I have created a virtual machine that I use as a testbed to validate the Azure backup and restore functionality.
Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It has a good user interface and is helpful in reducing the downtime
Pros and Cons
- "The feature that I have found the most valuable is that it is easy to create a backup by using Azure Backup. It also has a good user interface and nice features for sending notifications when any backup fails or there is a change in the status of virtual machines."
- "I once tried restoring a Linux environment, and the size of the Linux VM or the data disk was really huge. It took a really long time to restore the environment and send the data from the storage to the disk. It took around 25 to 30 minutes, which was much longer than I anticipated. They can improve the duration of such restore operations. In the next release, it would also be good if they could reduce the duration for transferring the data from their storage to the actual storage while creating a virtual machine. They can reduce the duration or increase the data transfer rate."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
It is mainly used for backups, which are a key part of any organization's structure. Azure Backup has definitely helped us to reduce the downtime. Whenever something goes wrong, we can fix and restart it within no time. Azure Backup has increased the productivity of our connection, and on top of that, it has helped to reduce the operating cost of our organization.
What is most valuable?
The feature that I have found the most valuable is that it is easy to create a backup by using Azure Backup.
It also has a good user interface and nice features for sending notifications when any backup fails or there is a change in the status of virtual machines.
What needs improvement?
I once tried restoring a Linux environment, and the size of the Linux VM or the data disk was really huge. It took a really long time to restore the environment and send the data from the storage to the disk. It took around 25 to 30 minutes, which was much longer than I anticipated. They can improve the duration of such restore operations.
In the next release, it would also be good if they could reduce the duration for transferring the data from their storage to the actual storage while creating a virtual machine. They can reduce the duration or increase the data transfer rate.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Backup for the last ten months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is really stable. There were no problems with its stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability is very good.
How are customer service and support?
I have interacted with their technical support. I have no complaints. They are neither so good nor so bad.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used an Oracle solution and worked extensively with Oracle Database. The way to take a backup and do everything else was different from Azure Backup.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. To install it, you just choose an agent, and that agent is automatically deployed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a bit costly initially, but it is well worth it in the long run, especially for fighting against a number of threats, such as ransomware, which the IT industry is facing.
What other advice do I have?
It is really a valuable product. Most of the organizations nowadays, especially in North America, prefer Microsoft products over the Linux environment. There are, however, some people who use the Linux environment as well.
Overall, I would rate Azure Backup an eight out of ten. It meets the day-to-day requirements of most of the IT people, and it can be automated.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Chief Technology Officer at Plus Expressways Bhd
Stable solution but missing ransomware protection
Pros and Cons
- "It offers seamless integration."
- "Ransomware protection is missing in Azure Backup."
What is our primary use case?
We used it for the backup of virtual machines.
What is most valuable?
It offers seamless integration with Azure because there may be around 150 VMs in Azure. So we used to run Veeam. It was easy to implement.
What needs improvement?
Ransomware protection is missing in Azure Backup.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution since 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. I rate it nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. I rate it eight out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. I rate it nine out of ten. The solution was deployed in a few days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is in the middle as it is not the most expensive, yet they are not the cheapest.
I rate it six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
If you are new to the cloud and looking for a solution with essential backup support, go for Azure. But if you want advanced features, then this is not recommended. I was looking for Ransomware Protection and had to move away from Azure as it does not have such advanced features.
I rate it a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Delivery Service Engineer at Hanu Software
Disaster recovery that is easy to configure, learn, and use
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the ease in which it backs up our data."
- "We have a concern with the backup when were are working with VMs that are running in Barracuda Firewall because it usually fails."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case is for restoration purposes, disaster recovery, and to back up our normal processes for example restoration.
If any virtual machines go down then we can just recover from the previous restore point.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ease in which it backs up our data. I would say that the process is quite simple.
What needs improvement?
The compression rate is not as good as some competing products, so it needs improvement. We have read that the compression rate is 20%, whereas Commvault is 60% to 70%.
We have a concern with the backup when were are working with VMs that are running in Barracuda Firewall because it usually fails. This is a prominent issue. If I have 100 VMs then two or three of the backups fail.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Backup for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not had much experience the scalability or integration with other solutions.
We have more than 10 clients and we have approximately 500 individual machines.
How are customer service and technical support?
We haven't contacted technical support because we have not had any issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we did not use any other solution. We have been using this one from the beginning.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite simple.
If I have to configure a backup for one virtual machine it only takes five minutes.
This solution doesn't require any maintenance. If we have a problem Microsoft handles it.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the implementation and we have not used a vendor or integrator to assist us
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not aware of the pricing, as it is handled by the accounts department.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Currently, we are evaluating Commvault. I have read that it is good. We will consider other solutions that may be available with better facilities.
What other advice do I have?
The setup is a very simple and easy process, it's easy to learn and use, and it is not very complicated to configure. Overall, it's a simple process.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
IT Support at NCPB
Stable, with has good backup capabilities, but isn't user friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The best aspect of the solution is its backup functionality."
- "The solution is quite technical. I wouldn't describe it as user friendly. It could be simplified a lot to make it more accessible to the average user."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for its backup functionality. It's the number one reason we utilize the product.
What is most valuable?
The best aspect of the solution is its backup functionality.
Overall, the solution has many great benefits and features.
What needs improvement?
The solution may be better suited to certain companies over others. It depends on the type of data you are working with.
The solution is quite technical. I wouldn't describe it as user friendly. It could be simplified a lot to make it more accessible to the average user.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for around three years now. It hasn't been an extremely long amount of time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't experienced any issues with stability. I don't recall dealing with bigs or glitches. It doesn't seem to crash. I would describe it as pretty reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While 100% of our organization utilizes the solution, I don't believe we've ever tried to scale it. I don't know if it scales well or not. I don't know if our organization plans on expanding in the future, either.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've never needed to contact technical support. We haven't had any issues that were big enough to warrant us reaching out. I don't have any personal experience dealing with them hands-on, therefore, I can't speak to how easy they are to deal with or how good their support offering actually is.
How was the initial setup?
I was not involved in the initial setup. I can't speak to the complexity or straightforwardness of the implementation.
I'm not sure how long deployment takes.
We have an in-house team that handles maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
We have an in-house team that handled everything for us. They also do maintenance on the solution as necessary.
What other advice do I have?
We are simply using the solution as a customer. We don't have any professional affiliation with Azure. We simply use a lot of Microsoft products, including its OS and Office suite.
We have a site where do backups, but we do not do anything on a big scale on the cloud.
I'm not sure of which version of the solution we're using.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations to try. It's a very good solution.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. The product should be more non-technical. If it as more user-friendly, I would rate it higher.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT, DevOPS and Cloud Advisor at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Easy to deploy and integrates well with cloud services, but the interface needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "This solution allows me to restore either the VM or the data, depending on what is needed."
- "The user interface is a little bit confusing and it could be better."
What is our primary use case?
Currently, I'm working on a project in a desktop environment where this is one of the solutions that is being used. It is a public-cloud deployment model.
We are using this solution to back up VMs and data from our customers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with cloud services. I do not have to use an external application, such as Veeam, to back up files or VMs. It works like a standard backup, which is very useful when you want to provide a secure backup environment for your customer.
This solution allows me to restore either the VM or the data, depending on what is needed.
What needs improvement?
Technical support for this solution is good but it can still be improved.
The user interface is a little bit confusing and it could be better. It took some time to learn, although I was able to read about it and adapt. For a customer without backup experience, it will take longer to get used to. The same goes for customers without cloud backup experience because the options differ from what existed in their on-premises solution.
The price of this solution is something they should focus on improving.
The backend of this type of solution is complex, so stability and security can always be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable and I haven't faced any issues while using it. It is as stable as Windows is, or as Linux is, so it is stable.
When I was working for HP we had our own private cloud for the customers, and it is not easy to stabilize everything, especially if you have several data centers around the world and you need to synchronize them. Once you add a new feature and it has to be deployed in all of them, it can be very messy.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution.
Usually, my customers are small to medium-sized businesses with between ten and fifty users.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support for this solution is very good. I can either ask questions in the forum or raise a call, and people reply to me right away. It is great.
I have used support from many big companies in the past, such as HP and Fuji. Also, when I first implemented this solution, people suggested that I do not take support from Microsoft. Rather, I should purchase a support contract from another company. I opted to test the Microsoft support, and I found that I am very satisfied with it. I would rate them between seven and eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used other backup solutions, but this is our first cloud backup solution. We used to use NetBackup and a backup solution from HP, but these were on-premises deployments.
We chose Microsoft for this solution because they developed a data center in Switzerland, and the people there gave me a good feeling about it. I am really satisfied with this solution and support.
How was the initial setup?
This is an easy solution to implement. I didn't need to obtain or read a lot of information. If you have experience in IT then you will find it easy to set up a basic configuration.
Deployment time for this solution depends on the environment. As an example, the last deployment that I performed was for a company with twenty-five users. It took five days to complete. Some of the time, of course, was spent in preparation. The deployment itself is really easy and short.
What about the implementation team?
I implement this solution for my customers.
What was our ROI?
It may take several years before a customer sees ROI, but they will immediately gain in terms of security, stability, and automation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of this solution is ok, but I'm expecting that the price will decrease in the future.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have used many different backup solutions, and in my experience, none of them will do everything. Each of them has pros and cons. You have to choose a backup solution based on several aspects including your knowledge, the price, the license, the support, how long the backup will be deployed, the agent, the stability, the scalability, and what it is that you are backing up. For example, in the past, the HP solution that I used did not support backing up a mailbox.
For our customers, we only needed a simple backup solution. With Azure Backup, it was easy because I didn't have to search for an external solution. I did not have high expectations, but it matched them and does what I need it to.
What other advice do I have?
I came from a Unix environment in the past, and I was not really a Microsoft or Windows users. Now, however, I'm more confident with Microsoft products. I worked for HPE for a long time in a private cloud environment, and I really appreciate services that are well-integrated with each other and can be used right away, without having a great deal of Microsoft experience.
There are some services that different customers do not require, but everybody needs to have a backup solution as a prerequisite, whether they operate on-premises on in the cloud.
This is a simple backup solution. To understand, you can consider Unix as an example. We used to have a single backup command that worked from the command line interface, and it was sufficient. Then, dedicated backup applications were released. They were more complex with new features, handled new infrastructure, and handled new applications, but with that came bigger expectations. In this case, my expectations are small and Azure backup is sufficient for my customers. If tomorrow, for example, the customer's requirements change, then I may advise them to use Veeam, NetApp Cloud Backup, or another solution.
My advice to anyone who is implementing this solution is to test the restore process regularly and to manage the backup of the data depending on the certainty of the restore. Even if the backup completes successfully and is stable, it doesn't mean that the data is not corrupted. This is the same advice that I would give for an on-premises backup. Be vigilant on that.
When it comes to this type of solution, sometimes you have to dedicate a specific engineer for a long time. They will train themselves and know everything about the backup. They will be able to troubleshoot and answer questions about the solution.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
IT Support at NCPB
It's simple to set up, but I would like the option to customize the frequency
Pros and Cons
- "Setting up Azure Backup is straightforward and the total deployment time was about a month."
- "I would like to have the option to increase the frequency of the backups. Azure Backup does backups on an hourly basis, but I would prefer it to take backups more often."
What is our primary use case?
We use Azure Backup to back up our data from our application server to the disaster recovery site.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have the option to increase the frequency of the backups. Azure Backup does backups on an hourly basis, but I would prefer it to take backups more often.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Azure Backup for nearly three years.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Azure Backup is straightforward and the total deployment time was about a month.
What about the implementation team?
A reseller handled the whole deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an annual license and pay separately for support from a local provider.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Azure Backup seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior System Specialist at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Simple to configure and easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "It's very simple to configure which is very useful. It's not complex to configure it."
- "To make it a ten, it should have the ability to extend the retention and to perform a copy of the data outside of the subscription - with no additional costs."
What is our primary use case?
Our customers have VMs on their test environment that are backed up with Azure Backup for short retention, around one month. They need a machine that does not need integration with backup over BPE.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it's very simple to configure which is very useful. It's not complex to configure it.
What needs improvement?
I would like for the backup of VMs to be improved. The first thing our customers require is for me to back up their VM. I would like to do the backup using the integration. But I don't think the customers I am managing are ready for this yet.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Azure Backup for around two to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. There are no problems regarding the backups. Some customers require a double copy of the backup. From on-prem to Azure or from Azure to on-prem or to another site. In these cases, it is necessary to use other software to perform the backup.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is a great improvement that is offered on the cloud. With a few clicks, you can scale up resources.
How are customer service and technical support?
When you open a ticket, it is transferred to India. We've had problems that have taken two or three days to resolve. Their response time isn't so fast.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Commvault, Veeam, NetBackup - a lot of other softwares. The difference between these solutions and Azure is that they offered better options for backup across hybrid environments. It depends on what the customer is looking for.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. The time it takes to deploy depends on the environment. For a medium deployment, it will usually take one day to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In my opinion, the price should be a little lower to be more competitive with other software. It depends on the customer's environment and subscription.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Azure an eight out of ten.
To make it a ten, it should have the ability to extend the retention and to perform a copy of the data outside of the subscription - with no additional costs. There is a cost for downloading data on Azure or on-prem. If I would like to have a copy on-prem I need to pay more for the data. Azure should modify its policies.
I am a consultant. We discuss what the customer is looking for and we'll recommend this solution based on their environment. Azure is easy and simple to configure. It's easy to use. If there are other requirements, I would recommend another software.
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: partner
Technical architect at a manufacturing company with 1-10 employees
A stable backup solution with good support, but it would be better to increase the backup frequency
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it's a stable solution and their support is good. I think Microsoft's commercial force is superior."
- "They need to improve the frequency of the backup. You can only backup one to three times a day. It would be better to back up continuously throughout the day."
What is our primary use case?
I use Azure Backup to backup Microsoft Domain Controller for my client. The need was to protect the domain controllers as they were critical controls for Watson Web. So, even if a hacker attacked the firm with a ransom through Watson Web, it would be possible to recover the data from Azure because the data would have been protected.
What is most valuable?
I like that it's a stable solution and their support is good. I think Microsoft's commercial force is superior.
What needs improvement?
They need to improve the frequency of the backup. You can only backup one to three times a day. It would be better to back up continuously throughout the day.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been dealing with Azure Backup for about five years. But I have more than eight years of experience in all cloud or Azure services, including Azure Backup and Azure VM Backup.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a very stable solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
Microsoft technical support is okay. I never had any problem with it. Compared to Amazon Web Services, I think I like Microsoft's support. I just have to call them to obtain all the support that I need, and they are very proactive. They help you build solutions because they know that your business will grow and mature after helping you design the solution, provide you with tools and free licenses.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward, but you have to think about the recovery strategy. Implementing the two is quite easy, but you also have to think about the backup and the overall recovery strategy and what kind of recovery strategy you will use to backup and restore. I know it's easy for the most common use cases.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I believe Azure Backup is superior to AWS, and Google is a little bit more powerful for implementations.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Azure Backup a seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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