Commvault launches AI-driven resilience for enterprise data
Commvault has announced new capabilities utilising conversational AI to streamline enterprise data protection and cyber resilience functions through natural language interfaces.
The new features enable users to manage data protection on Commvault Cloud by interacting via conversational AI assistants such as OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise and Anthropic's Claude, with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server acting as a secure intermediary between these AI models and enterprise systems.
This approach allows users to request setup, management and execution of resilience tasks using everyday language, all while adhering to established policies for safety and security.
According to the company, this introduces a more accessible way for organisations to carry out resilience activities, automate processes, and perform routine protection tasks across Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), cloud, and hybrid environments. The technology enables real, authorised actions beyond merely answering questions.
The user experience is presented as highly intuitive. For example, a user might ask, "Is my instance of Docusign backed up?" and receive a direct, actionable response through the AI assistant, such as an offer to set up a new backup. The assistant will then follow through with setup, job tracking, and options for ongoing scheduling, all managed under enterprise policy constraints.
This conversational model extends across all workloads that Commvault Cloud protects, offering a consistent voice- or text-driven interface for data resilience activities at scale.
Elaborating on the practical benefits, Christopher N. Colla, Vice President of Information Technology & CIO at B&G Foods, said:
"With this kind of AI simplicity, we can spend less time managing routine backup jobs and more time thinking about how to strengthen our resilience strategy. It's so easy to ask our AI assistant to handle a backup or check a recovery status - it's the same way we ask it to write an email or summarise a report. Now, that same simplicity applies to keeping our data safe."
Johnny Yu, Research Manager at IDC, commented on the announcement's focus on enhancing the user interface rather than pursuing full AI autonomy. He said:
"Commvault's conversational AI is a pragmatic application of GenAI for data protection. Its focus isn't AI autonomy but rather optimising the interface between the data protection tool and the human user. That said, it does lay the groundwork for AI autonomy by creating traceability and accountability for every AI action."
Pranay Ahlawat, Chief Technology and AI Officer at Commvault, described the strategic intent behind the integration:
"At Commvault, we're moving beyond conversational interfaces to enable agentic resilience - where AI can act on behalf of teams, safely and transparently. By adopting the Model Context Protocol, we're giving enterprises the foundation to automate recovery and protection workflows within the guardrails of the NIST Risk Management Framework - auditable, policy-driven, and role-based access controlled. This is how we bring simplicity and trust together in the age of AI operations."
The company highlighted the safeguards it has implemented to support secure use of generative AI (GenAI) in cyber resilience. All conversational interactions are routed through Commvault's MCP server, which applies policy controls to authentication, access, and encryption.
Commvault also stated that it does not use customer data or user prompts to train external AI models. Customer information is protected by Commvault's own privacy and security practices, and any external GenAI platforms operate according to customer-managed controls, supporting auditability and compliance with data protection standards.
The company lists several benefits for customers, including the ability to manage backup and recovery tasks through everyday conversational dialogue, AI-assisted automation under governance, the capacity for rapid status updates and job launches by simple request, and comprehensive coverage for workloads across supported environments.
Integration timeline
Commvault's MCP server will initially be made available through a private early access programme, followed by wider public early access and eventual general availability. The company is evaluating additional integrations with other enterprise GenAI assistants alongside ChatGPT Enterprise and Claude, with rollout to follow the readiness of those platforms.
Commvault has also announced a new Data Rooms offering. Both product updates are intended to advance the company's approach to combining cyber resilience with responsible use of AI technology.
