CA Centralizes Backup of Mobile SystemsCA Centralizes Backup of Mobile Systems

Users are increasingly away from corporate headquarters. Add to that the reality of mobile computers being routinely chosen over desktop models, and it becomes clear that much of a company's most important information is out on the edge of the corporate network. Any disconnect between remote users and a company's backup and recovery process is therefore unacceptable.

To help eliminate any such disconnect, Computer Associates on Monday will unveil BrightStor Mobile Backup 4.0. The existing product is split between a server and any number of mobile computers, backing up changes to files. It operates according to user commands or completely in the background, since most users don't even think about backup.

Version 4.0 will add three major enhancements. Centralized Management provides a central console for all mobile computers, while servers closer to the mobile computers continue to receive all changes made to files after the initial installation, when all existing files are backed up. Before, management had to take place at each of those servers closer to the edge. The second enhancement, Cross Server Management, lets a single administrator from the central console move a user's information from one location to another when that person moves. Finally, policies built into the product let nontechnical workers kick off backups and distribute software automatically.

Free trials of Mobile Backup 4.0 are available at the vendor's Web site. The software is priced at $495 for 10 users and $2,995 for 100.

Marco Coulter, CA's BrightStor divisional VP, hopes this latest version bridges the gap in backing up mobile systems. "IT hasn't been interested because service-level agreements often don't cover data on the mobile computers," he says, "but business is very concerned with data on those computers."

Carolyn Dicenzo, an industry analyst at Gartner, said CA has point products in storage management but is putting them in a broader strategic context. "They're working common services through the products and not just rehashing old code from their acquisitions."