Gartner defines backup and data protection platforms as platforms that capture point-in-time copies of enterprise data for multiple use cases. Primarily used for recovering data from multiple data loss scenarios, they enhance data protection initiatives to improve cyberreadiness and risk management, extract new data insights, and expand data access capabilities. These platforms protect enterprise data in hybrid, multicloud and SaaS environments. Backup and data protection platforms are available as software-only, integrated appliances, and vendor-developed and hosted backup as a service (BaaS).
The hybrid cloud storage market comprises diverse deployment patterns with underlying technologies that address a wide range of data types. Products in this market must facilitate seamless data services across different environments, including disparate data centers, colocations, edge locations and public cloud infrastructure. Hybrid cloud data solutions are offered through various means such as distributed hybrid infrastructure (DHI), hybrid cloud storage platforms, data transfer appliances, hyperconverged solutions, storage arrays, software-defined storage (SDS) products and comprehensive data management software.