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August 19, 2014

Q&A: @Unitrends Showcases its Backup and Disaster Recovery Solution at #VMworld 2014 - Booth 634

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As part of VMblog's live VMworld 2014 coverage coming up this month, we're getting our schedule ready to learn as much as we can, as quickly as we can.  And I know attendees are doing the same.  The event is always jam packed with information coming in from every which way, so it is important to come up with a good game plan to try and follow as best you can throughout the event.  Part of our game plan is to get the lay of the land and figure out who will be on the exhibitor show floor.  Much like previous years, the sponsor list for VMworld 2014 is long and worthy, making it even more important to know ahead of time the who, where and what.
 
This time, we're focusing in on Unitrends, a leader in the IT protection and disaster recovery industry.  Their unique multi-environment arsenal of backup, archiving and disaster recovery solutions provides you with the technology you need to protect and preserve your physical, virtual, and cloud environments at an affordable price.  
 
VMblog:  Unitrends is once again sponsoring this year's VMworld event.  How can people find you?  And what's interesting about this year's booth?
Unitrends:  Unitrends is in booth 634.  We are sponsoring at the silver level, which includes a 10x20 booth.  Attendees can challenge their friends to a game of PacMan Battle Royale in our booth.  Four people can play at a time, and the 1st& 2nd place winners receive special prizes.
 
VMblog:  If an attendee likes what they see and hear at your booth... what message about your product can you send them back with to sell their boss on your technology?
Unitrends:  Unitrends allows for data recovery assurance, anywhere, anytime through the use of on-premise and off-premise backups, including the cloud.  Chosen as the #1 virtual server backup software by DCIG, Unitrends offers flexible deployments that include protection for heterogeneous environments.
 
VMblog:  With so many booths at VMworld, and so little time, why should an attendee put you on their MUST SEE list?
Unitrends:  Not only can they learn about all that Unitrends has to offer in terms of data protection, but they can take a break from the hustle and bustle of the conference, and relax while playing PacMan Battle Royale.  Also, everyone who visits the Unitrends booth will be eligible to win a full conference pass to VMworld 2015, to be given away on Wednesday, August 27th at 3:30pm PT.  We will also be giving away the winner's choice of an Xbox or PlayStation 15 minutes prior to the closing of the exhibition hall each day.
 
VMblog:  What do you like most about sponsoring VMworld? 
Unitrends:  VMworld is the premiere virtualization event, so we enjoy sponsoring VMworld for a chance to attend sessions about the future of virtualization, while also getting the chance to spend time with the other attendees, both in our booth and at social events, discussing the future of virtualization.  We're able to understand the specific needs of virtualization users from these discussions, which we then take back to our development team for inclusion into our roadmap.
 
VMblog:  Can you give VMblog readers a sneak peek as to what you will be showing off at your booth this year? 
Unitrends:  The Unitrends booth will be abuzz with discussions of our products built for virtualization: ReliableDR and Unitrends Virtual Backup, which are combined into a single product with Unitrends Enterprise Backup in our Unitrends Certified Recovery Suite.  These solutions improve the speed of backup and recovery, while easing the complexity associated with these tasks.
 
VMblog:  Please explain or give readers a few reasons why Unitrends is considered unique.
Unitrends:  Whether your environment is 1% or 100% virtual, Unitrends has a data protection solution for you.  Our flexible deployment options can protect completely virtual and heterogeneous environments with ease, and can include virtual, physical, and cloud level protection.  All Unitrends products are developed and supported by our award winning South Carolina based team.  With a 98% customer satisfaction rating, Unitrends is committed to easy recovery.
 
VMblog:  Most VMworld attendees enjoy a good giveaway or trade show tchotchke.  Are you guys doing anything special?  What can they expect to find at your booth?
Unitrends:  The Unitrends booth will be chocked full of fun giveaways.  Anyone who stops by will be able to pick up their choice of funny pins to add to their collection, and we'll be giving away scratch off lottery tickets randomly when our team spots attendees wearing our pins beginning on Monday, August 25th.  If you play, and win at PacMan Battle Royale, you can win a charging buddy (one cord that can charge up to 5 devices at once) or a fun yo-yo.  And don't forget that we'll be giving away an Xbox or PlayStation each day, and one lucky attendee will win a full conference pass to VMworld 2015.
 
VMblog:  What are you guys looking forward to most at VMworld this year?
Unitrends:  We're excited to be back in the expo hall after a 1 year hiatus, and for some of the social events.  The official VMworld party on Wednesday featuring the Black Keys and the Spiceworks party on Tuesday are both events on our list of must dos.
 
VMblog:  You had a one year hiatus, but you've been a show sponsor before.  What keeps you coming back?
Unitrends:  Unitrends sponsored in 2012, and took somewhat of a hiatus in 2013, sending a special crew to spread the word about our free version that protects ESXi clients on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 only, so we're excited to attend as a silver level sponsor in 2014. Unitrends keeps coming back because of the attendees.  It's such a great event to get some face time with our users, partners, and prospective users, that we just can't stay away.
 
VMblog:  And do you remember your first VMworld?  If so, what can you tell us about it?
Unitrends:  Unitrends first VMworld was in 2012.  It was our first conference of this scale, so the entire team that attended was excited to be in San Francisco.  It was busy, fun, and very memorable, and left us wanting more, so we're back in 2014!
 
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VMblog is also excited to be back in 2014!  And for those of you also attending, make sure to swing by and meet with Unitrends at the show.  You can find them out on the show floor this year at booth #634.
Last modified on August 19, 2014
David Marshall

David Marshall has been involved in the technology industry for over 19 years, and he's been working with virtualization software since 1999. He was able to become an industry expert in virtualization by becoming a pioneer in that field - one of the few people in the industry allowed to work with Alpha stage server virtualization software from industry leaders: VMware (ESX Server), Connectix and Microsoft (Virtual Server).

Through the years, he has invented, marketed and helped launch a number of successful virtualization software companies and products. David holds a BS degree in Finance, an Information Technology Certification, and a number of vendor certifications from Microsoft, CompTia and others. He's also co-authored two published books: "VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center" and "Advanced Server Virtualization: VMware and Microsoft Platforms in the Virtual Data Center" and acted as technical editor for two popular Virtualization "For Dummies" books. With his remaining spare time, David founded and operates one of the oldest independent virtualization news blogs, VMblog.com. And co-founded CloudCow.com, a publication dedicated to Cloud Computing. Starting in 2009 and continuing all the way to 2016, David has been honored with the vExpert distinction by VMware for his virtualization evangelism.