The first time I used Veeam's backup software was in 2010. Up to that point I'd had experience with Symantec Backup Exec, Microsoft Data Protection Manager, and Commvault Simpana. The first time I used VBR to backup my vSphere infrastructure it was like the proverbial iced water to a man in hell.
As a consultant I'd deployed VBR for customers more times than I can count. Bringing iced water to the hot masses.
Today's news has me worried for their future:
Insight Partners is acquiring Veeam Software Group GmbH, a cloud-focused backup and disaster recovery services provider, in a deal valued at about $5 billion—one of the largest ever for the firm.
Veeam—first backed by Insight in 2013 with a minority investment—will move its headquarters to the U.S. from Baar, Switzerland, as a result of the acquisition. The deal is intended to help increase the company’s share of the American market.
Hopefully my worry is for nothing, but Insight Partners is a private equity firm. What does that mean, exactly, remains to be seen. But generally speaking:
- It restructures the acquired firm and attempts to resell at a higher value.
- Private equity makes extensive use of debt financing to purchase companies.
Also, as noted by Blocks & Files:
Co-founders Andrei Baronov and Ratmir Timashev will step down from the board. Baranov and Timashev founded Veeam in 2006 and took in no outside funding until the Insight $500m injection in January 2019.
I sincerely hope that I'm wrong in my gut reaction here, but wish the best of luck to all my friends at Veeam.