I spent quite some time deciding which session of the Veeam 100 summit to tell you about. I could have chosen the Veeam University session, which announced that Veeam University Pro is now free for partners (truly welcome news), or the sessions on the Veeam Software Appliance, or the planned enhancements in the upcoming version 13.2. But in the end, the one that will have the greatest impact on us as resellers of the solution is the one entitled ‘Object First Acquired by Veeam: Deep Dive and Integration Roadmap’. Veeam’s acquisition of Object First, announced in January 2026, was bound to catch my attention: it’s a product we recommend and sell to our customers very regularly.
What the session covered
The session looked at how Object First will integrate into the Veeam ecosystem.
Veeam and Object First share a common vision: data resilience based on immutable backup storage, that is simple to deploy and secure by design. Discussions centred on the product’s direction, the continuity of the Object First portfolio and ever-closer integration with Veeam Backup & Replication.
The key takeaway is simple: great things are on the horizon. Object First isn't being absorbed only to disappear: it is a promising product that Veeam intends to grow. Stay tuned, as the new developments promise to be of interest to the whole community.
Why this is important for our customers
We see the same scenario time and again with our customers: ransomware primarily target backups. If the data needed for recovery is deleted or encrypted, the pressure to pay the ransom skyrockets.
Object First addresses this issue in several ways:
• Absolute immutability (‘Ootbi’): once written, data cannot be modified or deleted, not even by a privileged administrator or an attacker using stolen credentials. This protection is enforced at the storage level, rather than through software permissions which fail when an admin account is compromised.
• Simplicity: deployment is quick and easy to go through. The company Log’s, with a small infrastructure team, implemented it without difficulty. This is essential for small IT teams, such as those in local authorities, SMEs or agencies.
• Rapid recovery: Instant VM Recovery enables critical servers to be brought back online very quickly, directly from immutable storage.
• Scalability: from small environments to large volumes, the same approach applies.
• Native integration with Veeam: a single, consistent and controlled backup pipeline.
The case of Log’s is a prime example of this. This logistics provider operates in France, Belgium and Morocco, with around 3,000 employees and 1.25 million m² of warehouse space: any disruption has a direct impact on its customers’ supply chains. With its backups on disk and LTO tape, recovery following a severe ransomware attack would have taken 72 to 96 hours. Since adding Object First to its Veeam environment, the restoration of its critical systems has been reduced, according to the company’s account, to around two hours, thanks in particular to Instant VM Recovery. Results like these resonate with all our customers.
Regulatory pressure is moving in the same direction. With DORA in Europe and operational resilience requirements, it is no longer enough to have written policies: organisations must prove that they can restore systems under real-life conditions. And in the public sector, recent cyber-attacks against schools and local authorities serve as a reminder that the ability to recover quickly is just as important as prevention.
What this means for us
Above all, this session reassured me on one point: when we recommend Object First to a customer, we are not taking a gamble on an unproven product. With Veeam behind us, we can now defend this recommendation with even greater conviction, even when dealing with customers who were hesitant to commit to a smaller player.
It doesn’t change the way we design a backup architecture, but it reinforces our approach: an immutable local copy, on storage designed for that purpose, to complement the off-site copy. The famous 3-2-1-1-0 rule ceases to be just a slogan when applied with the right tools.
Above all, I’ve come away with one firm conviction: a backup whose restoration time has never been timed remains merely a hypothetical scenario. The Log’s case illustrates this well; the real question isn’t only ‘do we have backups?’ but needs to include ‘how long will it take us to get back up and running?’ as well. This is the discussion I want to have with our customers, and I will always suggest they test their recovery capabilities before an attack forces them to do so.
As for the future, I’m keeping a close eye on the roadmap: if Veeam deliver on their promises, the next announcements may well encourage us to recommend Veeam x Object First even more.