VMblog: If you were giving a VMware Explore attendee a quick overview of the company, what would you say? How would you describe the company?
Tony Liau: Founded by the original co-founders of Veeam-Ratmir Timashev and Andrei Baronov-Object First has built the best storage for Veeam. We achieve this by delivering a purpose-built backup storage appliance that is secure, simple, and powerful. Our vision is that nobody will have to pay a data ransom ever again.
VMblog: What made your company sponsor VMware Explore this year? Why is this a must sponsor event for your company? Is this your company's first time sponsoring this event? If so, why this year? If not, what keeps you coming back to this event?
Liau: We've been sponsors of VMware Explore since we came out of stealth in June of 2022. We believe it is a great event to explore new perspectives to inspire innovation and professional growth. Furthermore, since we're designed and optimized for Veeam, and Veeam is the #1 backup and recovery solution for VMware, many of our customers and partners will be in attendance.
VMblog: Do you have any speaking sessions during the event? If so, can you give us the details?
Liau: Our very own Anthony Cusimano-Chief Evangelist and Director of Technical Marketing-will be speaking in the Veeam booth on Tuesday, August 22 at 4pm PT. He will be sharing best practices on building resilient data protection and how to leverage immutable storage to ransomware-proof your backups.
VMblog: What are you personally most interested in seeing or learning at VMware Explore?
Liau: I want to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing today's enterprise developers and IT professionals and the solutions and guidance to address them. Ransomware continues to be a hotbutton issue, along with the repatriation of data from cloud to on-prem as we move towards a more hybrid world.
VMblog: Can you give us the high-level rundown of your company's technology offerings? What kind of message will an attendee hear from you this year?
Liau: Ootbi by Object First is the best storage for Veeam. Ransomware-proof and immutable out-of-the-box, Ootbi by Object First delivers secure, simple, and powerful backup storage for Veeam customers.
VMblog: Talking about your product solutions, can you give readers a few examples of how your offerings are unique? What are your differentiators? What sets you apart from the competition?
Liau: In a world where businesses fall victim to ransomware every 11 seconds and backups often become the target, Ootbi's ransomware-proof and immutable out-of-the-box design is a lifesaver. Built-in immutability drastically reduces the risk of ransomware encrypting backup data, and a hardened operating system ensures zero access to root, maintaining data integrity. When ransomware strikes, you can confidently recover your primary data with Ootbi.
IT administrators, often bogged down by resource constraints, need solutions that save time for strategic initiatives. Ootbi can be racked, stacked, and powered in just minutes, not hours or days. Want to scale performance and capacity? Just add another node. With automated features like load-balancing, self-healing, and on-demand scaling, Ootbi abstracts complexity into simplicity.
Data loss and downtime are unacceptable in today's competitive landscape. Ootbi is designed and optimized for maximum backup and recovery performance. It supercharges Instant Recovery, allowing failed workloads to run directly from backups within minutes, ensuring that your data is not only protected but also instantly recoverable.
VMblog: What specifically does your company offer a VMware shop or a VMware implementation? What problems do you solve for them?
Liau: Veeam is the #1 backup and recovery platform for virtual environments and specifically for VMware shops. Ootbi by Object First is the first and only storage appliance designed and optimized for Veeam, embodying the trifecta of being secure, simple, and powerful. Its built-in immutability, rapid deployment, and superior recovery capabilities make it a go-to choice for VMware shops seeking to ransomware-proof their VM backups.
No more choosing between security, simplicity, and performance. Ootbi provides it all, right out of the box. It's not just storage; it's confidence, efficiency, and power all rolled into a purpose-built appliance. Whether you're defending against ransomware or recovering data at lightning speed, Ootbi-the best storage for Veeam-is ready to deliver.
VMblog: VMware gets the big stage to deliver their message during the keynote sessions. If you were giving the keynote, what big topics would you discuss?
Liau: Ransomware is both inevitable and expensive.
VMblog: Are you giving away any prizes at your booth or participating in any prize giveaways?
Liau: We'll have a large screen in our booth running the classic Geometry Wars and showing how Ootbi can protect users from the threat of ransomware. The person with the highest score will win our grand prize - a Steam Deck!
Furthermore, we'll also be showing off our new ransomware mobile game. Complete the challenage for a chance to win an epic LEGO set. Come by our booth to see which LEGO set we're showing off this time.
VMblog: Is your company sponsoring any type of party or get together during the event?
Liau: Object First and Veeam are the two exclusive sponsors for this years VMunderground party. This will be the 15th anniversary of everyone's favorite software-defined warm-up party for VMworld, now VMware Explore.
VMblog: Do you have any advice for attendees of the show?
Liau: Practice saying "VMware Explore" at least 50 times before showing up so you don't continue to accidentally call it VMworld like me (and everybody else).
