MozyPro for Mac goes public beta

Online backup storage provider Mozy on Tuesday will roll out a public beta for MozyPro for the Mac, a new service for businesses using Apple's Mac platform.

MozyPro for the Mac resembles Mozy's business lineup for Windows. It allows online backup for the Mac like its MozyHome for Mac service with a desktop application, but the business edition comes with a dashboard to manage backup processes and services for both Windows-based and Apple machines. This Web-based dashboard allows businesses to manage multiple backup and data restore processes and supports Mac Server software such as iCal Server, Mail Services, Directory on OS X Server and Windows Server stalwarts such as Exchange, SQL Server and Active Directory.

Mozy, owned by EMC, said it launched its business edition for the Mac following a bevy of requests from folks who have smaller businesses that run on Apple. Steve Fairbanks, director of product management at Mozy, about 1,700 businesses--mostly small and mid-sized outfits--contacted the company following the launch of MozyHome for Mac. At work, these people needed a backup that worked for both Windows and the Mac platform, said Fairbanks.

Also see: EMC connects the Iomega-Mozy storage dots Citing customers such as the University of San Francisco and Boston College that have been privately testing MozyPro for Mac, Fairbanks said smaller companies are increasingly using mixed hardware platforms. "We saw a real need in the marketplace for a backup that worked with both Mac and Windows and had a central console," said Fairbanks.

I asked Fairbanks how Mozy treats a MacBook user that is running Windows via VMware's Fusion or Parallels how the backup is treated. Fairbanks said that MozyPro for Mac treats that MacBook as if it's two separate machines.

MozyPro for desktops and laptops will run you $3.95 per license and 50 cents a gigabyte (GB) per month. MozyPro for servers is $6.95 per license plus 50 cents per GB a month. MozyPro will support Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X Server, Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server.

MozyPro for Mac will be in public beta for "several months," said Fairbanks.