Mozy Touts Device Neutral Cloud Storage With Stash

Mozy is looking to improve its cloud-based backup and storage after it announced the public beta availability of Mozy Stash.

Like standard Mozy, Stash provides users with cloud-based access to their backed-up files, but it also enables availability to them at all times and across multiple devices – including all computers, smartphones and tablets.

Device Independence

With the Stash announcement Mozy (VMware’s cloud storage provider) said that Stash folders provide users with cloud-based access to their backed-up files, but they also enable availability to them at all times and across multiple devices – including all computers, smartphones and tablets.

In other words, anything that uses a browser can see the files – at the same time, if need be. Operating systems and device brands are irrelevant.

Stash’s file synchronisation feature gives users a simple way to keep their data up to date across each of the computers they use. As soon as a file is placed in a local Stash folder – say, on a laptop – it quickly becomes available online for all devices a person uses (tablets, notebooks, smartphones, desktops). There is no need to wait for a backup or hit an upload button.

It is worth pointing out that others, such as Box, Dropbox and SugarSync have provided this across-all-worlds access for the last couple of years, and they are building successful cloud services businesses on it. In fact, Box, probably the hottest of the new-gen cloud storage services, includes collaboration tools and a partnership with Google for some of its apps, including Google Docs.

But Mozy has its own spin on this.

“The vision for this [starting with the Mozy-Pi-Decho iteration] was that all of a person’s data – whether it be email, files, instant messaging, everything – become part of an ‘information space’ that services you automatically,” Mozy Product Manager Ted Haeger told eWEEK.

The idea is that when someone is working on a project, all the pertinent files that person needs become immediately available – into a specific file folder on the desktop – through Pi’s intelligent desktop search and Mozy’s cloud storage. Search becomes a background partner as needed, saving the user time.

Early Days

“Mozy had all the data storage, and Pi had the data movement and availability piece. And now Paul [Maritz, VMware’s CEO, who started Pi] will be talking about how this fits into the virtualisation space,” Haeger said.

The entire automated solution described here isn’t quite ready for prime time. But if Stash and the Pi software work the way Mozy believes it will, this is a feature that will set the company apart from competing services, at least at this point. Beta users are now trying it out and reporting back their experiences.

“Stash uses a simple single-folder model which complements your online backup so that all your data is available where and when you need it, even if you choose not to synchronise it,” said Mozy General Manager Russ Stockdale.

Mozy’s cloud service with Stash is aimed primarily at small to medium-size businesses (about 70,000 use MozyPro for server and/or desktop/laptop backup) and consumers (MozyHome), although it has some large enterprises (such as GE, with some 300,000 corporate users) as customers. It offers a free starter service with 5GB of capacity.

For more information on Stash and about joining the beta test group, go here. For pricing information, go here for MozyPro and here for MozyHome.