PRAGUE, STAGE OF INNOVATION: BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE V100 EVENT

My V100 story began in 2024 as a VUG Leader in Berlin. This year, I returned, but as a Legend.

The setting for this new chapter?
The magnificent city of Prague; I’ll share some interesting facts about it at the end of the article.

For now, let’s dive straight into the heart of the event: the Summit sessions.

GLOSSARY SESSIONS

• 1- AI & Security
  • Security AI: How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing cybersecurity.
  • Veeam’s AI Strategy: A practical approach and real-world applications within the portfolio.
• 2- Virtualization & Market Dynamics
  • The New Post-Broadcom Landscape: Impacts and opportunities in the era of virtualization.
  • Market Trends & Dynamics: Where the industry is heading.
  • Veeam’s Competitive Strategy: Our positioning and response to market shifts.
• 3- Partner Program (VCSP)
  • New Business & Scoring Models: Updates on commercialization and metrics.
  • Security Profile: Enhancing the security posture for partners.
• 4- Enterprise Applications
  • Direct-to-Object Storage Backup: The evolution in protecting critical applications.
• 5- Veeam Backup & Replication v13
  • Enhancements for Clustered Environments: Gains in performance and resilience.
  • API Call Reduction: Optimization for large-scale environments.
• 6- Sponsors & Technologies
  • WASABI: Partnership and cloud storage solutions.
  • OBJECT FIRST: Simplifying immutable object storage for Veeam.

INTRO

Before we begin, it’s important to clarify a key point: Veeam is much more than just a backup solution.

We are a comprehensive, resilient data protection platform. While many in the industry still think of us primarily for backup, our portfolio tells a different story.

Let me show you what I mean:

There are over 550 customers worldwide, with many enthusiasts for this technology!

It just works!

1- AI & SECURITY

Veeam announced the acquisition of Securiti AI, uniting two industry leaders to create the first platform capable of offering unified visibility and control over your entire data asset base.
For those who are not yet familiar with Securiti AI, here are some business insights:

More information about the acquisition:
https://www.veeam.com/company/press-release/veeam-to-acquire-securiti-ai.html

STILL ON THE SUBJECT OF AI, BUT NOW IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT.

We had a very dynamic session with Ian Engelbrecht, Ben Young, and Anthony Spiteri.
Of all the prototypes, the one that caught my attention the most was the call automation via ServiceNow. Here’s the context:

1. The user asks something of the AI ​​agent (e.g., Copilot or Claude).
2. The agent interprets the request (e.g., “check backup and open incident”).
3. It queries its JSON configuration to know which MCP servers it can communicate with.
4. The MCP servers offer various tools (functions or APIs).
5. The agent chooses the right tool and makes the call based on the structured schema.
6. The MCP executes the requested action (e.g., retrieve the backup and create the incident).

2- VIRTUALIZATION & MARKET DYNAMICS

The following image provides a clear view of how the global enterprise hypervisor market is distributed across major regions, highlighting VMware’s dominance and the competitive nuances of Hyper-V, AHV, and other solutions.

This overview gains even more relevance in light of the recent changes brought about by Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, which has accelerated discussions about costs, continuity of support, and migration strategies.

VIRTUALIZATION MARKET – TRENDS AND DYNAMICS (2024–2030)

• VMware: Shows a gradual decline in market share, from approximately 70% to approximately 65%. This movement reflects the impacts of the acquisition by Broadcom and changes in licensing models, which have led customers to seek more flexible alternatives.
• Microsoft Hyper-V: Remains stable, sustaining its base in corporate environments that already use the Microsoft ecosystem, but without signs of accelerated growth.
• Nutanix AHV: Registers rapid growth, driven by its proposal to simplify infrastructure and its software-based model, attracting companies seeking to reduce dependence on traditional vendors.
• KVM (Sangfor, H3C, Huawei): Shows strong regional expansion, especially in Asia-Pacific, where local vendors offer competitive solutions tailored to market needs.
• APJ CAGR (2024–2030): The Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.4%, standing out as the most dynamic market for virtualization and hybrid cloud.

VEEAM’S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ARE:

1. Enterprise Ready: Ensuring robust integration with AHV and OpenShift for enterprise environments.
2. Ecosystem Expansion: Adding support for new hypervisors.
3. Proxmox Leadership: Consolidating market position with additional capabilities.
4. Feature Uniformity: Offering the same set of functionalities across all platforms.

3- PARTNER PROGRAM (VCSP)

A significant simplification has been made to the product portfolio. The Standard and Enterprise versions have been officially retired.

Their capabilities are consolidated into a single, superior offering:

ENTERPRISE PLUS FEATURES HAVE BEEN INTEGRATED DIRECTLY INTO THE FOUNDATION PACKAGE.

This consolidation simplifies our marketing message, strengthens our technical value proposition, and makes launching new projects easier.

The new positioning of these functionalities is shown below:

4- ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS – DIRECT BACKUP TO OBJECT STORAGE

Universal Availability

Compatible with all application plugins and job types (primary and secondary), operating in both standalone and managed modes.

Broad Repository Support

Works with a wide range of storage targets, including:

• Veeam Cloud Vault
• Any S3-compatible object storage
• Major Hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)

Guaranteed Immutability

Ensures data integrity by applying immutability immediately upon object lock completion.

Efficient Gateway Operation

Utilizes a direct access mode to minimize CPU overhead and enhance performance.

5- VEEAM BACKUP & REPLICATION V13

Minimize backup server downtime and mitigate operational risks by implementing a new high-availability architecture. This solution is designed for seamless failover and is particularly resilient in distributed environments.

Key Features & Benefits:

• Active/Passive Node Redundancy: A two-node cluster (Primary and Secondary) ensures services remain available even during a hardware or software failure.
• Resilience for Distributed Environments: Built-in support for high-latency connections, making it ideal for geographically dispersed setups.
• Automated Operations:
  • Synchronized Updates: Updates are applied automatically to both nodes, reducing administrative overhead and ensuring consistency.
  • Intelligent Failover: Integrated with Veeam ONE for automatic failover upon detecting a primary node failure.
• Operational Flexibility: Perform manual switchovers for planned maintenance or workload migrations with full control.
• Rapid Disaster Recovery: Resume operations immediately after a failover without the need for time-consuming configuration restoration.

Implementation Requirements:

To deploy this high-availability solution, ensure your environment meets the following prerequisites:

• Software & Licensing:
  • 2 x Veeam Backup & Replication Servers (ideally as virtual appliances)
  • Veeam Data Platform Premium Edition Licenses
• Network Configuration:
  • 3 Dedicated IP Addresses (Primary Node, Secondary Node, and one for the Cluster Virtual IP)
  • All nodes must reside on the same Layer 2 network (same IP subnet).
  • Best Practice: Pre-register the cluster’s Virtual IP (VIP) in DNS for simplified client access.

ADDITIONAL V13 ENHANCEMENTS:

Improved storage efficiency with reduced disk space consumption.

Significant reduction in API call volume.

6- SPONSORS & TECHNOLOGIES

Our partners and sponsors were present and shared some interesting insights with us.

WASABI

Unlike other public clouds, Wasabi does not charge Egress Fees, API Fees, or other fees.
Benefits for VCSP:
Automate the account lifecycle
Adopt a fully automated approach to managing the account lifecycle, from creating test accounts to policy adjustments and billing.

· Reduce time to market
Decrease implementation time from days to minutes and accelerate service delivery to your customers.

· Simplify billing
Optimize the billing process across all managed accounts and channels through consolidated invoices.

· Rapid provisioning of test accounts
Create free test accounts in minutes and easily convert them to paid production accounts when they are ready.

Check out more here: Start your free trial with Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage

OBJECT FIRST – OOTBI
OOTBI WAS ALSO IN THE STAGE.

Eric R Schott’s energetic presentation energized the team, and I really liked the following new feature:

Ootbi Honeypot
Challenge: Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) servers are often a primary target for ransomware attacks to reduce the likelihood of recovery.
Solution: Honeypot provides early warning of cyber threats targeting Veeam. You can create a targetable VBR decoy environment in a secure and restricted part of the Object First Ootbi appliance with just two clicks.

Honeypot detects when someone attempts to probe the environment and immediately generates alerts. This allows for early identification of cyber threats in the dwell phase and improves communication between backup and security administrators.

GREAT!

With that, we’ll make a quick trip to Prague:

CHARLES BRIDGE

In Czech, it is one of Prague’s most iconic landmarks, constructed in the 14th century.

NATIONAL MUSEUM IN PRAGUE

It is the most important museum in the Czech Republic. It is located in Wenceslas Square, in an impressive historic building that opened in 1891.

PRAGUE CASTLE

Prague Castle is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, originally founded in the 9th century.

CLOSING PARTY – PILSNER URQUELL

We had a private Veeam train to get to the party.

I had the incredible opportunity to play at the event’s closing party.
I played everything from jazz to rock. The crowd was excited.
I also had the pleasure of doing a back-to-back set with my buddy Brandon McCoy.

CLOSING REMARKS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to Rick, Madalina, Safiya, Nikola, and the entire team for their exceptional dedication, professionalism, and support.

SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR V100!!

Originally published on November 28, 2025:

https://sczepanski.com.br/prague-stage-of-innovation-behind-the-scenes-of-the-v100-event/