StorageCraft Technology Corp. has introduced a new licensing option for its ShadowProtect SPX backup and disaster recovery solution that lets MSPs pay based on the number of CPU sockets they use.
Under the new scheme, ShadowProtect SPX license fees reflect the number of sockets in a buyer’s host environment. That’s an option likely to hold appeal for users of ShadowProtect SPX’s virtual edition, according to Brian Wistisen, Draper, Utah-based StorageCraft’s director of product marketing.
“Virtual is a more fluid world,” he observes, with virtual machines appearing, disappearing, and moving at rapid clip. “It’s not a very pleasant experience to have to go through the purchasing process each and every time a new VM is added or decommissioned.”
Per-socket licensing spares MSPs the hassle of tracking license consumption and simplifies cost forecasting. It can also save them money, depending on the configuration and density of their virtual host infrastructure.
“Typically if you’re in that maybe five to six VM range, then it would be better to go the socket route,” says ShadowProtect SPX product manager Cody Carpenter. “If you’ve only got a couple of VMs per host, it would still be more cost-effective to go with the guest-based licensing.”
The new per-socket license plans come in two varieties: Essentials Socket Edition, a discounted two-socket bundle for virtual environments with up to six sockets, and Standard Socket Edition, which lets users with more than six sockets buy one-socket licenses individually. At present, both options are available on a perpetual basis only for environments running on hypervisor software from VMware and Microsoft. StorageCraft plans to add support for Citrix XenServer deployments in the future and may add a subscription-based variant as well, but declined to specify timing for either change.
StorageCraft is quick to acknowledge that per-socket licensing is hardly a newcomer to the BDR market. Acronis, Unitrends, and Veeam are three of many vendors that already offer it. Adding a socket-based licensing model of its own helps StorageCraft†level the playing field against such firms.
“Socket-based licensing is kind of becoming a standard, and so it also helps us to more easily compare with the competition,” Carpenter says.
Today’s announcement is but the latest in a string of moves by StorageCraft in what has already been a busy 2016. In January, the company accepted a $187 million investment from Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates. The following month it launched a temporary credit offer for buyers of its StorageCraft Cloud Services solution, introduced a joint NAS-based BDR solution with Buffalo Americas, and introduced a new release of StorageCraft Granular Recovery for Exchange.
