What Veeam's backup support of Proxmox means for SMBs
Proxmox has officially entered the virtualization platform conversation. The addition of Veeam backup support provides smaller organizations an alternative to pricier VMware tools.
The linkup between Veeam and Proxmox is great news for systems administrators and small businesses, but not so much for Broadcom.
In May, data protection vendor Veeam extended its server virtualization backup software to support open source virtualization platform Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE). This decision provides an alternative to virtualization giant VMware, which is a welcome change for smaller businesses using Veeam backup.
The first rule of systems administration is to make sure that there are tested, solid, multigenerational backups. Making good backups requires that the users have access to a quality backup tool. For many, Veeam is regarded as the gold standard in the world of virtual backup.
That need might have been the glue that Broadcom was hoping would keep SMB sys admins using VMware, even after the potential Broadcom price adjustments. VMware has benefited from a long relationship with Veeam, which provides fully accredited hypervisor support.
Prior to this change, Proxmox VE had a good backup tool, but nothing that had the appeal or ease of use of Veeam.
That was then; this is now. A collaboration between Veeam and Proxmox unlocks options for those SMBs looking to escape VMware. Veeam is not doing this out of charity, but might have realized that there is a huge market full of SMBs looking to move to smaller hypervisor providers, and new sales are good for business.
Proxmox/Veeam support is good news for SMBs
To paint a more nuanced picture: Large companies have several admins, sometimes even dedicated backup administrators. SMBs typically have one or two admins who are called upon to do everything, including backups. The IT requirements in SMBs are often much simpler as well.
A collaboration between Veeam and Proxmox unlocks options for those SMBs looking to escape VMware.
Smaller companies are not interested in more elaborate IT features, such as hypervisor automation, microsegmentation and hybrid workloads. Often, they just want the tools they use to continue to work well and the hypervisor to manage VMs without massive increases in underlying cost.
Proxmox VE as a hypervisor has the tools that a smaller company needs. The addition of Veeam backup completes the offering and addresses one element that was missing: quality hypervisor-aware backup software.
Most SMB IT is built on manual processes. Moving to a new hypervisor and learning to manage it is a big ask for IT staff. Smaller organizations do not have copious resources to throw at a problem. Learning a new backup tool at the same time just adds additional risk and complexity. The ability to stick with Veeam backup software is a major benefit for SMBs.
Prior to the Veeam and Proxmox collaboration, the lack of backup tools was likely a major reason that organizations did not make the change from VMware. In the IT world of smaller companies, the manufacturer name on the hypervisor doesn't really matter -- it's the tight backup integration that a Veeam/Proxmox linkup brings. Veeam is already a well-known, well-trusted vendor. For SMB workloads, Proxmox VE is an alternative offering with backup support and a good feature set.
Stuart Burns is a virtualization expert at a Fortune 500 company. He specializes in VMware and system integration with additional expertise in disaster recovery and systems management. Burns received vExpert status in 2015.
