Symantec’s decision earlier this year to stop selling Backup Exec.cloud has caused a ripple effect in the channel. Already, companies like Asigra and Zetta.net have announced programs to get their respective MSP resellers to capitalize on Symantec’s decision, which has left quite a few end user customers wondering where they will be storing their data.
More interesting than watching the frenzy of cloud backup vendors (and their respective MSP communities) try and sign up Symantec customers, is the possible moves available to Symantec in the near future. The security vendor has been long engaged in the managed services and cloud provider community, but decision like the one to stop selling Backup Exec.cloud, may cause some to wonder what the longer term play is for Symantec. Here are some of my thoughts.
What’s Next For Symantec?
With the anti virus market place suffering its own commodity pressures, a company like Symantec needs to expand its portfolio of services and offerings to the end user and MSP channel. A move like discontinuing a cloud based backup product in 2014 may seem like a bad move. While it appears that Symantec made this decision due to technical reasons, it certainly does not engender a lot of confidence in the Symantec brand. However, there could be a silver lining for Symantec depending on what happens in the near future.
If companies like Asigra and Zetta.net have success in capturing former Symantec market share, it would be wise for Symantec executives to observe this marketplace and learn from what happens. What could Symantec gain from watching this market over the next 12 months?
- Buying trends and habits of both customers and channel partners
- Buys time for Symantec to decide what their next move will be
- Observe which vendors may be ripe for M&A
The M&A aspect is intriguing, since a Gartner Magic Quadrant company like Asigra would be a nice addition to Symantec’s line up, especially if Asigra continues to demonstrate success in selling to former Symantec customers. I am not saying that Asigra is for sale or that Symantec is even looking to make an acquisition, this is just speculation on my part. However, it seems very apparent to me (and many others) that Symantec cannot cede the cloud backup market segment to the rest of the community.
Symantec has long had a role to play in backup and it definitely needs one in 2014. A cloud backup solution is almost mandatory for a company like Symantec in an age where cloud based services are being delivered by most of their competitors. Technical and business transitions can be difficult. Many companies have struggled with the on premise and traditional software models to consumption based cloud computing models.
One of the best ways large companies like Symantec can deal with these complex transitions is through acquisition. It will be interesting to see what happens next.