Metallic Enhancements: A Step-by-Step Guide

Summary

This article provides a comprehensive guide to the latest enhancements and features of Metallic, a SaaS data protection platform. It outlines key improvements, including a new backup copy health report, Nutanix AHV support, and enhanced support for Azure SQL. By following the steps outlined, users can optimize their data protection strategies.

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** Main Story**

Okay, so you’re looking at modernizing your data protection? In today’s world, where everything’s digital and changing fast, that’s definitely top of mind for most of us. Metallic, it’s that SaaS-based platform that’s been getting awards, is constantly adding new stuff to keep up. I thought I’d run through some key things that can help you level up your strategy. And yeah, it’s April 5th, 2025 as I’m writing this, but things move fast, so always double-check the latest.

Checking Your Backup Health

First things first: gotta make sure your backups are actually good, right? Metallic has this new “IntelliSnap Backup Copy Health” Report, it’s pretty handy. Both users and admins can use it to keep an eye on things, spot potential problems, and make sure your data’s actually recoverable. I can’t stress enough the importance of regularly testing your backups, its saved me on more than one occasion.

Expanding Platform Coverage

So, now Metallic works with Nutanix AHV, which is good news for those of you using that. It includes IntelliSnap technology too. What this means is, you can now back up and recover your Nutanix AHV virtual environments more smoothly. It’s all about streamlining, isn’t it?

Protecting Teams Chats

Think about all those important conversations happening on Microsoft Teams. We use it constantly. Now you can protect those 1:1 and group chats, that’s super important. This uses the Microsoft Teams Export API. This feature is for safeguarding those vital conversations for the users that matter, make sure you’re using it.

Optimizing Azure Integration

Azure users, listen up! There’s some good news here. The Azure SQL backup updates mean you don’t need staging storage accounts anymore! Less complication, better performance – win-win. And for Azure VMs, there’s now expanded API support that lets you restore VMs in-place, or to another Azure region. This is a big deal for disaster recovery and migrations. We did a cross-region restore test recently, it went way smoother than before.

Windows and Hybrid Cloud Streamlining

For those running Windows, there’s a Backup Gateway Installer Enhancement now. It lets you set up a separate data drive for those heavy I/O operations. That way, you’re not bogging down your OS drive, keeping things running smooth. Plus, Metallic has these pre-canned storage plan templates, sounds boring I know, but its great for hybrid cloud setups. These templates make sure your storage is allocated in the best way and that you’re not wasting money with inefficient usage.

Better Microsoft 365 Protection

Let’s be honest, protecting Microsoft 365 data is essential now. So, Metallic’s made onboarding easier for Microsoft 365 and Endpoint admins. This means quicker setups and fewer mistakes. Also, they’ve made restoring Exchange Online and OneDrive data more efficient. The Exchange restore jobs can now be restarted, so you can pick up where you left off. No more starting from scratch! And OneDrive restores have been optimized too, saving time and resources.

OCI Marketplace Private Offers

Hey Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) users, you can now use OCI universal credits to buy Metallic through OCI private offers. Making procurement a breeze.

Stepping Back: Your Broader Data Protection Strategy

These enhancements are great, no question. But don’t get too caught up in the details. You need a broader strategy. Think about your specific needs, and look at all the options. Maybe that includes other Metallic features, like the cloud platform support, or the integration with other Commvault products. And, stay on top of industry best practices and any new threats. It sounds like a lot, but it’s worth it to have a solid data protection plan. What good is a safety net, if it has holes?