Veeam is holding its yearly partner and customer event in San Diego this year, and as is customary, has made several announcements about its new and upcoming solutions and technology initiatives. Here’s a quick recap:
Enhanced AI Integration with Backup Data Storage
Veeam Software has unveiled capabilities to integrate AI with its backup data storage, powered by the Model Context Protocol (MCP) developed by Anthropic. This integration allows AI systems to tap into and use the wealth of data stored in Veeam repositories, transforming this data into an invaluable asset for informed decision-making and pioneering AI advancements.
Key Features of the MCP Integration
- Natural language queries to discover and retrieve documents
- Summarizing conversations from archived emails or tickets
- Automating compliance and e-discovery processes
- Enriching AI agents with enterprise-specific context
In summary, the MCP standard establishes a seamless connection between AI agents, organizational systems, and data repositories, positioning Veeam as a universal conduit between mission-critical data and enterprise AI tools. This integration will enhance data accessibility, improve decision-making, and simplify connectivity between Veeam and AI platforms.
Quick Take:
From my standpoint, this is the most interesting announcement as it captures a fundamental market shift and opportunity to combine the two sides of the relationship between data protection and AI.
Protecting new and complex AI workloads while leveraging ML and AI in data protection and cyber resilience is technically and operationally complex.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) present transformative opportunities for IT and organizations. It is essential to address key questions regarding the volume of AI-generated data requiring protection, including potential threats posed by AI agents. Additionally, evolving backup and recovery processes must leverage these emerging technologies. As AI integration grows within organizations, prioritizing the protection of these critical data assets becomes increasingly essential.
Organizations must strategically invest in infrastructure, personnel, and processes to counter evolving data and availability risks. While some backup solutions already utilize AI and machine learning, there is a rising interest in enhancing autonomous data protection due to the increasing incidence of data loss from cybercriminal activities and poorly deployed AI implementations. Organizations should also consider the potential impact of generative AI, which can significantly expand data backup capabilities.
The just-announced integration is based on a strategy that captures the complexities it seeks to alleviate. It is likely only the first step for Veeam, and Niraj provided more details on his vision and general strategy for AI, which goes well beyond this initial integration.
Veeam’s AI vision is structured around five pivotal pillars:
- AI Infrastructure Resilience: Ensuring AI applications and data remain secure and resilient
- Data Intelligence: Leveraging protected data for AI applications
- Data Security: Enhancing security with advanced AI and ML techniques
- Admin Assist: Providing AI-driven support and recommendations for backup administrators
- Data Resilience Operations: Implementing intelligent backups, restores, and sensitive data analysis
In essence, Veeam will leverage Veeam Data Vault and Inventory Store (catalog, metadata, graph, metrics) as its foundation to deliver an Intelligence and Classification Engine. The Vector Store delivers data intelligence leveraging MCP from the same foundational blocks. With the help of an ISV ecosystem, various Veeam AI-powered apps, such as eDiscovery or Sensitive data analysis, will be possible. I expect to cover this in more detail in the future.
I can’t wait to see what else Niraj Tolia (CTO) and his team come up with in the next few quarters.
In Beta: The Veeam Software Appliance
After many years of flirting with the idea of an appliance, Veeam is now beta-testing its software appliance – a Linux-based appliance, to be precise. This appliance is architected following the following principles:
Pre-Built – Simple to Deploy
- Appliance OS, aka “Just Enough OS” (JeOS), and Veeam software are packaged together and maintained by Veeam
- Delivered as installation media (ISO) or as Virtual Appliance (OVA) for quick, effortless deployment
- 100% software-defined and hardware-agnostic means you can deploy the software appliance anywhere and run it on anything: physical, virtual, cloud
- Simple web Ul for all common host OS management tools
Pre-Hardened – Secure by Default
- Appliance OS is pre-configured according to DISA STIG guidelines
- Reduced attack surface with SSH and integration services disabled
- Reduced privilege escalation opportunities for vulnerabilities with low-privileged services architecture
- Automatic security updates with centralized management – ongoing patching and hardening to enhance the security posture
- Backup infrastructure components deployed from JeOS ISO enjoy the same benefits of centralized patching and hardening
Predictable – True Zero Trust Operations
- Appliance OS root privileges are not available to backup server admins (or to any other users and roles)
- Any sensitive host operations and configuration changes must be approved by the dedicated Security Officer role
- Mandatory MFA and secure passwords policy according to DISA STIG
- SAML (SSO) integration for frictionless backup console access
Quick Take:
I expect that many end users and the channel partners who serve them will enthusiastically adopt it when it becomes generally available. Based on what was communicated today, this solution’s features appear in strong alignment with market needs, with security and ease of deployment at the heart of the design. It is in Beta, so stay tuned!
Veeam’s Data Resilience Maturity Model (DRMM)
Veeam has unveiled the Data Resilience Maturity Model (DRMM), a framework designed to help organizations assess and enhance their data resilience capabilities. Research conducted with McKinsey highlighted a gap between perceived and actual resilience, with only 10% of organizations exceeding the average.
The DRMM framework offers insights to align human resources, processes, and technical capabilities with robust data strategies. This alignment helps manage risks and maintain a competitive edge. Findings indicate that most organizations fall into the lower tiers of maturity, while those at the highest levels demonstrate better recovery from outages with minimal downtime and data loss.
Data resilience has become a strategic priority due to its critical role in safeguarding business operations from cyberattacks and IT outages. The DRMM framework categorizes organizations into four maturity levels, emphasizing the importance of a collective commitment to data resilience from executive leadership beyond just the IT department.
Investments in data resilience can lead to significant returns, such as improved uptime, reduced incident costs, and enhanced operational agility. Organizations are encouraged to improve their resilience by participating in Veeam’s workshops, which aim to reduce exposure and foster innovation.
Quick Take:
Cyber risks significantly affect organizations globally, and IT leaders must fully understand the magnitude and multifaceted nature of these threats despite the challenges involved in addressing them. IT departments require prescriptive guidance and education to mitigate their cyber resiliency risks. Cube Research’s recent Cyber Resiliency Summit (to which Veeam’s CEO, Anand Eswaran, participated) covered these topics from multiple angles and highlighted how much work remains.
This is where the model is anticipated to be beneficial.
The Data Resilience Maturity Model is grounded in extensive research and empirical evidence from many years of experience and expertise from the various parties involved. There is a pressing need for education in the market, as end-users often struggle to respond effectively to rapidly evolving cyber risks.
I also expect Veeam’s field consultants to use this as a consultative discussion tool. I look forward to seeing how it is deployed, how many organizations will benefit from this approach, and how Veeam’s channel will leverage it.
Expanding Capabilities and Integrations For Cyber Resiliency
Introducing Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft Entra ID
In addition to the DRMM framework, Veeam Software has introduced Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft Entra ID, a SaaS solution designed to protect organizations’ digital identities from cyber threats. This platform enhances business continuity and efficiency by utilizing cloud-native technologies and artificial intelligence.
Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft Entra ID offers backup and restore capabilities for users, groups, and application registrations. Experts manage this service and reduce the need for ongoing maintenance, updates, and security fixes.
Key Features of Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft Entra ID include proactive protection to improve visibility and control over changes, “effortless” recovery for swift restoration from incidents, and a secure backup service that provides robust security for backed-up data.
This solution helps organizations address cybersecurity threats, comply with regulations, and recover quickly from issues affecting Entra ID.
CrowdStrike Partnership
Veeam Software also announced a new partnership with CrowdStrike to enhance data security and operational efficiency across IT ecosystems. This collaboration integrates Veeam’s Data Platform with CrowdStrike’s Falcon cybersecurity platform, enabling centralized critical data visibility and advanced threat detection. The integration includes two new products: the Veeam App for CrowdStrike Falcon LogScale and the Veeam Data Connector for CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM. These allow organizations to view system activity and security events better, thereby improving their ability to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber incidents.
The new integrations enhance visibility, streamline security operations, and provide a unified defense against cyber threats. The expected outcomes are to minimize business disruption and ensure rapid recovery, offering complete protection across various data environments, including cloud, virtual, physical, enterprise applications, and unstructured data.
Quick Take:
These are “no-brainer” integrations for Veeam as it continues to build on what has now become a broad ecosystem of partners to support the broader topic of cyber resiliency. Veeam has built an impressive ecosystem of over 60 cyber resiliency partnerships in the past couple of years to provide better integration in the varied permutations of technology stacks customers may be using. That’s the name of the game in cyber resiliency.
Other Announcements
Veeam also announced its inaugural ESG Report, highlighting achievements in recycling, LEED certifications, emission reductions, community service, women’s certifications in technology, employee benefits, cybersecurity training, ISO certifications, and implementing a Generative AI Policy.
The company also announced the findings of their latest research, titled “From Risk to Resilience: Veeam 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies Report,” revealing significant insights into the evolving threat landscape of ransomware attacks. With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated and frequent, the report underscores organizations’ need to prioritize their defenses, mitigate risks, and ensure effective recovery. To address these persistent cyber threats, the report offers several actionable steps organizations can implement to enhance their defenses, reduce risks, and expedite recovery. Additionally, it highlights the best practices of companies that have successfully managed to recover.
Stay tuned for an analyst angle discussion recapping this event with Zeus Kerravala from ZK Research in the next few days.
