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NetApp SnapCenter vs Veritas Backup Exec comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

NetApp SnapCenter
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
36th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of NetApp SnapCenter is 0.6%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Backup Exec is 2.0%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

MervynMorgan - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables us to save data for data projection but could improve its integration with other backup solutions
NetApp SnapCenter is highly efficient because it allows you to automate the creation of snapshots. Instead of manually creating snapshots using IMS or HMS, you can schedule and automate them, specifying the timing and frequency. This eliminates the need for daily manual intervention and streamlines the process. SnapCenter also enables you to assign specific user roles to manage these tasks, enhancing efficiency. SnapCenter ensures that your LPOs and RTOs are extremely quick. Although it may seem expensive initially, after using it for a while, you'll appreciate the efficiencies and gains it provides. I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Sameer Pansare - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a valuable feature for data encryption and good technical support services
Our primary use case for this solution is preliminary data restoration from tape media, disaster recovery, or recovering any data backed up to tapes The product's most valuable feature is encryption. The backup software is easy to use. They could include backup functionality for enterprise…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It has very fast backup and can handle a huge amount of data. It also enables really fast recovery."
"Technical support has been very helpful when we have issues."
"It's integrated with VMware vCenter. You can also see the backups there and you can do a restore completely out of vCenter."
"The most valuable feature is that it's centralized. In the old SnapManager days, we had software for each server. Now, with a centralized system, we're able to manage all systems remotely, and all agents remotely, and update them remotely. That's a huge benefit for us."
"We have been very satisfied with the technical support's help. Their knowledge level is great. For a noncritical question, they will get back to us within a day."
"The backup features are the most valuable because they allow the DBAs to replace SnapManager for Oracle (SMO), which is going away, and to do cloning as well. We can also clone to different servers and have the actual backup clone mounted on different servers. And we can split easily too."
"A feature that stands out is cloning databases. If you have a SQL database and it's huge, like one terabyte, the classical SQL way would be to do a backup-restore to create a clone of your database for test purposes. With SnapCenter now, we can clone a database but through the Snapshot technology, which means if you right-click and you click Clone, the one terabyte database is there instantly."
"The reporting feature has been particularly beneficial to upper management... When you do manual backups, you do not get the benefit of seeing successes and failures and how often you have to do restores. With SnapCenter, you get all of that."
"The backup solution comes in different versions to support different platforms."
"It has good stability. Its interface is very good, responsive, and easy for restoring data. I use it for backup, encryption, and restore operations, and it works. I am using many agents from VM to LMDP. I also use an agent for SQL Server, which has advanced options because it is the Enterprise version."
"The one thing for the last 12 months which has been very good for Veritas was the instance-based license. This means that you're able to license per instance, not only per physical server."
"Veritas Backup Exec is easily managed."
"The product is good in a small environment when looking to a backup on a tape."
"It is easy to set up and use for daily processes and a good solution for preserving crucial data."
"The solution is stable."
"It is a good overall suite of products."
 

Cons

"The GUI is still so-so. I' don't use the GUI that often anymore because it's really slow, refreshing disks, refreshing hosts, and you have to click a lot."
"The product lags in terms of availability."
"Reporting of the jobs could be better."
"There is one area that needs improvement and that's in the alerting. When you set up your SMTP alerts, it only has - and I don't understand why - the ability to send an anonymous SMTP. It doesn't do basic authentication, which frustrated me for a while until I figured out that I'm not missing something. It's just not there."
"I'm waiting for SnapCenter for hybrid solutions. Right now, we only have SnapManager for hybrid. I need agents for that. People are looking to install SnapCenter in a SQL environment, but where they're running SQL on Hyper-V and using virtual files. Currently, we don't have support for hybrid."
"My major issue is when I upgrade. I have to touch every last client that I have in SnapCenter, and right now I have 60... They said that in another release that will get better, but right now it's not better and I've had to do this three times."
"I have an issue with SnapCenter because sometimes a VM cannot be backed up... The way SnapCenter works is that it makes a backup of all the VMs and then it removes all the old backups. If one VM cannot be backed up for some reason, it has already created a new backup for all the VMs but it cannot remove the old backups. It ends up creating so many backups in VMware and it will cause a performance problem if the condition is not fixed."
"We would like to see more granular repording and reporting in bigger sets available in SnapCenter."
"In terms of improvements, I think the pricing model could be improved. They charge you by port, for every port that you have even if you're not using all of them."
"Expanding is difficult because if I want to add, for example, a terabyte of data, then I have to buy a disk shelf and it will cost me a lot."
"The price of this solution is very high."
"There needs to be an integration process of the endpoint devices so that we don't have to redo everything for different products."
"It would be nice to improve the backup acceleration and the fast restoration required."
"A web console would be great because nowadays a lot of products are web-based and you can access the console from various environments. So I would recommend bringing this feature in the next solution."
"One area for improvement is Veritas's pricing."
"Enhanced support for cloud backup needs to be added."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a site license, so it comes with the product."
"The license for SnapCenter was included with the storage array."
"The licensing is well-designed because it's already included in some packages with NetApp storage. Therefore, for most customers, it's okay as the SnapCenter license is already included in some NetApp bundles."
"It's free. The license is included with other NetApp products."
"We see a financial value with SnapCenter because we don't have to license Commvault, which is pretty expensive."
"Pricing is very good because if you already have NepApp controllers, then it's included."
"The product is inexpensive."
"It comes free with the amount of equipment we purchase from NetApp. In terms of pricing, zero is my favorite number."
"Veritas licensing is somewhat expensive. They have to decrease the price."
"The product is affordable."
"It is not an expensive product."
"It is affordable, but I hope that the price will come down a lot because of other competitors. It is a good price for the customer, but sometimes, the competition provides a much lower price. There are two ways to license it. You can license it per instance or per terabytes of data that we are mocking up. It is enough because it is not so complex. It is good when you're working with customers."
"I would like to see a better licensing model. They changed it and it's just horrendous."
"Veritas comes with an annual licensing fee."
"I rate the price of Veritas Backup Exec a four out of five."
"Pricing is similar, but they don´t offer the same options/technology."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetApp SnapCenter?
Most banks and financial institutions use the solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapCenter?
If you have a license, you don't need to buy anything extra. If you have multiple storage systems and want to manage them with a central tool, you are covered.
What needs improvement with NetApp SnapCenter?
There is always a chance for improvement. One thing that might be improved is the ease of management. It might be made a little less complicated.
How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?
Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...
What do you like most about Veritas Backup Exec?
The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Veritas Backup Exec?
I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being very expensive. The pricing is good. We have a yearly license. The total license cost is around 40,000 dollars. That's with add-ons and t...
 

Also Known As

SnapCenter
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

All for One Steeb AG, Accenture
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp SnapCenter vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
829,634 professionals have used our research since 2012.