EMC's Mozy on Tuesday launched in beta an online backup service for businesses running Apple Mac servers, desktops, and notebooks.

MozyPro for Mac builds on the company's consumer edition of the service, called MozyHome for Mac. The latest version enables businesses using Mac OS X or Windows machines to manage backup and restore processes from a single, Web-based administration console, said Mozy, which is owned by storage vendor EMC.

MozyPro also provides 24-hour phone support that covers network drives and popular server applications, such as iCal server, mail services, and directory on OS X Server; and Exchange, SQL Server, and Active Directory on Windows Server. "MozyPro makes it easy for businesses using OS X as well as Windows to manage backups of all their computers from a single place," Vance Checketts, chief operating officer of Mozy, said in a statement.

Mozy hopes to tap what it sees as the increasing use of the Mac among small businesses, as well as in the creative industry and education market, which have been traditionally strong for Apple. In July, Apple reported a 41% increase in Mac shipments in its third fiscal quarter. Much of that increase has come from notebook sales. In the second quarter of the year, Apple was the third-largest PC maker in the United States, according to Gartner.

MozyPro for Mac beta supports Mac OS X and OS X Server 10.4 or higher, along with Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000; and Windows Server 2000 and 2003. The service costs $6.95 per license plus 50 cents per gigabyte per month.

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