Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd, a world leading Windows backup software developer has just released an update of its highly successful BackupAssist product that is expected to pose a new marketplace challenge for its competitors based on functionality and value for money.

Box Hill, Victoria -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/24/2010 -- Cortex I.T. Labs have just released an update of their BackupAssist product that extends its 'brilliantly simple' backup facilities to cover the latest Windows 2010 Business Products including Exchange Server 2010 and SQL Server 2010 and much more besides, without increasing the price.

New BackupAssist v6 is packed with new features focused on tackling tricky Windows backup problems and reducing complications and hassles for I.T. Systems Administrators and Service Providers serving small and medium (SMB) businesses. It offers new features for fully automated backups on Windows Hyper-V Server, Windows Server 2008 R2 and will be ready to facilitate easy internet offsite backups via Rsync to a much wider variety of 'Cloud' hosting services, with improved security through AES-256 encryption and file name obfuscation.

While most backup software developers have been facing difficult times during the economic downturn, BackupAssist products have been going from strength to strength. It's a product that really has been tailored to the SMB user, offering ease of use, world's best practice backup strategies that help to optimize existing hardware and most importantly of all, a sensible licensing structure that makes it a value purchase for any size business, including the smallest.

'BackupAssist rose rapidly in popularity when it was first released in 2002, because it was the most cost-effective, versatile and reliable Windows backup software product on the market' says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. Labs and Lead Developer of the BackupAssist product. 'Now it's even better. And there's no need for us to raise the price of this latest release, because despite the world-wide economic downturn, sales of the product continue to increase and that supports our development costs' he adds.

With a basic price point of just US$249.00 it's no wonder I.T. Service Providers and Systems Administrators worldwide are beating a path to Cortex I.T. Labs' door to get BackupAssist. 'Our products have the added cost-saving advantages of a flexible licensing structure and reasonably priced subscription update program.' Linus says.

'We've basically made it so that once you purchase the product, you'll never have to buy backup software again. It's also a set-and-forget product – once you have your backup program set-up, BackupAssist helps you manage the whole thing with a click of a mouse. These are huge benefits for SMBs managing their own data protection and of course, the product has built-in business benefits for I.T. Service Providers as well.'

In addition to developing the product to respond with backup solutions for newer Windows Business Products, the BackupAssist Development Team also works closely with its Resellers and end-user customers to develop features to meet their every day needs. This gives BackupAssist a genuine advantage over most other backup software products available on the market.

'Our biggest concern is giving our customers exactly what they need' says Linus. 'More and more of our customers are using 'Cloud' Hosting Services to store backups offsite' Linus points out as an example. 'This is a wise move no matter what size business you run, because it's the only way to reliably protect your business information in the event of major data loss scenarios like natural disasters or theft of hardware. We work hard to support world's best practices like these because our ultimate goal is to provide the best protection possible for our customer's data. BackupAssist v6 is fully equipped to facilitate cost-effective Rsync data transfer over the wire and now offers the best data encryption security available' he adds.

BackupAssist v6 also includes the facility for VSS Application Backup and Restore in the BackupAssist File Replication, ZIP and Rsync Engines as well as an easy search facility when selecting what VSS Applications you want to back up when Drive Imaging. 'Backing up your VSS Applications is also a world's best practice standard, so it's important that you can do it easily with BackupAssist' Linus adds.

Download a 30-day free trial at http://www.backupassist.com

Purchasing information:
BackupAssist v6 - US$249
BackupAssist Add-on products vary from US$129 – US$249.
Purchase BackupAssist v6 online at http://www.backupassist.com
Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact :
Linus Chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-9899-4681
Press@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Cortex I.T., world-leading backup software developer, announced today that more customers are signing up as Gold Resellers in order to access the BackupAssist Centralized Monitoring Console facility.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/10/2010 -- BackupAssist™ is marketed primarily on its major selling points of simplicity, ease of use and suitability for universal SMB Windows Server backup applications. However, more and more I.T. Professionals are joining up as BackupAssist Gold Resellers to access its Centralized Monitoring Console (CMC) which helps them monitor multiple installations for SMB clients in a matter of minutes.

The CMC facilities mean I.T. Professionals can take ongoing service contracts for multiple SMB clients without increasing labor costs, so they can now offer services to smaller companies that would not have been financially viable as clients in the past. Many BackupAssist Gold Resellers have reported that it increases efficiency by up to 40% - a major consideration in tough economic times when optimization is the key to maintaining profitability.

"SMB clients tend to have few staff experienced with I.T. management and often need a lot of hand-holding" says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and lead developer of BackupAssist. "The BackupAssist CMC makes these customers a lot easier to service."

The BackupAssist Centralized Monitoring Console allows multiple backups for multiple servers and multiple clients to be monitored from one consolidated daily report. This can arrive on your desk as a daily email report, or be accessed anytime online via your own personalized and secure BackupAssist Gold Reseller Portal.

The CMC automatically identifies the results of all scheduled backups by client, prioritizing any problem areas and backups that have failed to run. It even identifies probable causes for each error and automatically provides a link to the BackupAssist Knowledge base with step-by-step instructions on how to fix it – saving hours on running diagnostics and performing the tests and trial and error fixes that are usually required when using other backup software.

BackupAssist is so easy to use that an SMB's I.T. Consultant can usually identify both the problem and the fix in seconds. They can even help an SMB client rectify the problem over the phone or by email, minimizing the requirement to waste time on site visits.

"Our Gold Resellers can also use the CMC to generate reports. It helps save time on compiling weekly backup result report logs, monthly data growth analysis and server usage reports. They can all be generated in a few minutes with a click of a button and you can even brand them with your own company logo" says Linus.

"What's more, there are many other ways I.T. Service Providers can improve their business efficiency using BackupAssist and its add-on products" Linus adds. "It places the full range of Windows backup options at your fingertips – and that's a great time-saver in itself." says Linus.

To find out more about the BackupAssist Centralized Monitoring Console, visit
http://www.backupassist.com/BackupAssist/tour_Monitoring.html and view the CMC video demonstration.

To enquire about becoming a BackupAssist Gold Reseller, visit
http://www.backupassist.com/BackupAssist/download2.php?download_type=_STANDARD

To download a free 30 day trial of BackupAssist, and visit http://www.backupassist.com/reseller/eoi.php and fill out the form to receive a Reseller Information Pack that includes pricing information in your local currency.

Contact details:
Linus Chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Cortex I.T., a world-leading Windows® backup software developer, has just released a new product that makes Hyper-V products easier and more affordable for SMBs.

Box Hill, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/20/2010 -- Windows® Hyper-V is an attractive option for SMBs, because it reduces hardware and running costs and provides an easier way to integrate components in specialized I.T. system setups. However, Windows® Hyper-V has been creating insurmountable backup and data protection headaches that drive up costs and make it an impractical and unrealistic option for most SMBs.

Now Cortex I.T, a world-leading backup software developer, has neatly resolved these issues with a new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution. It's an easily affordable option that simplifies and automates vital data protection functions for Windows® Hyper-V and significantly reduces ongoing labor and maintenance costs.

"Many SMBs invested in new Hyper-V systems to save on costs, only to discover that the backup and restore operations are difficult, frustrating and expensive" says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist. "These days, an SMBs entire business relies on the quality of their data – so the inadequate data protection facilities were also exposing them to a big risk" he adds.

Windows® Hyper-V Server only offers limited drive imaging facilities to perform backup and restore operations. The usual image backup consists of a single VHD file of the Host and Windows® offers no facilities to dig down into the VHD file to retrieve any data that may be required from the Guest VM. This meant there was no option other than to run a second backup of each Guest VM individually, and this was time consuming, used incredible amounts of data storage space, required manual scripting and was very unreliable. What's more, manually locating and transferring files during restore operations was a complicated nightmare.

"Windows® is designed to make it possible and affordable for anyone to use a computer" says Linus. "We believe the same should be true for backups. Data protection is very important to every business, so BackupAssist is designed and created specifically for the purpose of making backups as simple and easy as possible on any Windows® system."

The new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution consists of the BackupAssist v5.4 base license used together with the new BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Console Add-on. It uses 'granular technology' to make it possible to dig down into a VHD file and quickly retrieve files from within, eliminating the need for multiple backups of Host and Guest VMs.

"This saves a lot of time and data storage space" says Linus."There's no manual scripting, all the media rotations and scheduling are built in and we've made it all very easy to manage with simple wizards. And you can restore any file in under three minutes – even from the Guest VMs. It's so easy that just about anyone can do it."

BackupAssist doesn't leave it there. The base license includes backup solutions for all Windows® systems (old and new), and there are affordable add-ons that solve specific problems like the missing Tape Drive Support on Windows® Server 2008 and the problems inherent in mailbox backups for Microsoft® Exchange Servers. To find out more, visit http://www.backupassist.com

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at http://www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist v5.4 - US$249
BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on - US$249
(Visit http://www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies)
Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact details:
Linus Chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Cortex I.T, a world leading backup software developer, has revolutionized Hyper-V backup processes with their new BackupAssist Add-on product, just released live

Melbourne, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/18/2010 -- While the cost efficiencies of server virtualization technologies - like Microsoft's® Hyper-V Server - have been shining a new light on the world's SMB I.T. market, I.T. Consultants and SMB Systems Administrators everywhere have been plunged into a living nightmare caused by new complications with performing Hyper-V backup and restore tasks.

Cortex I.T. has just launched a new BackupAssist Hyper-V solution that simplifies and automates these vital data protection functions for Windows® Hyper-V products, revolutionizing the processes and making Hyper-V more viable for SMBs.

"It's an affordable solution that makes it possible for more SMBs to consider the economies of Hyper-V" says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist products. "At BackupAssist, our mission is to create the easiest backups possible on any Windows® system. You shouldn't need a computer science degree to run a backup and it shouldn't cost the earth!" adds Linus.

Backups for Windows® Hyper-V have proved to be complicated and frustrating because of the limited drive imaging facilities that Microsoft have provided for performing backup and restore operations. The usual image backup consists of a single VHD file of the Host and with no facilities to dig down into the VHD file, it's almost impossible to retrieve files from the Guest VMs without running a second backup for each Guest VM individually.

"Most SMBs have 3-5 Guest VMs on their Host machine – but some have as many as 20 or more. Creating a comprehensive daily backup for all of them manually could take someone all night… and you can imagine how complicated it would be to perform restores!" says Linus.

"Our new Hyper-V solution needed to be fast, simple and very affordable" says Linus. "We achieved this by using 'granular technology' that makes it easy to dig down into a VHD file and quickly retrieve files from within.

"So with BackupAssist, all you need is a single one-pass image backup of the Host to be able to retrieve whatever file you need from any Guest VM! You don't need a second backup of the Guest VMs at all. What's more, your backup will run automatically in less time and use less data storage space. While your restores will only take minutes using our revolutionary new granular restore console – it's just point and click. We've also made the setup very simple with easy to follow wizards, built-in scheduling and media rotations, so just about anyone can do it" he adds.

For the BackupAssist Hyper-V solution you'll need BackupAssist v5.4 (US$249) and the new BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Console Add-on (US$249). That's a total package price of just US$498 and easily affordable for SMBs. (What's more, BackupAssist v5.4 also provides a comprehensive package of solutions for all Windows® backup requirements for that price, offering great value for money.

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at http://www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist v5.4 - US$249
BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on - US$249
(Visit http://www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies)
Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact :
Linus chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Cortex I.T. Labs Pty Ltd, leading Australian backup software developer and marketer of BackupAssist™ products, has launched a new website to assist those struggling with the missing NTBackup facility on Windows Server 2008 and other Windows operating systems.

Melbourne, AU -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/22/2009 -- When Microsoft decided to drop NTBackup from its new release Windows operating systems, they created problems for I.T. Service Providers and System Administrators of SMBs performing their system backups. With this change in best-practice procedures, many administrators found they needed to relearn basic tasks and discovered that some other tasks, like backing up to tape, simply couldn't be done.

"There were so many people crying out for help, we decided to create http://www.NTBackup-replacement.info so they can just go online to get answers, fast! We've included tutorials and how-to guides to give information on how to perform the common tasks they used to do with NTBackup" says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T and Lead Developer of BackupAssist products.The site has simple tutorials that guide you through the process of creating backups for Windows Server 2008, without using NTBackup at all.

It shows how to perform backups to tape, backups to file, how to backup Exchange Servers and how to backup and restore your Server's System State using simple step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow. There are also informative articles and Whitepapers which aim to answer the immediate backup problems Systems Administrators face when setting up a new Server and backup system.

"The information on the site is designed to cut out the confusion and give you a quick solution, so you can start doing backups right away" says Linus. "And for situations where tasks cannot be performed using the built-in Windows backup tools, such as backing up to tape, we've also included a link to a free trial download of BackupAssist, which can be used as a replacement for NTBackup in many scenarios." he adds.

BackupAssist uses the ZIP64 open standard to perform backups. So you can use the free trial download of BackupAssist to create any backups you need right now, then retrieve your data using any .ZIP software (WinZip, TugZIP, Zip-7 and so on). So you don't even need to purchase BackupAssist to get your data back later.

"We've put in a lot of effort into this site – it's a collection of answers to the most common questions we've been getting from System Administrators. We're constantly adding to it, so the site will always have the very latest and most relevant information. And best of all – it's free. Anyone can access the information without passwords or membership fees." Linus adds.

About Cortex I.T. and BackupAssist products
BackupAssist is the flagship product of Cortex I.T. Pty Ltd, an Australian technology company based in Melbourne that specializes in software products for small to medium business. Since its launch in 2002, BackupAssist has gained rapid popularity and is now used on over 50,000 Servers in more than 93 countries worldwide. It's a complete backup solution for all Windows backup requirements, with schemes for the full range of data storage options built-in. Its simplicity makes it suitable for an extremely wide range of users in addition to the small business market, including more than 2,000 I.T. Service Providers, educational institutions in many countries, large publicly listed companies and many government organizations. For more information visit http://www.backupassist.com or http://www.cortexit.com

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at http://www.backupassist.com
BackupAssist - US$249
BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on - US$129
al package: US$378. Visit http://www.backupassist.com for pricing in other currencies.)
Discounts available for not-for-profit organizations. Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact :
Linus Chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Level 4, 991 Whitehorse Road
Box Hill, VIC 3128
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Cortex IT, leading Australian backup software developer announces record downloads of their new BackupAssist tape drive support solution for Windows Server 2008.

Melbourne, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/13/2009 -- Cortex IT, leading Australian backup software developer announces record downloads of their new BackupAssist tape drive support solution for Windows Server 2008.

It seems the BackupAssist tape drive solution for Windows Server 2008 really is the solution everyone's been waiting for. Since the public release of the product on September 16th 2009, Cortex I.T. has clocked more than 3,000 downloads of BackupAssist v5 with the new BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on.

"The response is not surprising really, even though we haven't done much advertising yet" says Linus Chang CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist. "We've had a lot of customers asking for help with tape drive support for Windows Server 2008. The product really does fill a gap in the backup software market – the competitor's products are just too expensive or too complicated for SMBs."

When Microsoft decided to leave tape drive support out of their new release Windows operating systems, they created a need for a 3rd party software solution to replace it. The BackupAssist solution is so amazingly simple, that many say Microsoft should just have included it in the first place – its tape backup support that uses the ZIP64 open standard to automatically compress data for easy storage on tape.

"I think people are relieved to see a solution they can trust for a price they can afford" says Linus. ".ZIP may have been around for a long time – 23 years to be exact - but it has stood the test of time. Everyone knows it's a tried and true method of performing backups. The BackupAssist solution finally makes .ZIP suitable for business use. It is very reassuring because you can rely on the stored information being accessible ten years from now…no matter what Microsoft does next."

Think of the BackupAssist Zip Engine as 'ZIP Turbocharged.' It has multi-threading architecture, tuned for performance, outperforms the old WinZIP by a factor of three on entry-level servers and takes ZIP64 to the next level by automating the whole .ZIP process. That makes it one of the best tape backup solutions for Server 2008 on the market, suitable for even the most demanding business backups, at a fraction of the cost of the major competitor.

The BackupAssist solution gives you real-time data compression on the fly, 256-bit AES data encryption and puts it all together in a package with an extremely user-friendly interface and easy to follow wizards. You even get a fantastic Restore Console that makes it amazingly quick and easy to search backups and restore them to either an original or alternative destination – other ZIP software just isn't as powerful.

"BackupAssist Resellers all over the world are specifying this product to protect their client's tape drive investments" says Linus. "Our new Zip-To-Tape Add-on is yet another important feature set to our family of products that enables our Resellers to provide a full range of services to their clients. BackupAssist includes solutions for Drive Imaging, Exchange, SQL and Rsync. It's not just for tape support on Server 2008, it's a complete software package that covers all your backup needs. Whether you're an IT service provider or an end-user, it's simple, easy to use and very inexpensive."

BackupAssist v5 US$249. BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-on US$129. Total package: US$378.

BackupAssist Zip-To-Tape Add-On Features

+ Open .ZIP format –stores backups as .ZIP files for easy access on any Windows machine.
+ Real-time data compression (on-the-fly), saving tape storage space.
+ 256-bit AES data encryption to give your backups password protection.
+ Easy, perfect restore including time stamps, NTFS attributes, ADS etc.
+ User-friendly interface with easy to follow wizards. No training necessary.
+ OS: Windows 2008 Family, Windows 2003 Family, Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Purchasing information:
Purchase online at http://www.backupassist.com. Discounts available for not-for-profit organizations. Reseller enquiries welcome.

Contact :
Linus Chang
Cortex I.T. Labs Pty. Ltd.
Melbourne, AUS
+61-3-9899-4681
linus.chang@cortexit.com
http://www.backupassist.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm