Veeam Brings Object First Back Into The Fold, Doubling Down On Immutability
Varonis, Tuesday, January 20th, 2026
Veeam's acquisition of Object First marks a notable shift in how the backup software leader is packaging cyber resilience, without abandoning the software-first philosophy that has defined its rise. The deal brings a purpose-built, immutable backup appliance back under the same roof as the company it was designed to serve, while raising questions about partner dynamics, execution, and optics in a crowded storage ecosystem.
The backstory: Object First was founded in 2022 by Veeam co-founders Ratmir Timashev and Andrei Baronov, following their exit from Veeam. The company's mission was tightly focused: build an on-premises backup target engineered specifically for Veeam, with immutability enabled by default and minimal room for operator error. Its flagship Ootbi appliance (short for Out-of-the-Box Immutability), uses S3 object storage with Object Lock enforced, aligning directly with Zero Trust design principles.