Data Protection Manager delivers centralized backup of branch offices and within the data center, by near-continuously protecting changed files at the [[byte]]-level to a secondary disk, which can then be backed up to tape. This also enables rapid and reliable recovery from an easily accessible disk instead of waiting to locate and mount tapes.
Data Protection Manager 2006 was released on September 27, 2005 at [[Storage Decisions]] in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=httpshttp://news.microsoft.com/2005/09/27/microsoft-launches-system-center-data-protection-manager-as-part-of-its-universal-distributed-storage-vision/|title=Microsoft Launches System Center Data Protection Manager as Part of Its Universal Distributed Storage Vision|last=|first=|date=January 2011|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Trends/Business-Continuity-Dominates-at-Storage-Decisions/|title=Business Continuity Dominates at Storage Decisions|date=January 2011}}</ref> The current version, Data Protection Manager 2012, supports protection of Windows [[file server]]s, [[Exchange Server]], [[Microsoft SQL Server]], [[SharePoint]] and [[Microsoft Virtual Server]]. It features [[bare-metal restore]].
