Veeam Software is a US-based information technology company that develops backup, disaster recovery, and modern data protection software for virtual, physical, and multi-cloud infrastructures. Kinda Baydoun, Manager of Channels & Distribution – Middle East, Veeam speaks to The Integrator on Veeam’s SME-specific data protection solutions and channel strategies.

What solutions does Veeam present to its enterprise customers in the region? Tell us also about your experience at GITEX.

Veeam offers modern data protection solutions to customers across the enterprise portfolio. Another one is cloud solutions include Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) with very reliable and simple recovery standards.

At GITEX, we held a live demonstration of these latest innovations. Besides, we showcased the ransomware protection solutions we offer as it is one of the hot topics in the post-pandemic era. We offer robust and solid solutions for ransomware protection to help our customers from data loss and financial risks. Our demonstrations also included: the hybrid cloud acceleration to help our customers protect their workloads when moving to the cloud, which is critical as cloud adoption is rapidly growing in the region. Moreover, on our stand, we demonstrated Kasten (acquired by Veeam back in 2020) which is a data protection solution that is purpose-built for Kubernetes environments.

Elaborate about the data management solutions Veeam offers

At Veeam, we ease customer challenges by offering seamless and comprehensive data management and mobility solutions, across the public and private cloud with 100 percent data portability. Wherever this data is kept, we ensure it is protected even while it moves from one environment to another.

We presented VMware Orchestrator, with which our customers can automate disaster recovery planning as well as help them meet the objectives of DRI for business continuity and compliance. Similarly, we had recently acquired Kasten, which facilitates easy-to-use data backup and recovery.

Excellent, thank you for giving us comprehensive input on your solutions. What is your regional strategy and which are the industries you focus on?

We wish to focus on all industry verticals and our solutions are also made to fit most industries. We are getting requests from all verticals as data is becoming very precious and needs to be protected. It is important for all businesses including telecom, banks, oil and gas, hospitality, etc.

We have a very solid SMB customer base and they raise high demands for stable and solid solutions.

Being the Manager of Channel and Distribution in the Middle East, what are your priorities?

I have been in this role for the past six months and my priority is to evaluate our current channel ecosystem and segment this into four categories, which takes into account the size of the channel partner from a VEEAM revenue perspective vs. their level of commitment. The channel ecosystem consists of our partners, distributors, and service providers who provide growth and reach for Veeam products. As I come from a channel background, I have deep knowledge about the market. So, my focus also is to onboard some new names in the market, especially in the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) space.

Tell us how did the COVID-19 Pandemic impact Veeam’s business?

The pandemic had created an unpleasant situation for all of us. At Veeam, we had orchestrated a shift in our approach from centralization to decentralization because most of our customers mandated their employees to work from home or work remotely. We had quickly responded to our customers’ needs. Thus, it didn’t take a toll on our business operations.