Key Takeaways
- Commvault AirGap is immutable by design, and WORM lock capabilities are available for organizations with additional compliance and regulatory requirements.
- Claims that AirGap backups are not truly immutable are inaccurate and do not reflect the platform’s documented capabilities.
- WORM-enabled storage introduces overhead across the industry, but Commvault helps minimize that impact through efficient data management and cloud-native architecture.
- The cost of backup storage extends beyond capacity consumption and should include infrastructure, compute, and operational expenses.
- Organizations should help validate backup resilience through real-world testing rather than relying on vendor marketing claims.
You may have recently encountered claims from a competitor suggesting that Commvault AirGap (previously called Commvault Air Gap Protect) contains a critical security gap – that backups are not truly immutable, or that enabling WORM (Write Once, Read Many) lock results in two to three times higher storage costs.
Let us address this directly: These claims are inaccurate.
Immutable and WORM Lock Support in AirGap
AirGap is immutable by design, meaning that once data is written, it cannot be altered – a foundational capability that has been part of the platform since its initial release.
For organizations with regulatory or compliance requirements, Commvault also supports WORM lock capabilities in addition to immutability. These protections are available across supported cloud storage targets, including:
- Amazon S3 Object Lock
- Microsoft Azure Blob immutability policies
These features are documented, rigorously tested, and actively used by customers in production environments today.
In our latest platform release, we further expanded WORM lock support within AirGap. This enhancement extends protection across both cloud and on-premises storage environments, delivering broader and more comprehensive coverage than many competing solutions.
Storage Efficiency: Understanding the Full Picture
Across the industry, one fact remains consistent: WORM-enabled storage introduces some degree of overhead. Because WORM-locked data cannot be modified after it is written, systems have limited ability to optimize or reduce stored data over time. This is not unique to Commvault – it applies universally across vendors.
What differentiates Commvault is how efficiently this challenge is managed. Our platform helps support native cloud immutability (including S3 Object Lock and Azure immutability policies) and maintain an efficient storage overhead.
However, total cost of ownership (TCO) extends beyond storage overhead alone. Architectures that rely on always-on virtual appliances can introduce ongoing compute costs and operational complexity that compound over time.
By contrast, modern, cloud-native approaches prioritize:
- Efficient data management.
- Flexible deployment models.
- Elimination of persistent infrastructure dependencies.
These design principles can result in more predictable, scalable, and sustainable long-term costs.
Presenting this as a choice between insecure backups and excessive storage costs is misleading. It is a false dichotomy that should prompt careful evaluation of vendors making such claims.
A Growing Trend Among Customers
We are seeing a clear pattern: Organizations are increasingly transitioning to Commvault after choosing not to renew with their previous providers. Common reasons may include:
- Unexpected limitations as environments scale.
- Performance constraints tied to appliance-based architectures.
- Rising infrastructure and operational costs.
- Renewal pricing significantly higher than initial purchase terms.
These challenges are not isolated – they reflect a broader trend in the market. Customers are seeking solutions that offer flexibility, transparency, and long-term value, without hidden trade-offs.
Cutting Through the Noise
In a market often shaped by aggressive claims and unclear comparisons, objective validation can be critical. That is why we created the Get Real Challenge – a structured, no-cost assessment that enables you to evaluate backup and recovery solutions in a meaningful way.
Through this program, you can:
- Simulate real-world cyberattack scenarios.
- Test recovery capabilities using your own data and environment.
- Evaluate performance without vendor bias or staged demonstrations.
The result is a clear, evidence-based understanding of your organization’s resilience posture. If you want to determine how your backups would perform under real-world conditions, we would be happy to help you get started. Drop us an email at global-sdr@commvault.com.
FAQs
Q: Is Commvault AirGap truly immutable?
A: AirGap is immutable by design, meaning backup data cannot be altered after it is written. This capability has been a core part of the platform since its initial release.
Q: Does AirGap support WORM lock protection?
A: AirGap helps support WORM lock capabilities across supported cloud storage platforms, including Amazon S3 Object Lock and Microsoft Azure Blob immutability policies. Recent enhancements also have helped expand protection across cloud and on-premises environments.
Q: Does enabling WORM lock significantly increase storage costs?
A: WORM-enabled storage creates some level of overhead regardless of the vendor because protected data cannot be modified after it is written. The more important question is how efficiently a platform manages that overhead and its overall impact on long-term costs.
Q: Why is total cost of ownership more important than storage overhead alone?
A: Storage efficiency is only one part of the equation. Organizations also should consider infrastructure requirements, compute costs, operational complexity, and scalability when evaluating the long-term cost of a backup solution.
Q: Why are some organizations moving away from appliance-based backup architectures?
A: As environments grow, organizations often look for solutions that offer greater flexibility, simpler operations, and more predictable costs. Cloud-native approaches can help eliminate dependencies on always-on infrastructure while enabling organizations to scale more efficiently.
Q: How can organizations validate their cyber resilience strategy?
A: The best way is typically through testing. Running realistic recovery exercises and cyberattack simulations enable organizations to understand how their backups will perform under real-world conditions and help identify gaps before an actual incident occurs.
Kash Ansari is Chief Customer Officer Americas at Commvault.
