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Quadric Software Delivers Enterprise Backup And DR Solutions For XenServer, Hyper-V, And Windows Servers

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Founded in 2008, Quadric Software, Inc. offers organizations of all sizes the high-performance and cost-effective solutions they need to meet their backup and business continuity requirements. Below is our recent interview with Max Ekstrom, CTO and co-founder of Quadric Software:

Max Ekstrom

Q: Backing up virtual servers is not a new concept. What features separate Alike from the technical advances in the backup and recovery industry over the past few years?

A: Alike’s key differentiator is its unrivaled global data deduplication. While many solutions offer incremental and differential backups, Alike offers massive storage savings across all backups. From a technical vantage, Alike uses block-level deduplication and only stores a single copy of each 512KB block protected. This approach is fast, scalable, and it saves a lot of money, making our solution a lot more affordable and flexible than competing solutions.

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Q: What other technical features differentiate Alike from its competitors?

A: There are countless features and implementation details that separate us, but they are all united by a common philosophy. Our approach is to use lightweight, flexible components, and avoiding heavyweight, awkward components. Lighter software performs better, is easier to install and configure, has fewer dependencies, fewer bugs, and saves the user a lot of valuable resources. Right now you can download our installer from our Website, and it’s under 60MB. Yet we have all the features of our competitors. With Alike, you get an enterprise solution with zero bloat. Compare that to anyone else in the industry.

Q: Most IT professionals who run Hyper-V have never heard of you. Why should they care about your Hyper-V technology?

A: It’s true. We built our reputation with the XenServer grassroots community, and we’re very grateful for our fanbase. That’s not just to say, “We’re big in Japan.” Citrix technology is deployed in every segment of every industry, and XenServer technology powers the biggest clouds on the planet. And while Quadric Software has proven to be the #1 backup solution for XenServer, SysAdmins running Hyper-V should care about us because of our overall commitment to offering a backup solution that simply works. I can’t tell you how many of our customers have told us that they appreciate having access to simple, reliable data protection for both XenServer and Hyper-V. Any IT pro using Hyper-V should know that we offer the same storage savings, the same powerful features, and the same easy-to-use solution that we offer to our XenServer users.

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Q: Tell us more about your strengths and weaknesses.

A: Our integration with XenServer may be our strongest asset, and here’s why. Software products aren’t just cool algorithms with flashy front-ends. Some of the thorniest problems involve integrating with vendor APIs. Most of our competitors are afraid of working with XenServer because of its complex API, while we have really taken the time to master it. Our backups are incredibly fast, reliable, and efficient, but this is the case for both XenServer and Hyper-V. So a seamless integration on the two platforms is absolutely something we do better than anyone. But right now, our lack of support for VMWare may be seen as a serious limitation, as is our reliance on a Windows install; however, we see it as an opportunity to focus on what has always been our bread and butter.

Q: Where is your technology going next?

A: We just launched the beta for our next-generation backup solution, Quadric A2. The Alike Appliance (A2) is a Linux virtual appliance that vastly simplifies licensing, deploying, and configuring our solution. There are far fewer independent variables to consider when rolling out an appliance versus a Windows-based install, such as the OS version, local disk configuration, and other software installs on the box—these problems, among others, are all headaches that no admin wants to deal with. A virtual appliance frees the customer to focus more on the backup process, and less on Windows administration. This also saves money on purchasing a Windows license.

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Q: What else can you tell us about this appliance currently in beta?

A: A2 is in phase one of the beta. In subsequent phases, we will roll out a new storage backend. The new A2 backend is really much more cloud-centric than Alike’s existing backend. It opens up our solution to the contemporary storage paradigms, where administrators are mixing in object storage alongside or on top of their existing block-centric infrastructure. This will allow A2 to scale up, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of manageability and flexibility. Our next stage in development is all about continuing to do what we do best—lightweight, flexible, affordable technology.

Q: Your newest case study explores why many backup rollouts fail. Could you tell us something more?

A: Happy to. Our case study with the San Joaquin Superior Court in California ended up a goldmine for best practices when working with a backup vendor. Before they tested Alike with our free trial, their admin had used a competitor’s solution, which ultimately failed and had to be replaced. He felt such a relief when he started working with us because it was clearly a better fit from the get-go. And we see this pattern again and again. Admins get these 2,000 pound Gorilla solutions dropshipped on them, and everyone expects magic to happen. In reality, it’s better to deploy a flexible solution backed by a flexible vendor.

But it’s not just about outperforming our competitors with our technology, either. It’s about people. And that’s the crux of the story in that case study, and for many of our customers. Alike users are impressed with the way our support team collaborates with them to make sure they get exactly what they need, which circles back to your original question: Avoiding a failed rollout is all about how you partner with your vendor, and whether or not your vendor has the capabilities, and the desire, to partner with you.

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