At the bustling Shift event held in the iconic BAFTA in London, we were fortunate to engage in a profound conversation with Anna Griffin, the Chief Marketing Officer at Commvault. Our discussion shone a light on the exciting transition within IT, moving from traditional data protection methodologies to a comprehensive cyber resiliency strategy. With a palpable enthusiasm, we explored Commvault's proactive response to the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

The Heart of Cyber Resiliency

Cyber resiliency has become the cornerstone of contemporary data protection strategies. Anna elaborated on how Commvault is navigating this pivotal shift, with a keen focus on integrating security within the data itself. This strategic move is indicative of Commvault's foresight in tackling the challenges of safeguarding data across the increasingly hybrid environments of today.

A Data-Centric Approach

The conversation highlighted the significance of adopting a data-centric mindset in today's dispersed data realms. Commvault is at the forefront, advocating for a unified protection strategy that alleviates the complexity of managing various security tools across different environments. This integrated approach is crucial in a landscape where data is scattered across multiple platforms, each presenting its own set of vulnerabilities.

Innovating Data Recovery

One of the most captivating aspects of our talk was discovering Commvault's pioneering work in cloud-based clean room recovery. This forward-thinking initiative enables organisations to test and affirm their recovery processes in a cost-effective and manageable way. It marks a significant advancement, empowering businesses to confidently navigate and recover from cyber incidents.

AI: Transforming Data Protection

The discussion wouldn't be complete without touching on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in data protection. Commvault is leading the charge in embedding AI into their platforms, transforming the way data protection is administered. AI acts as a co-pilot for administrators, offering recommendations, insights, and reducing the likelihood of human error. This integration marks a shift towards smarter, more efficient, and reliable data protection practices.

Conclusion

Our enlightening discussion with Anna Griffin at the Shift event was truly revelatory. Commvault's dedication to steering the data protection discourse towards cyber resiliency, their commitment to a data-centric security philosophy, and their innovative use of AI and cloud technologies underscore their leadership in the data protection realm.

As our conversation drew to a close, it was evident that Commvault is not merely adapting to changes in the IT landscape; they are actively shaping the future of data protection. Their approach to cyber resiliency is a proactive endeavour to ensure that businesses can not only survive but thrive in the digital era. Commvault's vision for a more secure, resilient, and intelligent digital ecosystem is not just aspirational; it's a reality they are diligently creating, making the digital world a safer place for businesses to innovate and expand.

Stepping into the BAFTA HQ for the Commvault SHIFT event felt like entering a nexus where the legacy of storytelling meets the cutting edge of technology. With walls echoing cinematic greatness and rooms sponsored by the Dolby family and Steven Spielberg, the stage was perfectly set for a narrative of transformation and forward-thinking strategy in cyber resilience.

As we've observed Commvault's transition from a data protection platform to a holistic cyber resilience solution, this event painted a vivid picture of that strategic evolution.

The Hybrid IT Landscape and the Commvault Cloud

Today's IT landscape is nothing short of hybrid – offering staggering business advantages but at the same time, bringing forth data fragmentation and complex management challenges. The day was filled with conversations around the ensuing chaos and the pivotal role of a cyber resilience platform like Commvault Cloud.

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NIST Framework in Focus

A significant part of the presentation revolved around the NIST framework, which is fundamentally a blueprint for improving cybersecurity and resilience. The framework lays out five key functions – Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover – that help organisations develop a robust cybersecurity posture. The message was clear: whilst Indentify, Detect and Protect often takes the limelight, respond and recovery is just as crucial. The focus on thorough testing and robust recovery plans is not just recommended; it's essential.

Innovative Recovery with Cleanroom Technology

A standout feature that piqued interest was Commvault's cleanroom recovery functionality. In the event of a breach, the ability to swiftly and safely recover is paramount, and Commvault's solution facilitates this by enabling businesses to recover quickly into Azure. This isn't just about speed; it's about providing a controlled environment for both testing and actual recovery scenarios, automating the setup of the landing zone in the process.

Meet Arlie: The AI Virtual Assistant

Another highlight for me was the introduction of Arlie, Commvault’s AI virtual assistant. Arlie takes user interaction to a new level, providing insights and support embedded right into the AI. It's not just about delegating tasks; it's about empowering admins with the knowledge to carry out these tasks themselves – a truly educational approach that resonates with our belief in not just delivering solutions but also delivering knowledge.

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Conversations with the Commvault Team

The day culminated with an influencer and analyst session, offering us a golden opportunity to engage with Commvault's key team members. It was more than just a chance to see the technology – it was a window into the minds shaping the technology, understanding the 'whys' and 'hows', and witnessing the solutions in action.

Wrapping Up an Enlightening Day

As the event wrapped up, it was clear that Commvault is not just participating in the cyber resilience conversation; they're actively sculpting it. With the community buzzing, the Cleanroom Technology on the horizon, and the prospect of getting hands-on with Arlie, it’s safe to say we're not just excited – we're looking at the future of cyber resilience with eyes wide open.

We're diving into Commvault’s latest shift with my new video on Commvault's announcements from their Shift event. It's about their new platform, Commvault Cloud, powered by Metallic AI, and it's set to redefine what we expect from cybersecurity and data protection.

For a deeper look at my complete analysis and the implications of Commvault’s innovative direction, check out my full blog post at Tech Doodles. We discuss the looming $30 billion ransomware threat, Commvault's smart use of AI with Arlie, and how this platform is not just about recovery, but a proactive stance against cyber threats.

Get the full story - Commvault's Vision for Cyber Resilience: Introducing Commvault Cloud — Tech Doodles

In an era where digital threats are accelerating, Commvault's recent Shift event laid down the modern-day standard: the introduction of Commvault Cloud, powered by Metallic AI, signals a profound transformation from a data backup company to a cyber resilience authority.

Commvault Cloud emerges as a beacon of adaptability and scalability in cyber resilience. At the heart of this platform is a design that decouples the control and data planes, ensuring data security across many environments and storage platforms. The platform’s architecture embraces a distributed, hybrid world with fragmented workloads, apps, and data.

The crux of the Shift event was not just the unveiling of a platform but the introduction of Metallic AI, a suite of advanced AI capabilities. This sophisticated set of tools is geared towards providing the highest level of cyber resilience, combining the latest in machine learning with risk scanning and threat detection. The capabilities of Metallic AI extend to early identification of security threats and minimisation of their impact, leading to faster recovery times, intelligent quarantining, and the fastest path to a clean recovery.

You cannot overlook the statistics presented during the event: ransomware is anticipated to cost companies an astounding $30 billion by the end of 2023. Moreover, a staggering 99% of ransomware attacks target security and recovery tools. This backdrop makes Commvault’s advancements not only timely but essential.

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Commvault Cloud addresses these concerns head-on with features like Cleanroom Recovery and Cloudburst Recovery. Cleanroom Recovery combines Commvault Cloud’s robust platform architecture with application verification automation and the cloud capabilities of Microsoft Azure to deliver a clean, ransomware-free environment. Meanwhile, Cloudburst Recovery offers rapid restoration using massively parallel recovery techniques, leveraging the cloud's scale and cost efficiencies.

The event also showcased the power of unified management through Commvault Cloud. This global management capability allows for active control and visibility, which is essential for managing SaaS, edge, and on-prem environments. It streamlines compliance and simplifies the complex task of securing live and backed-up sensitive data. With the current climate of sophisticated cyber threats, such as AI-driven ransomware, the platform’s AI-driven threat prediction and anomaly detection position Commvault as a proactive defender.

But the technological prowess of Commvault Cloud goes beyond automated defences. Enter Arlie – the AI-driven resilience co-pilot. Arlie interprets technical complexities into comprehensible advice. Arlie provides context-aware walk-throughs, not only informing but also educating users, ensuring that every level of the organisation can contribute to cyber defence. Arlie aims to turn every Commvault user into a power user.

The Shift event didn't just articulate a product; it was an industry-wide call to recognise the evolution of cyber threats and the need for a resilient response. The message was clear: organisations need to be ready all the time, while bad actors only need to be ready once. This poignant observation underscores the critical need for a platform like Commvault Cloud, which offers quick recovery times and enhanced security, all within an intelligent and simplified management framework.

Commvault's Shift event was not just about a product launch but about setting a new standard for cyber resilience. Integrating Commvault Cloud with Metallic AI underlines a steadfast commitment to evolving cybersecurity measures. It’s a forward-thinking approach that recognises the dynamic nature of threats and the importance of agile recovery and robust defence mechanisms.

I look forward to being able to look further at the Commvault Cloud and particularly the capabilities of Arlie in the future. Check out more information about Commvault Cloud at the link below.

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, data protection and security have become paramount concerns for organisations worldwide. Cyber threats are growing in sophistication, and traditional reactive approaches are no longer sufficient. That's why we are thrilled to present our latest video, which delves into the groundbreaking announcements from Commvault's recent event, "Accelerating Cyber Defence and Response with Next Generation Data Protection."

Key Takeaways:

During the event, we explored how Commvault is revolutionising the field of data protection and security. Our video uncovers the powerful features and innovative solutions that make Commvault a leader in the industry.

1. CEO Sanjay Mirchandani's Keynote: Sanjay discussed the dual implications of AI, the blurring boundaries between data protection and security, and the vital importance of swift recovery. Commvault's proactive approach ensures that their platform acts as an active shield against potential cyber threats.

2. Advanced Features: We dive into the technical aspects of Commvault's innovative protection and security solutions. From the centralised Cloud Command dashboard to Risk Analysis, Threat Scan, Auto Recovery, and Threatwise Advisor, Commvault offers an all-in-one solution that simplifies management, secures sensitive data, and enhances recovery readiness.

3. CISO Panel Discussion: We also highlight the engaging panel discussion hosted by Steve Preston, featuring industry experts who share insights on the critical role of the CISO, the AI threat, and the changing face of risk in the age of COVID-19.

To learn more about these exciting announcements and gain deeper insights into Commvault's next-gen solutions, we invite you to read our detailed blog post on TechDoodles.co.uk. There, you'll find our TechDoodles capturing key points, thoughts, and additional information about the event.

Conclusion:

In this ever-evolving digital landscape, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve regarding data protection and security. Commvault's innovative approach and proactive solutions are setting new industry standards.

In today's cloud age, with data fragmenting and IT resources becoming increasingly strained, cyber threats are a growing concern for all organisations. While traditional data protection measures remain vital, they often feel reactive rather than proactive. Commvault, however, is shifting this narrative, developing a dynamic, proactive defence against cyber threats. 

What impresses me about Commvault's strategy, particularly compared to other vendors, is their blend of data protection and security. By merging these two key aspects, Commvault's platform evolves from a 'last resort' recovery solution to an active shield against potential cyber threats. 

This approach was discussed during Commvault's recent online event, "Accelerating Cyber Defence and Response with Next Generation Data Protection". CEO, Sanjay Mirchandani, outlined several thought-provoking points that underline Commvault's proactive and integrated approach to cyber defence: 

1. The dual implications of AI, arming both defenders and adversaries with advanced tools. 

2. The complexity and vulnerabilities of using various tools to protect cloud data. 

3. The blurring of boundaries between data protection and security necessitates a unified approach. 

4. Commvault are taking security capabilities used in production directly into their protection platform.  

5. The vital importance of swift recovery, helping organisations minimise downtime and enhance resilience. 

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Commvault's CTO, David Ngo, then unveiled the latest advancements, each contributing to the company's innovative protection and security solution: 

Commvault Cloud Command: A unified dashboard for managing all Commvault services, with integrated visibility into the health, risk levels, security, and recovery. 

Commvault Risk Analysis: A machine learning-powered tool that works as a cyber sentinel, securing sensitive data to prevent cyber exposure. 

Commvault Threat Scan: A digital detective of sorts, inspecting backup content to quarantine suspicious datasets and ensuring clean recoveries. 

Commvault Auto Recovery: This tool tests your recovery readiness and offers forensic analysis to pinpoint clean recovery points.

Commvault Threatwise Advisor: This new feature enables intelligent assessment of backed-up workloads, recommending where sensors should be configured to ensure key data is protected.

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One of the event's highlights was an insightful panel discussion hosted by Steve Preston, Commvault's VP for Security. The panel comprised Moriah Hara and Dr. Ed Amoroso from TAG Cyber LLC, Commvault's own CISO, Javier Dominguez, and Yabing Wang, CIO at Just Works. This diverse group touched on a broad range of topics, such as: 

1. The critical role of the CISO in organisations: With the rising complexity of digital threats, the importance of having a strategic leader guiding an organisation's cyber defence can't be overstated. 

2. The AI threat: Imagine a video or voice message that sounds exactly like your CEO but isn't! The panel discussed the dangers of AI-manipulated communication and its implications. 

3. The changing face of risk in the age of COVID-19: The pandemic and the resultant shift to remote working have drastically changed our perception of risk and risk acceptance. 

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For those aiming to stay ahead of the curve in our evolving digital landscape, Commvault's unique approach provides a compelling solution. By prioritising proactive data protection and security, Commvault demonstrates adaptability and foresight in the face of the rapidly changing cyber threat environment. 

Commvault has recently released its semi-annual platform release introducing new capabilities across the hybrid cloud. Check out my video and doodle below for more information regarding what you can expect in this release.

Features within this release include

• Google Cloud Regional Snapshot support

• New Data Protection support for DevOps Protection

• Oracle Compute Infrastructure (OCI) Storage Tiering

• Improved backup times for Hadoop File Systems (HDFS)

• Enhanced security integrations with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms

• Compliance Lock – Protect critical data with immutable storage

• Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP

• New security enhancements & certifications help improve security posture and compliance.

In my doodle below, you can see my thoughts and further information about this release.

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Further to this, Commvault has released a blog post drilling into these features
Commvault Platform Release 2023

You can now watch the Commvault webinar covering this release on demand using the button below.

The roadmap session was the third session I created a doodle for at Commvault Connections 2022. Be sure to check out the other blog posts and doodles at the links below.

1. Commvault Connections Keynote

2. Customer Panel

3. Roadmap

The roadmap session built upon the fundamental principles of the Commvault strategy with further insight into the direction and products that are coming. It is clear that Commvault takes a high level of pride in its ability to connect with its users, their community and listen to what is needed. One of the statistics that was shared was the fact that four hundred product enhancements in the last year have come from direct customer feedback.

Key to the Commvault strategy are the following three principles

1. End-to-end data visibility

2. Broadest Workload Protection

3. Faster Business Response

You can see further detail regarding the announcements and planned focus areas in the doodle below.

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Commvault Connections was a great opportunity not only to hear an update from Commvault on their strategy but also to get insight into wider technology trends and real-life insights from customers. Across the conference, I created doodles for three of the sessions. You can find the links to the other sessions below.

1. Commvault Connections Keynote

2. Customer Panel

3. Roadmap

Keynote Thoughts

The keynote was led by Commvault’s fantastic CEO, Sanjay Mirchandani. Sanjay is a great keynote speaker, always giving great clarity and getting through the fluff to the points that matter.

There was a theme across the conference about innovating with confidence. The keynote set about explaining what this means and the backstory behind how we got to where we are today.

Ultimately IT professionals are now responsible for delivering the dreams of the organisation and its leaders. But delivering the dreams isn’t enough on its own it needs to be done in a managed and secure way.

To deliver these dreams, IT and business professionals have turned to SaaS applications and multiple cloud resources to achieve what is needed. Whilst these disparate resources have allowed for an increase in innovation and a reduction in time to value, it has led to massive complexity around security and data protection.

Mirchandani explained that your data has a higher value to not only you but also attackers, which has led to an increased need to protect and secure.

He explained that IT professionals need the right tools to gain control of these disparate workloads, offering the confidence to the business that they can innovate with confidence whilst IT ensures that everything is professionally managed, protected, and secure. These tools are exactly what Commvault sets to deliver.

Several technologies were discussed to help with this overall goal. This included Metallic Threatwise, an early warning system that proactively baits, deceives, and surfaces bad actors. Threatwise makes it harder for hackers to find your organisation’s valuable data, reducing their dwell time to help ensure you aren’t compromised. This was a completely different approach from those I have heard of before, especially for it to be included as part of a data management platform. I look forward to digging more into this in the future.

Also discussed was Commvault’s breadth of portfolio, offering protection across not only a wide range of solutions but also across on-premises and cloud technology with a unified management solution in their Command Center product.

It was clear that Commvault’s approach focuses on simplicity and flexibility across its portfolio.

You can see my doodle from the keynote below, covering the key elements that stood out to me.

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Recently I joined Commvault to discuss the challenges with data protection as organisations embrace the cloud.

You are able to watch the recent webinar where I spoke on this subject alongside Commvault’s Marc Lucas and Ronnie Kaftal here >> Commvault-Spotlight on Digital Transformation.

The doodle below summarises the areas for discussion in the webinar.

Most of us at the moment are seeing fast adoption of cloud based services such as SaaS like Microsoft 365 or IaaS with platforms like Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and more. Whilst these services help organisations accelerate innovation and remove the burden of many administrative functions, there is still the need to manage and protect the data.

In this situation it isn’t uncommon for many point fix solutions to be implemented. This fixes the problem in a specific area but equally leads to a fragmentation of points of management, policy and monitoring.

This is where Commvault comes in unifying data management and protection across on-premises and the cloud, across tradition applications and modern applications.

Metallic is Commvault’s data management as a service platform, it uses the same code base as the on-premises version but delivered a full cloud service and importantly you have a single point of management on-premises and in the cloud with their Control Center management plane.

Operators further get to choose where the data they wish to protect is stored with three different storage plane options.

1. Full SaaS storage plane delivered as part of the service in a local Azure Region or with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

2. Bring your own storage from private cloud, public cloud or on-premises options.

3. Commvault’s HSX appliances .

During the webinar we saw how the Metallic platform allowed data to be managed across all infrastructure and application areas.

• Demo One - Backup of a VM rom Nutanix being recovered to Azure

• Demo Two - An Azure VM being backed-up to Metallic Cloud Storage and recovered to AWS

• Demo Three - A SQL server database on-premises being recovered to a cloud based PaaS solution

• Demo Four - Kubernetes and Database backup via Metallic.

Conclusion

It has been really good to work with Commvault to understand their offerings for hybrid-cloud management. Commvault aren’t a company that has gone and acquired companies to fix gaps in their portfolio, they have built the integrations from scratch and importantly unlike some others this results in a single management plane.

If you would like to learn more about Metallic you can check out the website below

SaaS Backup & Recovery Solutions for Data Protection & Compliance (metallic.io)

Disclaimer: Tech Doodles through Tech Crossing Limited has been paid by Commvault to create content covering the Metallic product set. Whilst Tech Crossing Limited and the authors of this blog post have been paid to create the content, there has been no influence or editorial control by Commvault.