🌟 At IBM, we’re on a mission to redefine data resiliency — and the latest developments in IBM Storage Defender are a testament to that vision. From product innovation to community-driven collaboration, Defender continues to build momentum as a cornerstone for modern data resilience and compliance.

📈 Defender Copy Data Management for Dell PowerMax was officially announced at Dell Technologies World.   This marks a significant milestone for DCDM as the next-generation solution replacing Dell AppSync. Dell has OEMed DCDM and will offer it with its PowerMax storage systems. This validation of Defender’s primary storage capabilities emphasizes the growing industry momentum we are seeing.

For Dell, DCDM provides:

• Application-aware PowerMax storage snapshot orchestration to simplify copy data management workflows
• Support for Oracle, SQL Server, SAP HANA, EPIC Cache, VMware and file systems
• Support for a wide range of use cases, including DevOps enablement, backup modernization, disaster recovery, and data governance.

I want to give special thanks to Andrew Lee and Pepe Lam for providing DCDM education and for their engagement with the Dell community at Dell Technologies World.  

For additional information on the IBM relaunch of DCDM, here’s a link to What’s new in IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management 2.2.26.

🌍 Our recent user group events in Copenhagen and Stockholm were a powerful reminder of the value of community. These sessions featured technical education on DCDM and Storage Protect (SP) and good engagement with our primary storage and backup customers.

SP is a key component of Defender, and there has been a continual drumbeat of integrations with Defender’s Data Resiliency Service (DRS). Recent product updates include s3 object agent enhancements, expanded s3 object lock support with the SP validation program, and validation of FlashSystem C200 as a backup target. In addition, SP has a strategic focus on modernization via open source initiatives​, including Ansible.   

I’m grateful to our speakers and contributors for making these events a success —

Nilesh Bhosale, Manu Kuchhal Girish Dadge Jason Basler Dominic Mueller-Wicke Trishali Nayar

🔄 DRS 2.0.13: Advancing Toward Data Resilience and Compliance (DRAC)

The latest release of Defender DRS (2.0.13) brings us closer to the DRAC vision. Key enhancements include:

• Auto-grouping improvements to simplify setup and provide intelligent organization of applications and storage. 
• Expanded application support for broader enterprise coverage.  DRS 2.0.12 added support for IBM Db2 and Microsoft Active Directory (on-prem).   With DRS 2.0.13, automatic generation of recovery groups for these data sources is available.  
• DRS now uses metadata from FlashSystem/SVC to generate groups that are not VMware-centric.
• You can now view the IBM Storage Defender management console in dark display theme. You can choose the display themes from light, dark, or system default, according to your preference.

These updates reflect our commitment to continuous innovation and delivering smarter DRAC outcomes. For more information about IBM Storage Defender’s features and concepts, refer to the IBM documentation.

☁️Red Hat Summit: The Red Hat Summit was also last week.   Defender and its synergies with IBM Fusion provide key enablers for the protection of OpenShift Containers, CloudPaks and OpenShift Virtualization environments. Lots of discussion and momentum around OpenShift Virtualization.  It’s a great opportunity for Fusion and Storage Defender and aligns with IBM’s hybrid cloud strategy—Fusion is the platform for rapidly deploying OpenShift workloads and Defender brings enterprise-scale cyber and data resiliency to these environments.

📈 Looking Ahead

We’re excited about the momentum behind IBM Storage Defender. With every release, event, and customer conversation, we’re building a stronger foundation for resilient, intelligent, and compliant data infrastructure.