Direct presents 2 interesting options.. Backup As A Service (BAAS) and Disaster Recovery As A Service (DRAAS).
BAAS is the simplest option & is featured in this demo.. It is a simple, once per day incremental backup of your systems – Windows, Linux, Mac, Destops, Servers, VMs. It is incredibly simple to deploy and is incredibly cost effective. From my testing, it really just works.. I think it is a great option for small businesses with just a handful of systems.
DRAAS is a more serious offering, offering incrmental backups as often as every 5 mins along with “instant” recovery in the cloud.. I’ve not been able to test DRAAS yet, but I will record a video as soon as I do.. Arcserve say DRAAS is suitable for large data sets upto 500TB… I’m sure that would be fine for USA/UK companies..
Made for MSP’s! Finally we can see Arcserve’s vision for MSP’s.. Cloud Direct (and Cloud Hybrid) are purpose built for MSP’s. Once signed up, the MSP is able to create and manage clients, plus they can allow their clients to have limited access to their cloud backups. It is exiting to think about the Future..
The only questions is.. When will Cloud Direct be hosted in Australia? Come on Arcserve! Lets do it!
Understanding the Two Service Tiers
Cloud Direct offers two distinct service levels, each targeting different customer profiles and recovery requirements:
Backup as a Service (BaaS)
BaaS is the entry-level tier and the one demonstrated in the video. It provides once-daily incremental backups to Arcserve’s cloud infrastructure. Protected workloads include Windows servers and desktops, Linux servers, macOS endpoints, and virtual machines running on VMware or Hyper-V.
The BaaS agent is lightweight — installation takes minutes and the initial configuration requires nothing more than selecting which volumes or folders to protect and setting a retention policy. After the initial full backup (which can be seeded via a shipped disk for large datasets), daily increments are typically small and transfer quickly, even over modest internet connections.
Restores can be performed at the file level (individual files and folders), volume level (entire disk partitions), or full bare-metal recovery. For BaaS, the recovery time objective (RTO) depends on the size of the data being restored and the available bandwidth, since the data must be downloaded from the cloud.
Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
DRaaS is the premium tier, designed for organisations that cannot tolerate extended downtime. It offers incremental backups as frequently as every 5 minutes and includes the ability to spin up protected servers as virtual machines directly in Arcserve’s cloud infrastructure.
When a disaster is declared, the DRaaS platform powers on cloud-based replicas of the protected servers, complete with their networking configuration. Users and applications are redirected to the cloud replicas via VPN or DNS changes, and the business continues operating while the on-premises environment is repaired. Arcserve states that DRaaS supports data sets up to 500 TB, making it suitable for mid-sized to large enterprises.
The MSP Opportunity
Cloud Direct was designed with managed service providers in mind. The multi-tenant management console allows MSPs to:
- Provision new client accounts in minutes without deploying any on-premises infrastructure
- Monitor all clients from a single dashboard with alerts for failed backups, missed schedules, and storage consumption
- Offer tiered service levels — some clients on BaaS, others on DRaaS, all managed from the same console
- Provide limited self-service — clients can browse their own backups and perform file-level restores without needing to contact the MSP
Cloud Hybrid, a companion product, extends the Cloud Direct architecture to include a local appliance for fast on-site restores while still replicating data to the cloud for offsite protection. This hybrid model is particularly attractive for clients with larger datasets or lower RTO requirements.
Data Sovereignty Considerations for ANZ
At the time of writing, Cloud Direct’s cloud infrastructure is hosted in the United States and United Kingdom. For many Australian and New Zealand organisations, this presents a compliance consideration. Industries subject to data residency requirements — including government, healthcare, financial services, and legal — may not be able to store backup data offshore.
For partners advising clients where data sovereignty is a hard requirement, Cloud Ready Solutions distributes several alternative solutions that keep data within Australia, including StoneFly DR365U appliances for on-premises immutable backup, Keepit for SaaS data protection with independent cloud infrastructure, and NAKIVO for VM backup and replication to Australian cloud targets.
For clients where data sovereignty is not a blocker — particularly small businesses with fewer than 50 systems, or organisations with non-regulated data — Cloud Direct BaaS remains one of the simplest and most cost-effective cloud backup options available.