Quick answer: Veeam Cloud Connect lets you send backups, or full replicas of your virtual machines, from your existing Veeam Backup & Replication console to a service provider’s cloud over a single encrypted connection, with no VPN required.
Exabytes is a Malaysian Veeam partner that offers Veeam Cloud Connect from its own Malaysian data centre, so your offsite copy stays in the country, close to your servers and under Malaysian data protection law.
It’s 2am and the IT manager’s phone buzzes. The file server in your Shah Alam office is showing encrypted file names, and the backup NAS sitting in the same rack has been hit too.
This is exactly why the “offsite” part of a backup strategy matters: if your only backup lives on the same network as your production servers, an attacker, a flood or a fire can take out both at once.
Malaysian businesses face this risk often. The Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) recorded 1,657 cyber incidents in Q1 2025, including 195 data breach reports, up 29% on the previous quarter, as reported by The Star.
Globally, Veeam’s 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies Report found that close to 70% of organisations surveyed had been hit by ransomware in the past year, and only 10% of those attacked recovered more than 90% of their data (Veeam, 23 April 2025).
This page is for Malaysian IT managers, system administrators and business owners who already run Veeam Backup & Replication (or plan to) and need a reliable, local place to keep an offsite copy.
We’ll cover how Cloud Connect works, backup vs replication, immutability, setup steps, pricing models and why keeping your data in a Malaysian data centre matters.
How Veeam Cloud Connect Works
According to Veeam’s Help Center, Veeam Cloud Connect lets service providers use Veeam Backup & Replication to offer “cloud repository as a service and disaster recovery as a service” to their customers, whom Veeam calls tenants.
In practice, it works like this:
- You keep your own Veeam console: Your on-premises Veeam Backup & Replication server stays in charge of your jobs, schedules and restores. The provider supplies the cloud storage or compute.
- One secure connection: Your server connects to the provider’s cloud gateway over a TLS-encrypted link, so there’s no site-to-site VPN to build or maintain.
- Your data is encrypted: You can encrypt data at source, before it leaves your network, so it’s protected in transit and at rest.
- Efficient over the internet: Backup copy jobs support built-in WAN acceleration and forever-incremental transfers, so after the first full copy only changed blocks are sent.
If you’re new to the platform, our overview of Veeam Backup as a Service explains how Cloud Connect fits alongside fully managed backup options.
Choose Your Service: Cloud Connect Backup vs Cloud Connect Replication
Veeam Cloud Connect comes in two flavours. Many businesses use both: backup for long-term retention, replication for their most critical systems.
| Cloud Connect Backup | Cloud Connect Replication | |
| What it stores | Backup files (compressed, deduplicated restore points) | Ready-to-run VM replicas on the provider’s hosts |
| Main purpose | Offsite copy for the 3-2-1 rule, long-term retention, ransomware recovery | Disaster recovery: fail over and keep running in the cloud |
| Recovery speed (RTO) | Hours: data must be restored before use | Minutes: replicas are powered on at the provider |
| Typical billing | Per TB of cloud storage used | Per replicated VM plus compute (vCPU, RAM) and storage |
| Best for | File servers, databases, workloads with flexible recovery times | ERP, accounting, e-commerce and other systems that can’t be down for long |
Cloud Connect Backup
Point a backup or backup copy job at your cloud repository and Veeam handles the rest. With grandfather-father-son (GFS) retention, you can keep weekly, monthly and yearly restore points offsite for audits and compliance, without filling up local storage.
Cloud Connect Replication
Replication keeps an up-to-date copy of your virtual machines on the provider’s infrastructure. If your site goes down, you fail over to the replicas and keep working, then fail back once your own data centre is restored. For a fully managed approach with regular DR drills, see our Disaster Recovery as a Service page.
Protect Your Offsite Copy From Ransomware: Immutability & Insider Protection
An offsite backup is only useful if attackers can’t delete it. Two Veeam features help here:
Immutable Cloud Repositories
Veeam’s documentation confirms that a service provider can use a hardened Linux repository as a cloud repository, which makes tenant backups immutable: they can’t be changed or deleted, even with administrator credentials, until the immutability period ends (Veeam Help Center: Cloud Repository).
Note that the immutability period is set per repository rather than per tenant, so ask your provider what period applies.
Insider Protection
With insider protection switched on, backups deleted from the cloud repository, whether by mistake or by an attacker using your stolen credentials, aren’t removed straight away.
Instead, Veeam moves them to a “recycle bin” on the provider’s side and keeps them for a number of days set by the provider (Veeam Help Center: Insider Protection). These files don’t count against your storage quota.
Tip: Ask your provider to enable insider protection on your tenant account from day one. It costs you nothing in quota and could save your business.
Keep Your Data in Malaysia: Why a Local Data Centre Matters
Where your offsite copy lives affects speed, cost and compliance:
- Faster backups and restores: A Malaysian data centre is close to your servers, so latency is low and restoring terabytes of data takes less time than pulling it back from overseas.
- PDPA compliance: The Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024 came into force in stages during 2025, raising the maximum penalty for breaching data protection principles from RM300,000 to RM1 million, and introducing cross-border transfer guidelines and mandatory breach notification (Mayer Brown). Keeping backups in Malaysia makes these obligations much simpler.
- Sector requirements: Regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare and government-linked companies often prefer, or require, that data stays onshore.
- Local support in your time zone: When you need to restore at 3am, you want engineers in Malaysia who can pick up the phone.
Exabytes runs its own Tier III data centre in Kuala Lumpur, designed for 99.98% availability.
How to Set Up Veeam Cloud Connect (5 Steps)
Getting started takes less time than most people expect:
Step 1: Size Your Requirements
Work out how much data you need to protect, how long to keep it and which systems need replication rather than backup. Your provider can help define your recovery time (RTO) and recovery point (RPO) objectives.
Step 2: Get Your Tenant Account
Your provider creates a tenant account with your storage quota (for backup) and/or compute resources (for replication), then sends you the gateway address, port and login credentials.
Step 3: Add the Service Provider in Your Veeam Console
In Veeam Backup & Replication, open Backup Infrastructure, select Service Providers and add the provider using the details you received. Verify the TLS certificate and enter your tenant credentials. Your cloud repository or replication resources will then appear in the console.
Step 4: Create Your Jobs
Create a backup copy job (or backup job) targeting the cloud repository, or a replication job targeting the cloud host. Enable encryption, set GFS retention and turn on WAN acceleration if available.
Step 5: Seed, Test and Document
Run the first full copy (for large datasets, ask about seeding the initial copy), then perform a test restore or failover. Write the steps into your DR runbook so anyone on the team can follow them.
Veeam Cloud Connect Pricing in Malaysia: What to Expect
Cloud Connect providers usually charge by resource, so you only pay for what you use:
| Service | Common pricing unit |
| Cloud Connect Backup | Per TB (or GB) of cloud repository storage, monthly |
| Cloud Connect Replication | Per replicated VM, plus allocated vCPU, RAM and storage |
| Immutable storage | Often included or a small premium per TB |
| Add-ons | Seeding, extra bandwidth, managed DR drills |
When comparing quotes, check:
- Billing in RM: Avoid currency swings on a long-term service.
- What’s included: Insider protection, immutability, WAN acceleration and support hours.
- Egress or restore fees: Some providers charge to download your own data. Make sure restores aren’t penalised.
- Minimum commitment: Monthly flexibility vs annual discounts.
Get Your Offsite Copy in Place Before You Need It
Nobody plans for a ransomware attack, a burst pipe in the server room or a failed storage array, but you can plan for the recovery. An offsite, immutable copy of your data in a Malaysian data centre turns a potential business-ending event into an inconvenient afternoon.
Why Businesses Choose Exabytes for Veeam Cloud Connect
- Malaysian data centre: Your offsite backups and replicas stay in Malaysia, in a Tier III facility built for 99.98% availability.
- Veeam partner: Cloud Connect Backup and Replication from a provider that also delivers managed backup and DRaaS.
- Secure by design: End-to-end encryption, no VPN required, with insider protection and immutable storage options.
- Efficient transfers: Built-in WAN acceleration, forever-incremental backups and GFS retention.
- Local expertise, 24/7: Live chat, WhatsApp, phone and ticket support from a Malaysian team.
- Proven track record: 26+ years in business, serving 160,000+ businesses across the region.
Talk to us about Exabytes Veeam Cloud Connect
Want more than offsite storage? Explore the full range of Exabytes eBackup services, including Microsoft 365 cloud backup, or pair your backups with incident response services so you have a plan for the attack as well as the recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who provides Veeam Cloud Connect in Malaysia?
Exabytes provides Veeam Cloud Connect Backup and Cloud Connect Replication from its data centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Veeam users can add Exabytes as a service provider directly in the Veeam Backup & Replication console and send offsite backups or VM replicas over a single encrypted connection.
What is the difference between Veeam Cloud Connect Backup and Replication?
Cloud Connect Backup stores compressed backup files in the provider’s cloud repository and is best for offsite retention and ransomware recovery. Cloud Connect Replication keeps ready-to-run copies of your virtual machines at the provider, so you can fail over within minutes during a disaster.
Does Veeam Cloud Connect support immutable backups?
Yes. Veeam Cloud Connect providers can use a hardened Linux repository as a cloud repository, which makes tenant backups immutable for a set period so they can’t be modified or deleted. Providers can also enable insider protection, which keeps deleted backups in a recycle bin for a set number of days.
Do I need a VPN to use Veeam Cloud Connect?
No. Veeam Cloud Connect uses a TLS-encrypted connection between your Veeam Backup & Replication server and the provider’s cloud gateway, so no site-to-site VPN is required. You can also encrypt backups at source before they leave your network.
Why should Malaysian businesses keep backups in a local data centre?
A Malaysian data centre gives faster backups and restores because of lower latency, and it simplifies compliance with Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act, which was strengthened in 2025 with higher penalties and cross-border transfer guidelines. Local providers also offer support in the Malaysian time zone.
