Azure Backup Reviews

Customers nowadays are planning to migrate their workloads from on-premises to the cloud, like Azure. Microsoft offers Azure Backup as a service, which allows backup for virtual machines, SQL databases, HANA databases, and even file shares. 

If the customer's workloads are supported by Azure, we recommend Azure Backup as a service. However, for workloads not supported by Azure Backup, we look for third-party investment solutions.

One notable feature is that snapshots are computed in less time, enabling faster system recovery. Even for large systems, we can recover them in less time. For example, if it's a recent backup, it can be done in less than 15 minutes.

Another benefit is that the backup utilization is not high. Comparing the pricing with other technologies, Azure Backup is more affordable for customers.

One feature is VMware backup with replication. Many customers are interested in this. Additionally, Azure Backup allows customers to extend their retention period for more than five or ten years, which is beneficial compared to other enterprise backup solutions. The monitoring capability is also good. 

Moreover, encryption is maintained by Microsoft if we follow the platform team management system. This is crucial as customers want to ensure the security of their data on Azure. The configuration is user-friendly, and we have control over backup storage utilization and VM consumption. 

When it comes to improvements, Microsoft should provide us with an option to explore the logs. So if there's any failure by seeing the error, in some cases, we will be able to resolve it. But 50% of the cases are being handled by Microsoft itself, like getting the logs from the back end. That's the one thing that I've seen that has to be enhanced from Microsoft's end.

Azure Backup is limited to certain workloads. It would be helpful if Microsoft focused on enabling backups for Oracle and other unsupported databases.

We have multiple customers, and we categorize the Commvault infrastructure based on customer mix. We have more than ten Comsources, and we distribute the load accordingly. Based on client utilization, we configure the backup equally across the media agents.

The stability is good. I didn't find any challenges. The installations also work as expected. The customers do not have any concerns about it.

Customer service and support vary based on the issue. I've had personal experiences where some issues took more than fifteen days to resolve while others were resolved in one or two days. Overall, it's good, but there is room for improvement based on my personal experience.

The initial setup is very simple. We have to have an idea of the networking cost structure and the configuration. We also have to get confirmation from the customer about what kind of retention they are looking for.

We can also have the data deployed to other regions, which is a nice feature. If there is any disaster in the primary region, we'll be able to read the data from a secondary region. That's also one of the very good features offered by Azure Backup. 

The deployment process is quite easy in Azure. Enabling backup for any VM takes less than five minutes. We just need to create a vault and discover the VM for backup. So, in terms of deployment, it's straightforward and user-friendly.

I haven't found the need for much maintenance. In comparison to other backup solutions where we maintain our own infrastructure, Azure Backup handles everything. We simply create a library, assign a policy, and associate the VM with the trusted backup vault. Microsoft manages everything, and there are no limitations in terms of storage utilization.

Comparing the pricing with other technologies, Azure Backup is more affordable for customers. It follows a pay-as-you-go model, where we pay according to our consumption.

In terms of Azure Backup, there is no special license required. We only need to pay for the amount of data we consume and the data transferred across the network. The pricing is calculated based on these two factors. There is no explicit license cost. We just need to allocate a budget for storage and related expenses.

When it comes to advice, it's important to understand the specific requirements of the customer. If the customer requires backups for VMs, SQL, and SAP HANA, Microsoft's Azure Backup can be a suitable choice. 

However, if there are other workloads that are not supported by Microsoft, alternative backup solutions should be considered. The decision depends on the specific requirements. Azure Backup offers services related to cost, storage utilization, encryption, and scalability.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.

We use the solution for VMs and SQL servers. 

I like the product's restoration cases. 

The tool's backup should be faster. Azure Backup's support should be faster.

I have been working on the product for four years. 

Azure Backup's stability is good. 

My company has around 1,000 users for Azure Backup. 

Azure Backup's setup is straightforward and gets completed in 10-15 minutes. We need to identify the backup frequency and configure it. We would need around six to seven people to handle the tool's deployment and maintenance. 

A consultant helped us with the deployment. 

I would rate Azure Backup an eight out of ten. 

We use Azure Backup to backup and restore virtual machines as well as SQL Databases.

The only issue we have right now is the amount of time it takes to restore. When we attempt to restore a virtual machine, it can take hours. This is an area that could be improved.

The length of time it takes to restore is our main source of frustration. It would be beneficial to shorten the time it takes.

We had issues with shared storage in the past where it couldn't be included in the backup. Shared storage, or shared disc, wasn't available. I believe Microsoft promised to put it in their pipeline for improvement in order to add this, but I haven't double-checked. This was the issue with shared managed discs, and not being included in this backup scope.

If the shared managed disc could be included with the backup, it would be better.

I have been using Azure Backup for three years.

Azure Backup is very stable.

Azure Backup is a scalable solution.

We work with it all of the time.

Technical support is very helpful. I would rate them a four out of five.

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward. It was something that was easy for us.

It was completed within a few minutes. It can depend on the environment, but usually, it is fast.

The number of staff required for maintenance depends on the automation. We require more staff now, but we are working on the automation. Generally, it is relatively low. For the most part, it works by itself.

We operate in our own environment.

Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis.

It's not an expensive solution. I am more than happy with the price.

We are working in our own environment, assisting KPMG users and firm members. We also have internal companies.

I am an Azure Architect.

It's useful, it works, and it's fairly reliable. The only issue right now isn't a big one, but our users sometimes need faster recovery, faster restoring of services, and faster restoring of data.

I would rate Azure Backup a nine out of ten.

Azure Backup is a mandatory service. We have recommended every client to use Azure Backup. Many resources and databases are being backed up on Azure in different zones and regions.

We have multiple clients. Some of them have data centers. They have 100 to 200 virtual machines. We have set backups, snapshots, and replication for every machine in different zones.

Our client’s infrastructure is protected by the tool.

The product must improve on a database level. It should be made more application-aware.

I have been using the solution for one year.

If we have zone-redundant architecture, the stability is ten out of ten. If not, then it will be an eight out of ten. Overall, I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten. Our clients are small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses.

Sometimes, we meet technically sound people. Sometimes, we don’t. The support team calls within 30 minutes if we launch a ticket. The support team should contain more highly technical people. Overall, the support is good.

Positive

The tool is very easy to deploy and configure. A person who understands networks can deploy and configure the product very easily. If a person has a clear concept of networks, they can work on any cloud solution. I rate the ease of setup a nine out of ten. We have many clients.

We have replicated our clients’ resources from on-premise to cloud and from cloud to cloud. The time taken for deployment varies for every client. If a company has 100 VMs, the tool can be deployed in two days. We can configure the tool with Azure CLI.

It is a very cheap cloud solution.

The solution is improving day by day. New features are introduced, and existing features are updated regularly. Oracle and Azure have some partnerships. They have signed an agreement. Some of our clients have data centers, and we configure their applications on Azure cloud. Azure clients also want to configure their applications in different zones and regions. Azure Backup is good. It can protect the resources of a company. Overall, I rate the product a seven out of ten.

We use Azure Backup to backup VMs.

The most valuable feature of Azure Backup is its ease of use and good integration with other Azure services.

The Azure Backup support for on-premises service is limited.

The file-level restore procedure should be more straightforward.

I have been using Azure Backup for approximately three years.

Azure Backup is stable.

Azure Backup can scale and it is easy to do.

The initial setup of Azure Backup is straightforward. It took 15 minutes to do the deployment.

I rate the initial setup of Azure Backup a four out of five.

I did the implementation of the solution.

I rate Azure Backup a seven out of ten.

The product is cost-effective compared to other vendors.

Azure Backup must include features similar to enterprise solutions, such as Veeam.

I have been using Azure Backup for five years. We are using the latest version.

The product is stable. I rate its stability a ten out of ten.

We cater this product to small, medium, and enterprise businesses. I rate its scalability a five out of ten.

The initial setup has medium complexity. I rate the process a five or six out of ten.

The product's pricing is a three or four out of ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is costly.

Overall, I rate Azure Backup an eight out of ten.

Our primary use case is for backups.

The solution helped us use R2 RBO to back up frequently and avoid losing data if we had system issues.

The most valuable features are the integrations because we are using Azure Cloud, which backs it up with all the Azure components.

Azure Backup is constantly improving its features. However, it can be further improved by continuously meeting its compliance requirements.

We have been using the solution for three years.

The solution is stable.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We use it to backup on-premise data to Azure. We can backup the whole virtual machine to Azure if we need offsite backup. If you don't have any backup solution on-premise data center, you can rely on Azure Backup to do a backup to Azure, to the cloud. That means from on-premise to cloud backup, for data and virtual machines. 

It has many features. First of all, you can schedule a backup for the client as you like. You can also control the bandwidth so the backup will not utilize. The internet will depend on the bandwidth. You can also configure the retention period as you like and monitor everything from the cloud. You can monitor it from anywhere and you can log on and see. Doing a restore is also easy. It's easy to use.

The second thing is that if you have multiple computers and you need to utilize the bandwidth, you can install a dedicated server on the data center and let this backup server communicate with Azure and the local servers will only communicate with the local computers and the server only will communicate with Azure.

You can do a backup from the whole virtual machine as an image. You can do a backup only from files and folders. It has every option. All options are available for the backup, for the restore, for the bandwidth utilization to do backups even virtual machines or a physical machine. If you need to do a backup from the whole image from the virtual machine, all these options are there.

It doesn't have the option to have a backup from the database. It has a backup for the files, folders, and backup only the whole virtual machine. But if I need to do a backup from the Oracle database, from an Exchange server or from SharePoint, this ability isn't there. There is no application backup. 

We have been using Azure Backup for around three years. 

Stability depends on the bandwidth. It's very stable. If you have a good bandwidth, it's fine. If you don't have a good bandwidth, you can have a problem. If you have limited bandwidth, you will pay the cost. 

With cloud there is no limit. The limit is the sky and so for Microsoft infrastructure, there are two options. If you have a small data center, small servers or small computers and you need to do a backup, this is fine. You only need to install the agent. 

But if you have big servers or it's a number of servers, Microsoft also offers the ability to do a local Azure Backup and this Azure Backup will communicate with the local server and these servers can be communicated to the cloud and you can often install multiple servers. It will distribute different loads. 

I haven't needed to contact the support or get a ticket with the support team because the document and the tutorials were available and even when we try to do a main backup, Microsoft guides you in steps and will not go to the next step until you finish the first one. For each and every step there is a guideline, and even if you didn't read the tutorial, just you go to the steps and follow the steps.

I didn't raise any requests or get any support from Microsoft but I got other support from Microsoft and raised other support tickets but not for this particular project.

In addition to Azure Backup we used Azure Backup as an off-site backup because we have on-site backup. We also use EMC NetWorker which backups up to a disk. It's backup to disk software which we then do a backup from our local data and local servers to the local backup device. We use Azure because it is off-site backup so it helps us a lot in case of a disaster, in case of any problems so we can still have data be off-site so we can restore it from anywhere.

The initial setup was easy. I did it myself. It is not very complicated at all. This is another one of its valuable features, that it is easy to set up. Microsoft has guidelines, documentation, instructions, procedures, and tutorials available.

Because it's a Microsoft product, admin guidelines and instructions are available. It's not that complicated. You can have any infrastructure on the cloud or on-premise. If you want to install a server you will need to install maybe a virtual machine. But if you don't need to install it, you can install only an agent on the computers. That's it.

The deployment took around two days. I have experience with other backup solutions so I understand the concept. It's like a car. You have a car, you know how to drive a car. But this is Rolls Royce or a Porsche or whatever, but it is the same concept. You can still own the car and you can go. It is the same. So for us, it doesn't take that much time to understand the concept of backup and then implement it. 

The deployment required two people, myself and a colleague. 

It requires three people for maintenance.

From a cost perspective, it is a very good solution because it doesn't need a lot of costs because it's only a matter of storage on the cloud. You don't need any license at all, and on the cloud, you only need bandwidth. Bandwidth utilization will have various calculations of bandwidth utilization or bandwidth utilization and storage.

You don't need a license. There's only a subscription with Azure, that's it. Azure will calculate the bandwidth which you are utilizing and the storage. The worst thing at Azure is software allocations. That is not required, even in Azure, to implement a server or install backup software. From Azure itself, it's a matter of configuration. No need to have infrastructure. You don't need to have a server and install the software in the cloud. It's only a matter of some steps you need to follow. It's only a platform and a service. 

It is easy to configure a solution at any time, from anywhere. I can also restore the data, easily, without any complication. You can implement it in a very short time. The lesson learned in the beginning is that you can implement a solution in a very short time. 

I would rate it a seven out of ten. It has some good features. You can sort the data in many ways and at anytime. But it is not user-friendly. To be frank, it is not a software and a service. Software and service is easier and not complicated but infrastructure is more complicated. A platform lies somewhere in between. It's a platform and service.