Laptop Backup Vendor Comparison
Posted by Scott Bush on Wed, Mar 30, 2011 @ 03:13 PM
Selecting a data backup solution is like buying grass seed – there are tons of varieties and qualities to keep us guessing. Buy the wrong kind for the targeted application and you may have to wait another season to try again. This couldn’t be more amplified when you consider solutions for enterprise laptop backup (aka endpoint backup). Often overlooked, laptop data backup is no longer as simple as having users copy files to a shared drive. Today’s users have become more mobile and since they have regular access to email and their CRM, they VPN or dock into the network less often – or not at all - going longer intervals without backup. To address this seachange, innovation is needed that can overcome the many points of failure associated with mobility and endpoint backup.
With the subtitle, “Endpoint Backup Gains in Importance,” Gartner just released their Desktop/Laptop Backup research update (G00211731) on March 21st where Principal Analyst, Sheila Childs, sheds light on purchase considerations by breaking down choices into three categories …
1. Server Backup Vendor Products Used for Desktops and Laptops
2. Backup Services (Hosted Service Providers)
3. Built-From-the-Ground-Up Desktop/Laptop Backup Products
Looking at the three categories, I have broken them down into 3 key areas of consideration: Handling Mobile Users, User Experience, and IT Administration.
1. Server Backup Vendor Products Used for Desktops and Laptops
Handling Mobile Users – Sheila indicates in this category, “Some of these vendors start with their server-based backup product and ‘dumb it down,’ so that it’s appropriate for desktop/laptop backup.” Be careful here – even though these vendors are almost all venerable names, a solution originally designed for always-connected servers, may not apply to frequently disconnected laptops.
User Experience - Users are typically empowered to do their own restores but agents can be intrusive and often require strict schedules to adhere to – another limitation for the mobile user. Test the solution on a few less technical users and see if the results will scale.
IT Administration – For this criteria, understand how thoroughly the solution can deduplicate files. Global (source & target) ought to be the goal. Good backup deduplication will conserve bandwidth as well as storage while making it viable for continuous backup instead of scheduled batches. Look also for central administration where the endpoint doesn’t have to be visited for implementation or updates.
2. Backup Services (Hosted Service Providers)
Handling Mobile Users – Assuming mobile users can connect often enough, online backup can work well. However, if schedules are missed, the delta change could impact laptop resources and effect productivity. Recoveries can be lengthy so make sure you can meet RTO and RPO thresholds.
User Experience - Like the previous category, many of these vendors have attempted to trim down their server agents to accommodate endpoints. Expect schedules, user training, and intrusive agents.
IT Administration – According to Sheila, “Endpoint backup services are a good option when organizations don’t have the in-house resources to tackle this issue, or for those that simply don’t want to tackle it.” There is very little IT overhead with this method. Additionally data is protected offsite, often to multiple data centers. Costs can vary widely - understand the costs over 3 years as compared to owning the storage and doing it yourself.
3. Built-From-the-Ground-Up Desktop/Laptop Backup Products
Handling Mobile Users – Look for features in this category that can take advantage of any Internet connection and store data automatically behind the firewall. Aggressive deduplication at the source and target should enable support for thousands of users.
User Experience – It’s difficult to maintain training for users in larger enterprises – seek features that avoid schedules and cumbersome interfaces. Backup should be non-intrusive, offering continuous processing during idle CPU cycles. In the case of Copiun, the full-text file restore process is integrated into the OS, making a recovery as familiar as searching for a file in your directory.
IT Administration – IT and other business stakeholders ought to have full visibility into the backup repository for risk management and e-discovery. Also, look for features that easily track enterprise backup success and can differentiate between anticipated errors such as disconnects and “real” failures that are out of service level compliance.
Hopefully, this helps break down the choices available to you. Try our side-by-side vendor comparison tool to evaluate over 50 features of vendors on your short list.
I welcome your comments.