Retrospect, Inc. -- a privately‐held company recently founded by longtime Retrospect team members -- has released its first independent product offering, Retrospect 9 for the Mac.

It sports features like data deduplication, network backup of Mac, Windows, and Linux computers, and new support for cloud‐based storage. It provides critical functionality for professionals and small businesses that need more than basic data protection, says Eric Ullman, co‐founder in charge of products for Retrospect, Inc.

One of the new features in Retrospect 9 for Mac is support for cloud‐based storage, which provides immediate offsite backups. Retrospect 9 can target any Internet‐connected storage that has been configured to provide WebDAV (Web‐based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) access. Cloud storage providers like Egnyte (http://www.egnyte.com) and Internet hosting providers like Dreamhost (http://www.dreamhost.com) provide WebDAV‐accessible storage that Retrospect can employ for offsite backups. By choosing WebDAV, which is standards‐based, cross‐platform, and easy to configure, Retrospect is courting consultants and managed service providers who want to provide offsite storage services for their clients, says Matt Johnson, Retrospect co‐founder in charge of sales, marketing, and support.

Retrospect 9 for Mac also includes an all‐new network backup client for Intel‐based Macs. This new, 64‐bit client uses optional AES‐256 encryption when sending backup data to the Retrospect server, and it allows users to initiate on‐demand backups and restores from the desktop or the Retrospect Client preferences pane. End users can also be notified of starting and completed backup operations with integrated Growl notifications.

There are also improvements to performance, task workflows, user interface elements, and reliability. Specifically, Retrospect can now run twice as many simultaneous operations as the previous version; it uses less memory and fewer processor cycles at idle; tape library management has been improved; Retrospect’s configuration file is more resistant to corruption; and client backups and restores are faster. Retrospect 9 also offers a new view of past backups that show only those files that were copied during the backup, making it easy to see Retrospect’s data deduplication technology at work conserving backup storage space.

Retrospect 9 is available immediately from Retrospect resellers or http://www.retrospect.com as an electronic download. Boxed product will be available from resellers at the end of November. Retrospect 9 is available in 11 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

Individuals and organizations that purchased a Retrospect 8 license on or after July 20, 2011, will receive email notification that they qualify for a free upgrade to Retrospect 9 for Mac. New product and paid upgrade prices from previous editions are listed below.

Retrospect 9 Multi Server Unlimited Clients with ASM are US$1,669 for new users and $939 for upgrades. This version protects an unlimited number of networked Mac, Linux, and Windows servers, desktops, and laptops; it includes one year of support and maintenance.

Retrospect 9 Single Server Unlimited Clients with ASM are $809 for new users and $539 for upgrades. This version protects a single Mac OS X Server and an unlimited number of networked Mac, Linux, and Windows desktops and laptops. It includes one year of support and maintenance; additional server client licenses are available separately.

Retrospect 9 Single Server 20 Clients with ASM are $609 for new users and $409 for upgrades. This version protects a single Mac OS X Server and an unlimited number of networked Mac, Linux, and Windows desktops and laptops. It includes one year of support and maintenance; additional server client licenses are available separately.

Retrospect 9 Single Server 20 Clients are $479 for new users and $279 for upgrades. This version protects a single Mac OS X Server and up to 20 networked Mac, Linux, and Windows desktops and laptops. Additional server client licenses and support and maintenance are available separately.

Retrospect 9 Desktop 5-User are $129 for new users and $59 for upgrades. This version protects a single, non‐server Mac and up to five additional networked Mac, Linux, or Windows desktops and laptops. Additional desktop/laptop client licenses and support and maintenance are available separately.