2024

BETSOL

zmanda.com

How I Designed Zmanda’s First Cloud Endpoint Backup Product Used Across Global SMBs

Building a simple, secure, and scalable endpoint backup experience for IT teams worldwide.

Complex Landscape, Missing Product Category

Zmanda had powerful enterprise backup tools, but one major gap remained:
they did not offer a modern cloud-based endpoint backup solution.

This was a serious competitive disadvantage. SMBs and mid-sized IT teams were moving toward cloud-first workflows, device fleets were decentralizing, and cyber threats were increasing.

Without endpoint backup, Zmanda risked:

Losing SMBs to Acronis, Druva, and Carbonite
Weakening long-term cloud strategy
Missing a massive opportunity for Dell partnership integrations

The challenge was to design a product that could scale from 10 devices to millions, yet remain simple enough for small IT teams to adopt instantly.

My Role

I was the UX Designer responsible for end-to-end UX and UI, from early feasibility mapping to final launch designs. My contributions included:

Designing all key user flows (onboarding, device management, backup policies, restore workflows)
Creating a scalable design system used across Zmanda Cloud
Conducting research, competitive benchmarking, and technical feasibility exploration
Supporting GTM efforts with product, engineering, QA, and marketing
Ensuring accessible UI patterns compliant with WCAG Level A
Collaborating deeply with engineering to align on behavior, logic, and constraints

This project involved 1.5 years of continuous iteration with cross-functional teams.

Target Audience & Stakeholders

Primary Users

IT Administrators
SMB sysadmins
Support engineers managing device fleets

Secondary Users

Product managers
Engineering leads
QA and internal support teams
Dell project stakeholders

Business Stakeholders

CEO, Directors, Senior Directors
Sales & marketing teams for GTM alignment

Research & Planning

Competitive Benchmarking

Studied Acronis, Druva, Carbonite, OneDrive for Business, and Azure AD.
Insight: IT admins rely on predictable patterns and minimal-click workflows.

Stakeholder Interviews

Worked closely with Dell and internal leadership.
Insight: Product must handle massive potential scale — millions of devices.

User Feedback

Interviewed IT admins managing 50–5,000 devices.
Insight: They valued transparency: health status, last backup, errors, storage usage.

Technical Feasibility Sessions

Paired with engineering and agent teams weekly.
Insight: Many features needed fallback logic due to OS differences and device states.

GTM + QA Inputs

Validated user journeys via internal alpha users.
Insight: Documentation and onboarding needed to be extremely clear for adoption.

Design Process

1. Mapping Core Workflows

I created the full IA for ZEB:

Device onboarding
Agent installation
Backup plan creation
Policy management
Restore workflows
Activity logs
Storage usage visibility

2. Wireframing & Prototyping

Multiple versions were explored for:

Dashboard hierarchy
Device details and health indicators
Restore UI
Scheduling and policies
Tested internally and iterated quickly.

3. Design System Creation

Built the visual + component foundation used across Zmanda Cloud:

Colors
Typography
Buttons
Nav patterns
Modals
Data tables
This improved consistency and accelerated development.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Weekly reviews with PMs, engineers, QA, marketing, and leadership ensured constant alignment.

5. Pre-Launch Polishing

After internal release, we fixed usability issues related to:

Accessibility
Navigation
Error states
Clarity of backup/restore steps

Use of Design System

Since this was a brand-new cloud product, I created Zmanda’s own design system, including:

Typography + color tokens
Spacing, grid, layout structure
Core components (tables, nav, tabs, modals, dropdowns, alerts)
Backup status indicators
Policy UI patterns
File/restore visualization patterns
Accessibility standards (WCAG Level A)

This system became the foundation for all future Zmanda Cloud modules, reducing inconsistencies and speeding up development.

Design Showcase

Outcome & Impact

Product Impact

Shipped Zmanda’s first cloud-based endpoint backup product
Established the core foundation for Zmanda’s cloud ecosystem
Added 5+ new future-ready modules on top of this UI system

Business Impact

2× increase in overall ROI
Significant growth in conversions
Strengthened strategic partnership with Dell
Positioned Zmanda competitively in the cloud backup market

User Impact

Clearer workflows for backup/restore
Faster onboarding for IT teams
Lower learning curve
Reduced support tickets

Team Impact

Unified UI across Cloud products
Faster dev cycles due to reusable components
Better alignment across engineering, design, and product

Launch Strategy and Execution

Market Introduction:

Executed through targeted marketing campaigns, partnerships, with Dell, and extensive social media coverage to maximize outreach and product uptake. Early access for existing customers and stakeholders was also provided to generate buzz.

User Onboarding:

Supported by comprehensive documentation, online tutorials, and dedicated customer support to ensure a smooth user transition and strong market adoption.

Launch Strategy and Execution

Market Introduction:

User Onboarding:

Supported by comprehensive documentation, online tutorials, and dedicated customer support to ensure a smooth user transition and strong market adoption.

1. Clarity beats complexity

Admins prefer simple, predictable workflows over feature-heavy UIs.

2. Design systems multiply speed

Creating the design system early saved months of development later.

3. Accessibility is non-negotiable

WCAG standards elevated usability across the board.

4. Partner-driven requirements matter

Designing for Dell-scale readiness ensured long-term product stability.

5. Good UX = trust

Backup products must inspire confidence, transparency, and safety — every pixel matters.

Reflections & Learnings