Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today introduced new multitenancy capabilities for the virtual tape library (VTL) ingest feature of Compass, the company's enterprise SaaS backup system. These new capabilities make Compass the first enterprise SaaS backup solution to provide multitenancy at tape ingest, enabling robust and secure sharing and segregation of VTL backups in complex customer and managed service provider (MSP) environments.

"As the era of expensive, independently managed VTL appliances continues to fade, customers have a growing need for comprehensive multitenancy capabilities that are fully integrated with enterprise backup operations and allow for the secure and efficient sharing of resources," said Rob Marett, chief technology officer, Cobalt Iron. "Those are the precise requirements we've addressed with the new Compass VTL multitenancy feature, which delivers core VTL functionality but with reduced overall costs, operational simplicity, and secure multitenancy."

The new Compass VTL multitenancy solution automates tape, VTL, and disaster recovery (DR) operations and integrates them completely with other enterprise backup and DR solutions while maintaining multitenancy operational discipline. Data from multiple tenants can be directed to a Compass Accelerator via tape protocols, and data is automatically managed with complete multitenancy fidelity. In addition, the solution also supports automatic replication to another Compass Accelerator in a private or public cloud environment. The Compass VTL feature supports Fibre Channel connectivity on the following platforms: IBM Power AIX, IBM i, Windows on Intel, Linux on Intel, and HPE OpenVMS.

The new solution from Cobalt Iron greatly benefits IBM i multi-user environments in which standard Backup, Recovery, and Media Services (BRMS) and/or SAV backups are typically sent to a local VTL or tape. It is common for these environments to have multiple IBM i partitions sharing the same VTL. The Compass VTL feature securely governs data from multiple clients, automates IBM i DR operations, introduces transparent cloud connectivity for IBM i backup data, and integrates IBM i backup with other enterprise data protection operations while maintaining familiar IBM i backup functions.

"Unlike other VTL products, which are being utilized as high-priced storage targets, our new VTL feature with multitenancy is an integrated component of the Compass enterprise backup SaaS solution. Also, the Compass VTL feature enables users to modernize and automate their tape and VTL operations and integrate those operations into data center and cloud services," Marett added. "Dedicated hardware is removed to reduce costs, automation negates the operational complexities of tape, and full multitenancy imposes data and operational discipline."

"The tape and VTL markets are undergoing changes affecting how these technologies are used not only in the data center, but also in the cloud. By fully integrating VTL multitenancy into Compass, Cobalt Iron is elevating VTL and tape workloads to new levels of operational efficiency," said Christophe Bertrand, senior analyst, The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. "With this announcement, Cobalt Iron is delivering a cost-effective way to ‘liberate' data from traditional VTL or tape data silos and modernize VTL environments. It builds on the company's strategy to automate and optimize its customers' data protection infrastructures and operations."

The new multitenancy capabilities are included in the VTL feature of the Compass Accelerator. The feature is priced in storage capacity tiers based on the maximum daily ingest of data. The solution is available immediately and can be ordered as part of an overall Compass design.