Virtualisation tools specialist Veeam has released an add-on for its Backup & Replication 6.5 platform that can automatically copy virtual machine backups to cloud-based storage services.

The tool offers a time-saving alternative for administrators who need to ensure backups are held in an off-site repository to comply with regulations.

Available immediately, Veeam Backup & Replication Cloud Edition enables IT departments to automate the copying of backups to any of 15 different cloud-based storage services, including Amazon’s S3 or Glacier platforms, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace or HP Cloud.

However, instead of issuing a major update to its Backup & Replication suite, which provides backup protection for virtual machines and their data in VMware or Hyper-V environments, Veeam is delivering it as a separate add-on to Backup & Replication 6.5 that deals solely with transferring files off-site.

“Backup & Replication Cloud Edition still counts as version 6.5, but we haven’t changed the code. It is implemented as an engine that you can install next to your current 6.5 deployment that offloads your backup files to a location off-premise,” Veeam chief evangelist in EMEA Hans De Leenheer told V3.

He explained that customers had were happy with Backup & Replication 6.5, but that for regulatory reasons some needed a way to get backups to an off-site location, in case their offices should be destroyed.

While not addressing any major technical issue, the tool makes it as easy as possible for an administrator to configure a regular, automatic transfer of backup files to the cloud repository.

Veeam also implemented the feature this way because backing up virtual machines directly to the cloud would have a huge impact on latency, according to De Leenheer.

Likewise, the tool does not enable users to perform a recovery directly from the cloud. Instead, users must use the cloud engine to retrieve the correct off-site archive before kicking off a local recovery, as is the normal procedure for Backup & Replication 6.5.

“It’s just a convenient and affordable alternative to sending tape to a traditional offsite backup vault,” said De Leenheer.

Veeam Backup & Replication Cloud Edition is available under annual subscription licensing. Existing customers can add a Cloud Edition license to their existing Veeam Backup & Replication perpetual licenses, the firm said.