Backup Exec reduces complexity by enabling users to backup an unlimited number of guest machines within a VMware ESX or Microsoft Hyper-V host environment to disk or tape from a single agent.

The major focus of Symantec for this product is to create awareness about virtualization, create a market for the same in the SMB sector and push this concept along with their product through the channel partners by enabling and educating them. Riddle is therefore here in India himself to train the channel partners, to create awareness as well as confidence among its partners. "I am down here myself to give face-to-face training to the top 50-60 partners in all the major cities of the country. Apart from this, we are also giving out white papers and materials on 'what to talk about this product to the customer' to our partners online. We are also having a lot of training programs for our partners."

According to Ajay Verma, the biggest challenge they are facing as far as channel partners are concerned is to get them to their online portal and make them read and get certified online. "We are well aware that online material does not really appeal to the partners and is therefore of not any real use in the end. That is why we have training programs in places like Ludhiana, Indore, etc. We are trying our best to come over this problem and conduct more training camps in Tier II and III cities, giving hands-on training to our partners."

Speaking about the problems that their partners are facing, Verma says, "In this period of economic uncertainty, the biggest challenge for our partners is 'How to keep their customers spending money on products?' Educating the customer about the new trends, creating new markets, capturing the existing ones and attrition are some of the big challenges."

The latest release of the Backup Exec family provides new integration to support the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 portfolio, including Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Essential Business Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008. Symantec also plans to come up with Backup Exec Infrastructure Manager 12.5 which will have a web-based interface to allow convenient access and easy management of Backup Exec infrastructure from any location and presents the IT administrator with a graphical map of their entire Backup Exec deployment. This product will be launched in the fall of 2008.