Zerto

Zerto is an enterprise information-technology software brand specializing in continuous data protection, disaster recovery, ransomware resilience, backup, and application mobility. The company was founded by Ziv Kedem, who had previously co-founded Kashya, and developed its business around protecting workloads running on virtualized infrastructure and cloud platforms. Rather than relying exclusively on replication at the storage layer, Zerto’s original technology used hypervisor-based replication, moving replication functions higher in the infrastructure stack so that protected workloads could be recovered and moved across supported environments. The company’s first major product, Zerto Virtual Replication, was released in August 2011. It was designed to simplify disaster-recovery operations for organizations running virtual machines, reducing the operational complexity associated with traditional infrastructure-specific replication and recovery processes. Over time, Zerto expanded its positioning from disaster recovery alone toward a broader data-protection and cyber-resilience platform. Its software-only approach is intended to support continuous protection at scale across on-premises data centers, private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid deployments. Zerto’s technology supports a range of infrastructure and cloud ecosystems, including VMware and Hyper-V environments as well as AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud. The company also works with a large ecosystem of managed service providers; the referenced company material describes support for more than 350 such providers. This multi-environment orientation gives the brand a role in both direct enterprise deployments and service-provider-delivered disaster-recovery offerings. The product portfolio later expanded into software-as-a-service data protection. Zerto Backup for SaaS, powered by Keepit and introduced in 2021, provides cloud backup capabilities for applications and services including Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Zendesk, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics, and Microsoft Active Directory. This extension reflects the operational problem created by the increasing use of SaaS applications: organizations may need a separate, purpose-built protection layer for application data even when the underlying software is delivered by a cloud provider. Zerto raised capital from venture investors including 83North, formerly Greylock IL, Battery Ventures, Harmony Partners, RTP Ventures, IVP, and USVP. In 2016, it was ranked number 45 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list, an indicator of its growth during the period before its acquisition. Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired Zerto in 2021 for $374 million. Following the transaction, Zerto became an HPE subsidiary while continuing to operate as a recognizable software brand within HPE’s broader data-infrastructure and cloud portfolio. Today, Zerto’s stated area of value is the protection, recovery, and mobility of enterprise applications and workloads. Its principal use cases include disaster recovery, business continuity, cyber-resilience against ransomware, backup, and movement of workloads between on-premises and cloud environments. The brand’s historical development shows a progression from virtual-machine replication toward a wider platform for data protection across heterogeneous infrastructure.

Zerto emerged as an enterprise software company focused on disaster recovery for virtualized infrastructure. Its founder, Ziv Kedem, had previously co-founded Kashya, giving the company leadership experience in data-protection technology. Zerto attracted investment from a group of venture-capital firms, including 83North, formerly known as Greylock IL, Battery Ventures, Harmony Partners, RTP Ventures, IVP, and USVP. The company’s initial product was Zerto Virtual Replication, released in August 2011. Its technical approach used hypervisor-based replication rather than treating replication solely as a storage-layer function. This allowed Zerto to address workload protection at the virtualization layer and to focus on the recovery and movement of applications across supported infrastructure environments. The approach was aimed at simplifying disaster recovery for organizations operating virtual machines and reducing dependence on particular storage systems. Zerto subsequently developed a broader platform for protecting, recovering, and moving workloads across on-premises data centers, private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid deployments. Its supported ecosystems include VMware and Hyper-V, together with cloud environments such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud. Zerto also built a service-provider ecosystem, with the referenced material identifying more than 350 managed service providers using or supporting the platform. The company’s market identity expanded from conventional disaster recovery into continuous data protection, ransomware resilience, and cloud data mobility. This broadened focus reflects the overlap between operational outages, cyberattacks, business continuity, and the migration of workloads between infrastructure environments. Zerto’s software-only model positioned the brand as an abstraction layer that could operate across heterogeneous infrastructure rather than as a hardware-bound recovery system. In 2016, Zerto was ranked number 45 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list. The recognition came during the company’s independent-growth period and followed investment from several venture firms. In 2021, Zerto expanded into SaaS data protection with Zerto Backup for SaaS powered by Keepit. The offering was designed to protect data held in cloud applications and supported services including Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Zendesk, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics, and Microsoft Active Directory. Also in 2021, Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired Zerto for $374 million. The acquisition changed Zerto’s ownership and made it an HPE subsidiary, while preserving Zerto as a named software brand. Within HPE, Zerto contributes capabilities in continuous data protection, disaster recovery, cyber resilience, SaaS backup, and workload mobility. Its historical trajectory therefore runs from a specialized virtual-machine replication product to a wider enterprise platform serving on-premises, cloud, and hybrid operating models.

1. 2021Zerto Backup for SaaS introduced

   Zerto introduces Zerto Backup for SaaS powered by Keepit for protecting data in major SaaS applications.

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2. 2021Acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise

   Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquires Zerto for $374 million, after which Zerto operates as an HPE subsidiary.

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3. 2016Deloitte Fast 500 North America ranking

   Zerto is ranked number 45 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.

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4. 2011Zerto Virtual Replication launches

   Zerto releases its original product, Zerto Virtual Replication, using hypervisor-based replication for virtualized infrastructure disaster recovery.

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A software-only enterprise data-protection and resilience platform for continuously protecting, recovering, and moving workloads across virtualized, private-cloud, public-cloud, and hybrid environments. Zerto emphasizes infrastructure flexibility, continuous replication, ransomware resilience, and simplified recovery operations.

• Zerto Virtual ReplicationDisaster recovery and continuous data protection2011

  Zerto’s original product, released in August 2011, provides replication and recovery capabilities for virtualized workloads. Its defining technical approach is hypervisor-based replication, which places replication functionality above the storage layer and enables protection across supported virtual infrastructure. The product established Zerto’s focus on simplifying disaster recovery and maintaining application recoverability in enterprise environments.

• Zerto platformEnterprise data protection and workload mobility

  Zerto’s broader software platform is designed to protect, recover, and move applications across on-premises data centers, private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid environments. Its use cases include continuous data protection, disaster recovery, ransomware resilience, cyber recovery, and workload mobility. The platform supports VMware and Hyper-V as well as cloud environments including AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud.

• Zerto Backup for SaaS powered by KeepitSaaS data protection and cloud backup2021

  Introduced in 2021, Zerto Backup for SaaS extends the brand into protection of data stored in cloud applications. The offering supports services identified in the reference material as including Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Zendesk, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics, and Microsoft Active Directory. It addresses backup and recovery requirements for SaaS data that may not be fully covered by the application provider’s standard service.

• 2021Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquisitionM&A

  Zerto had developed a recognized enterprise software business around disaster recovery, continuous data protection, ransomware resilience, and workload mobility across virtualized and cloud environments.

  What changed. Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired Zerto for $374 million and brought the company into its portfolio as a subsidiary.

  Aftermath. Zerto continued as an HPE software brand, contributing data-protection, disaster-recovery, SaaS-backup, and workload-mobility capabilities.

  Acquisition price. $374 million (2021 acquisition)

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• 2021Zerto introduces Zerto Backup for SaaS powered by Keepit

  Zerto introduced a cloud backup offering for SaaS data, with support for services including Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Zendesk, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics, and Microsoft Active Directory.

  Product launch
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• 2021Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquires Zerto

  Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired Zerto for $374 million, making Zerto an HPE subsidiary.

  M&A
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• 2016Zerto ranks on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list

  Zerto was ranked number 45 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.

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• 2011Zerto releases Zerto Virtual Replication

  Zerto’s original disaster-recovery product was released in August 2011, introducing its hypervisor-based replication approach for virtualized infrastructures.

  Product launchProduct generation
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1. Zerto