Pulseway has added a direct-to-cloud endpoint backup solution to its suite of applications for managed service providers.
The new system, which complements an existing BDR and business continuity solution that has on-premises failover capabilities, allows users to copy files and folders on workstations and servers to the cloud and recover them on demand. That’s functionality Pulseway’s MSP partners have long wanted, according to Marius Mihalec, the vendor’s CEO.
“I don’t think there is any other feature recently that has gotten this much interest,” he says.
Tightly integrated with Pulseway’s RMM and PSA solutions, and equipped with a similar UI, Pulseway Cloud Backup includes extensive automation functionality designed to make configuring and managing backups simple. Once users create a new backup job and assign end user assets to it, the system automatically executes backups, collects status information, and issues alerts about failed backups.
“You don’t have to worry about the heavy lifting. All you have to do is define a backup template,” Mihalec says. “Everything else is done automatically for you behind scenes.”
The end result for technicians, he continues, is a familiar, intuitive experience that allows MSPs to safeguard files and folders without compromising productivity.
“Our goal was to have a complete integration that follows the workflow of our users and that is easy to use, easy to configure, and that just works from day one,” Mihalec says. “Once you setup a backup job, you know your assets included in that job are protected.”
Like all of Pulseway’s offerings, the new system is tailored to the needs of mobile users, so technicians can add assets to a backup job or recover files and folders from inside the vendor’s mobile app.
The solution comes with a color-coded dashboard as well that displays backup health information, including a backup health score, based on customizable parameters. By default, for example, the system labels workstation backups successfully completed within the last three days very healthy and backups performed in the last four to 14 days somewhat healthy. Anything beyond that is flagged as a potential problem.†
“Visually, straight away, you have a very good idea on how you’re doing,” Mihalec says.
Users can click through directly from the dashboard to see which devices in a backup job require follow-up. They can also set different health parameters for specific backup jobs and specific sets of devices.
Pricing for cloud backup runs at a flat $10 per workstation per month for up to 1TB of data and 30 days of retention. “That keeps it very simple for our customers that have a lot of workstations,” Mihalec says. “It’s a very predictable price.”
Server protection is available in stackable 500GB blocks that cost $52 a month for 90 days of retention, $57 a month for a year of retention, and $83 a month for unlimited retention.
The BDR product Pulseway already offers, which is based on technology from Kaseya’s Unitrends unit, will remain available to help MSPs minimize downtime during incidents involving large amounts of data or many endpoints.
“Having a local appliance where you can spin up a virtual machine, with that virtual server up and running in about 15 minutes, is invaluable for that,” Mihalec says.
Future releases of Pulseway Cloud Backup will include built-in ransomware protection, as well as the option to backup complete disk images to the cloud.
The addition of direct-to-cloud endpoint backup to Pulseway’s portfolio comes at the end of a busy year for the vendor in which it also built patching for third-party software into its RMM platform, introduced two-factor authentication, and added remote control functionality to its mobile app, among other enhancements.
Coming next is an updated edition of the company’s automation module that will let technicians define and executed workflows using graphical drag-and-drop tools. A library of pre-defined workflows from both Pulseway itself and its partners is in the works as well.
The company also plans to synchronize functionality for both the web-based and mobile versions of its PSA system so that users can create, edit, and close tickets from either one.
Further out on the roadmap are upgrades to the remote control solution that will allow technicians to run it from inside the vendor’s web interface as well as the mobile app. Unlike the mobile version of the system, which must fit everything it does within a smartphone’s compact display, the web version will be capable of handling multiple remote sessions simultaneously.
