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IT Desktop Support
Real User
Universal Restore allows you to reimage a computer without having to have all the drivers
Pros and Cons
  • "I've reimaged servers and been back up and running in exactly no time with the completely new hardware."
  • "It does not delete locked files."

What is most valuable?

I've reimaged servers and been back up and running in exactly no time with the completely new hardware. 

The Universal Restore allows you to reimage a computer without having to have all the drivers. It allows you to boot the machine; once you get the machine up and running, then you can install the drivers.

Click Here For a Free 30-Day Fully Functional Trial of Acronis Backup v12.5

What needs improvement?

It doesn't seem to do the following on the server but it does so on the work station: It does not delete locked files. So I created a small batch file that, after the backup, I go in and I run. That deletes all the extraneous lock files. I tried running the batch file automated but it would not run for some reason.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I keep five months of full images of the server. And my work station, I keep three copies, three months' worth. And I backup my data separately. All the data is on a server and nothing is on the computer.

I backup data daily, five copies of it. Every five days, I overwrite the first one. So I've got five days of data, and three days of images and of the workstation, and five copies of the server image. I do it automated every month and I've never had a problem.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've used all of them. I've used Norton Ghost, and years and years ago something called FastBack. Norton Ghost is really the only other one, but my experience is there are more problems with using it than Acronis.

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Acronis Cyber Protect
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Acronis Cyber Protect. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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How was the initial setup?

Very simple. I can create a backup program in just in minutes because I know the program so well. It is very easy to set up if you know anything about computers, and even if you're not familiar with computers.

It takes me no time at all and the backup procedure is pretty much straightforward, depending on how complicated your system is. 

I'm using the pro version. Personally, I think that the home version is more complicated to set up than the professional version, for some reason. You would think it would be the other way around.

Click Here For a Free 30-Day Fully Functional Trial of Acronis Backup v12.5

What other advice do I have?

Buy it. Simple. It's the best backup. I've used it to restore a number of machines without any trouble at all. It's very simple with a hard drive. It makes it much easier if you have a complete new system.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user674337 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at a tech services company
Consultant
The interface is easy to understand and consistent across applications.
Pros and Cons
  • "Consistency and reliability. The interface is easy to understand and consistent across applications. While not 100%, it is a very reliable backup solution."
  • "I needed tech support to straighten out an issue with cloud backup. I have troubleshooting to do with failed backups."

How has it helped my organization?

I use the same backup software provider across all my clients. This means I only have to stay on top of manage interface and workflow. In that aspect, it's reliable.

What is most valuable?

Consistency and reliability. The interface is easy to understand and consistent across applications. While not 100%, it is a very reliable backup solution.

[Click Here for FREE Trial of Acronis Backup. See Why It Gets 5-Star Reviews.]

It makes a full image of the hard drive. If a hard drive fails, all we do is recover to another hard drive. We just pop in the hard drive and that's very fast as well. Speed and the ease in which we recover full hard drives are valuable features.

What needs improvement?

I needed tech support to straighten out an issue with cloud backup. I have troubleshooting to do with failed backups.

[Click Here for FREE Trial of Acronis Backup. See Why It Gets 5-Star Reviews.]

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were no stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There were no scalability issues, although my biggest client has a relatively small-scale backup system.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would give technical support a rating of 8/10. They are very good, quick to access, quick for remote to server, and quick to troubleshoot. Sometimes they are a little slow in understanding the exact issue, but they eventually get it and resolve it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used Symantec. We switched because they had a bad user interface and it was very difficult to use. I left Symantec years ago for Acronis. The only other backup I encountered was the one included with Windows Server OS.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was somewhat straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is what it is. I don't shop around once I find a good solution. I insist they maintain ongoing support year after year for updates and tech support.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other options.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it!

[Click Here for FREE Trial of Acronis Backup. See Why It Gets 5-Star Reviews.]

It makes a full image of the hard drive. If a hard drive fails, all we do is recover to another hard drive. We just pop in the hard drive and that's very fast as well. Speed and the ease in which we recover full hard drives are valuable features.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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Buyer's Guide
Acronis Cyber Protect
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Acronis Cyber Protect. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user454233 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a educational organization
Real User
We use it for backing up our VMware environment. Can configure a single backup for all the VM servers.

What is our primary use case?

Server backups, including all of our VMWare servers and a few physical Windows Servers. 

How has it helped my organization?

I don't worry that the backups aren't running or panic when a storm is coming through; it just reassures us because we've  seen what it's doing, what it can do, and that it's doing what we're asking it to do. For example, if somebody deletes a file out of their Home folder or a shared folder, then knowing that I've got it and that I can get it back fairly quickly is important. Also, if a VM server were to go down we would be able to recover.  It's just that sense of security and peace of mind.

What is most valuable?

My favorite feature is that we use it for backing up our VMware environment and then, we just have a few physical servers. I like that I can configure a single backup so as to backup all the VM servers. I also like that it gives you a place for backing up to multiple locations of all the backup jobs/plans.

Other features such as setting up the vaults, email notifications, restoring a full VM, restoring just down to files and folders (once you know exactly how to do it, it's very easy and quick to do) are also valuable. So, there are a lot of things that I really like about it.

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What needs improvement?

We have been using this solution for almost a year now.  I'm not sure about the improvements aspect because it has been a learning experience for me. However, I know that any time I've come across an issue with it, I open a case with support by calling  or starting a chat session and they help me figure it out.

A lot of the times, it was just something that I was doing wrong. Setting everything up has been fairly easy. In terms of monitoring it, most of the issues that I've had were on the user's side, for example for the restoring part, I was doing it the wrong way. However, once they walked through with me and showed me exactly how I needed to do it, then it worked perfectly. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not experienced any stability issues. I had to add some more RAM to my Management Server, and then I had some issues with my Synology NAS, but other than that, no other issues were experienced.

Special for IT Central Station Visitors: Free 30-Day Trial of Acronis Backup 12.5

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems like I haven't had any issues since I added the RAM to the Management Server, but it does seem to start being sluggish because I have it running on a Windows 7 machine. So, I'm considering trying to move it over to a true server (either a 2008 or 2012 Server) and then, to update that. However, it hasn't been an issue since I added the RAM. We added three physical machines that we're backing up now. It was super easy. Once we had the lessons, added that in and got those backed up really quick. That was really nice. We know, at any point, if we have a VM or a physical server that we need to add to make sure it's getting backed up, we know exactly what we need to do and that it's very capable of handling it.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user3396 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user3396Team Lead at Tata Consultancy Services
Top 5Real User

Backup VMware is difficult.

Systems Manager at a outsourcing company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Configuration of automatic backups and the full image of the hard drive make it reliable

How has it helped my organization?

More reliability of backups and security.

What is most valuable?

The configuration of automatic backups and the full image of the hard drive, so in case something happens I can recover the full hard drive.

Click Here For a Free 30-Day Fully Functional Trial of Acronis Backup v12.5

What needs improvement?

Installation could be easier.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is a really good characteristic. Even if the PC is off, the software tries to apply the backup.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No, the application has very good support. The only difficulty is in the security of each computer login. In general, the application is excellent.

How are customer service and technical support?

The knowledge is excellent from the support people. The only difficulty is regarding the support hours, because they are a long way from us in terms of time zones.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Not myself. But at this company they had Carbonite, a really bad application. We switched because of this application's features that permit us to do many things.

How was the initial setup?

It was difficult because of the security logins that are different for each computer.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This application, which we bought through PC MALL, was expensive. A month later I discovered the price was totally different. I already told fiends the application works very well, but they should buy it at a different price than we paid.

Click Here For a Free 30-Day Fully Functional Trial of Acronis Backup v12.5

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Barracuda Backup and EaseUS Todo Backup.

What other advice do I have?

Proceed with it, it's a good application; just check the price.

Also, I can explain to my friends the “issues” I have had during the installation so it can be implemented faster and more easily.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user689541 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
We needed a solution for backing up the server OS and servers with RAIDs. Reliability has been really good.

What is most valuable?

Getting an image of a server machine just for disaster recovery purposes is valuable.

We have used it to back up systems and we have recovered systems. The amount of features that it has and reliability has been really good.

How has it helped my organization?

When we first started, we didn’t have the ability to back up servers, per se, that had RAID drives on them. Years ago we were trying Ghost backup or some other more consumer-based products. Then when we found Acronis, we were actually able to back up the server OS on a RAID drive Blu-ray.

What needs improvement?

The newer version 12 was a little bit hard to set up and get licensed. When I went to version 12, the actual license page wouldn’t come up in an Internet Explorer browser, so we had to change to another browser as a workaround to get to the licensing page. That happened on at least two different installations of that version.

I haven’t worked with 12.5 yet, but this issue was on Version 12. I worked with technical support and we tried a couple of things, but then, that licensing page would always come up blank in Internet Explorer. Then, when we changed to a different browser, it did come up and we were able to license it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Acronis for about 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We didn’t have stability issues. After I got it licensed, it worked fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate it high in that department.

How are customer service and technical support?

I rate technical support a 10 out of 10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using Norton or Norton Ghost or maybe DriveImage Backup. Then, we switched because we needed a solution for backing up the server OS, and then for servers that contained more than just one single hard drive in a RAID configuration.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is straightforward.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did look around at the different options. I can’t recall the names of them now, but other commercial server-level products that would do the same thing, but they were probably a little higher in price. At the time they are higher in price and Acronis was more competitive that way.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend it. At my company we’ve used it widely. It’s actually in a lot of our best practices documents to use this product, so we've kind of adopted it unofficially.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Engineer at MRB Secure
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Has good system-critical technical support but deployment needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "In terms of system-critical support, Acronis' technical support does really well. I would give them an eight out of ten for that."
  • "Because Acronis Backup is an on-premises solution, there is extra overhead. It's harder to manage, and there's no real remote access. You have to physically log in to the machine to manage it. The reporting feature works fine, and you will be able to send out reports. However, that is where it stops. The deployment could be improved and could be through a network chain. If we need to deploy two machines that are not connected to the internet but connected to two different networks, it would be great to have a machine with dual mix that has access to the backup server and to those machines. It would be like a relay that you can install on the machine with a two-mix, and that machine can then connect to your backup server and to the other machines. You should be able to see the other machines on that network and be able to deploy to it and push jobs to it."

What needs improvement?

Because Acronis Backup is an on-premises solution, there is extra overhead. It's harder to manage, and there's no real remote access. You have to physically log in to the machine to manage it. The reporting feature works fine, and you will be able to send out reports. However, that is where it stops.

The deployment could be improved and could be through a network chain. If we need to deploy two machines that are not connected to the internet but connected to two different networks, it would be great to have a machine with dual mix that has access to the backup server and to those machines. It would be like a relay that you can install on the machine with a two-mix, and that machine can then connect to your backup server and to the other machines. You should be able to see the other machines on that network and be able to deploy to it and push jobs to it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for quite a while. We have two clients who use it at present.

How are customer service and support?

In terms of system-critical support, Acronis' technical support does really well. I would give them an eight out of ten for that. However, for mid-level issues, I'd give them a six out of ten. They take a long time to provide solutions.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up the backup server is quite a complex process. There is a bit of a learning curve. You have to make sure that all your services are up and that the actual machine is up and running. If the machine goes down, then you won't have any visibility into what is actually happening.

The installation of the product is not as hard as the configuration process. For instance, the licensing can be quite daunting because you still need a cloud license or access to a cloud portal. This is the old legacy portal where you have to upload the license file and then register it directly from there or download a registered file that you can upload onto the machine. This would then activate the machine. If you only want to do a local backup or backup to local storage, it will work fine. However, if you try to attach cloud storage to it, then another level of complexity will come into play.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Acronis Backup is cheaper. If you install it on a hypervisor, you only pay for a single license. It would be for the backup server, and everything else will be covered by it. In that sense, it becomes a much cheaper option.

However, if you have virtual machines, then it can be more expensive. Also, if you have a lot of physical machines the cost can be higher because each entity will need a separate license. There is a monthly license cost.

What other advice do I have?

If you don't want to run everything off of the cloud because you're concerned that Acronis Cloud might go down for days, Acronis Backup is a good option. It is an on-premises solution. However, it's a legacy version and is not really Acronis' mainstream product.

Overall, I would give Acronis Backup a rating of six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Njekwa Anamela - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO/Managing Director at Computers for Africa Solutions
Reseller
Feature complete, useful cloning, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Acronis Backup are cloning and many other capabilities. For example, you are able to clone the whole operating system and drive. Additionally, the solution is a complete package."
  • "Acronis Backup has a straightforward initial setup process and an easy-to-use interface. However, a potential issue for Acronis partners is that registered partners do not have access to marketing materials, which can make it difficult for them to reach mass markets and sell the product. This could be improved by allowing registered partners to access marketing materials and tools, such as email templates, that would help them to promote Acronis Backup effectively."

What is our primary use case?

We are a service provider and we sell the solution and help them set it up.

Acronis Backup is a software application that is used to create backups of different types of data and software, including Microsoft Azure and SQL instances. It is commonly used by businesses in various industries, such as banks, law firms, and financial institutions, to protect their enterprise applications and data, including databases and data accessed by mobile employees in the field.

The solution works best as a hybrid because of local security regulations in terms of the storage of data. A hybrid is usually the best deployment, especially in our country. 

How has it helped my organization?

Acronis Backup has been beneficial for our organization because it allows our mobile employees to create backups while they are in the field, rather than having to come back to the office to do so. This is particularly useful because, in the past, we had to rely on our office network to perform backups using Azure and Veeam. With Acronis, as long as our mobile employees have ethernet connectivity, they can create backups remotely, which has been convenient and efficient.

Using Acronis Backup has helped our organization by allowing us to create backups of data accessed by mobile employees in the field, which has reduced the risk of data loss due to theft, loss of laptops, or other incidents. This has improved our operations by helping us to protect our data and prevent losses that could impact our business.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Acronis Backup are cloning and many other capabilities. For example, you are able to clone the whole operating system and drive. Additionally, the solution is a complete package.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Acronis Backup for approximately within the last 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Acronis Backup is good.

I rate the stability of Acronis Backup an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the scalability of Acronis Backup an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The support pays a lot of attention to the customers. Here in South Africa, we only have two technicians.

I rate the support from Acronis Backup a nine out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

Acronis Backup has a straightforward initial setup process and an easy-to-use interface. However, a potential issue for Acronis partners is that registered partners do not have access to marketing materials, which can make it difficult for them to reach mass markets and sell the product. This could be improved by allowing registered partners to access marketing materials and tools, such as email templates, that would help them to promote Acronis Backup effectively.

What was our ROI?

I have seen a return on investment with Acronis Backup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of the solution is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

Acronis Backup is a comprehensive application that can be used in a variety of settings, making it a valuable tool for many businesses. Its versatility and ability to handle a wide range of tasks make it an attractive choice for those looking for a single application to meet their backup and data protection needs. I recommend Acronis Backup to many of my clients due to its versatility and usefulness in various situations.

I rate Acronis Backup a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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PeerSpot user
ERP / HMIS / EMR Specialist at Fauji Foundation
Real User
Backup & Recovery Tool for System Administrators

In any network and system environment, backup and recovery is one of the most crucial, critical and inevitably important and demanding task. There are two products (Norton Ghost & Acronis True Image) which are top of the line in terms of granularity and flexibility. Reliable and rapid recovery is one of the system administrators’ strong needs in deployed domains.


I had used Norton Ghost v.9 quite for some time and the sole purpose for usage was client pc’s restoration in case of HDD failure caused by malfunction, viral activity or any other reason for system drive corruption. Though both Ghost and Acronis provide excellent recovery from scratch for partition recovery to full HDD and Logical Volume backup and restore for almost all Microsoft operating systems (MS Small Business Server, MS Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012 and downstream to Windows Xp), moreover both support for Linux flavors like Ubuntu, Fedora and RHEL 6.


As a regular user of Acronis True image now for windows domain which consist of 74 pc's, with identical hardware and software considerations I found the Acronis true image as an best solution for backup & recovery and optimum tool for any HDD cloning.(Domain Controller with Windows 2003 R2 64 bit operating system on it without any limitation).


I found Acronis to be the best solution for following salient reasons:


1. Acronis UI is simple and easy to understand for novice user as well as advance user .All important tasks focused on one page.


2. True image is providing far more granular facilities like file and folder recovery.


3. Acronis doesn’t require .NET framework 2.x as Norton Ghost.


4. Acronis provides bootable support for Linux as compared to Norton Ghost and NovaStor Backup.


5. Acronis provided unlimited number of backups and doesn’t limit.


6. Network Drive backup is also supported for backup through Acronis True Image.


7. Image size of Acronis is less than image created through Norton Ghost.


8. Acronis keeps all of its incremental and full backups in Acronis Secure Zone which is inaccessible by malware, user interventions or any possible corruption of the image for backup. Secure zone is a propriety partition which is referred as ASZ only accessible by Acronis Backup and Recovery.


9. Recovery disk can be created on almost any type of portable device i.e. USB memory stick, external HDD, Zip drive etc.


Possible Cons:


Help Support is far less than Norton Ghost.


Domain Controller HDD image created through Acronis might pose problems like rejoining of the client pc to domain ,


Reliability in case of Active directory partition, MS SQL Server, Exchange Server is doubtful.


I am using Acronis bootable USB stick with image on it and almost saving 3 hrs. of manhours of our technical staff. One of other benefit which my Windows Domain gets is restoration of image on different hardware with Acronis Universal Restore.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sofiane Medhkour - PeerSpot reviewer
Sofiane MedhkourHead System /Solution Architect at sorfert
Real User

nice product, i'm using it for more then 12 years

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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Acronis Cyber Protect Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Acronis Cyber Protect Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.