Carbonite Endpoint vs. Microsoft System Center

It's really great if you have a small or medium-sized business like ours. You can choose the number of computers you want to back up and pay per computer. And since it's pretty easy to set up and deploy, you don't need a dedicated IT guy to do it for you. On the other hand, if most of your data is already in the cloud (like Google Docs or Google Sheets) and you don't have any other critical data then you can get by without it.

Incentivized

We used a product before that was designed to prevent users making changes and saving files to the desktop computer. This required a renewal of the license. By using SCCM in our environment we were able to discontinue using that product because SCCM allows us to completely restore a machine back to the original configuration. We have taught our users to save their individual work on either a network drive or a cloud drive. By doing this, if we do a re-image of their machine they have lost no data, and it makes for a faster resolution. In some instances having a computer in our SCCM environment it can become cumbersome when creating new users for very specific purposes. It can be done by creating new organizational units and applying new policies but when in a pinch it can be frustrating. For the most part we have tried to make "new" purpose images and groups to at least accommodate a quick install.

Incentivized

• Protected file restoration: Users love having confidence that their files are being backed up remotely with no action required on their part.
• Device tracking: While we've only enabled this feature for a small set of key personnel, this feature is useful in helping to determine if a given asset is lost, and works across mobile device platforms - unlike in-built solutions for individual users.
• Management console: The management console is clearly organized and easy to work with. Setting up groups and policies is logical and hierarchical, and makes managment tasks easy.

Incentivized

• Provides our users the ability to deploy and manage our own datacenter based on defined software with understandable solutions for storage, compute, networking and security.
• We are able to update at once all the computers from all departments without having to install the OS on every computer.
• It allows us to have everything in one place for database management and datacenter inspection as well.

Incentivized

• Carbonite indicates which files are being backed up by its dot system so that you can easily backup a single file that you don't see the dot on by selecting that option from the file's context menu. But there is no place for me to go to select entire folders or data sets so that it will back up everything in that folder, regardless of file type. Carbonite automatically backs up a majority of files types by default but does not take into consideration specialized file types like font files. These files are very important for a designer like myself and I can't afford to lose my fonts. But I also don't want to have to select the option to back them up one by one. I have over 1,000 of them! So there is definite room for improvement here.
• The cost is significantly more than what I paid for Mozy, almost double. For the first year, they are giving old Mozy users a deal comparable to Mozy's pricing, but after that my pricing will be almost double what I used to pay.

Incentivized

• Needs web based storefront for requesting new software
• Needs ability to manage the packaging work flow better
• Sometimes is slow to download and there is no indication the entire catalog is being loaded, resulting in confused users not being able to find common software in the available list.

Incentivized

I found their alerting to be very poor. I missed several days of backups without knowledge of this, until I signed into the portal. I would get daily emails reporting backups were in progress or done, but nothing indicating that a backup had been stuck or paused for 3 days. For this reason alone, I did not renew.

Incentivized

No matter our issues with the software, its ability to centrally manage systems, patch, image, and remote help users has far exceeded our timeliness to help staff. Its ability to keep current, enable us to keep the network secure, and standardize our end-user experience has saved us many hours, dollars, and time every day.

Incentivized

Does what it needs to do quietly and efficiently in the background without interrupting the workflow. It offers instant automated back-ups without troubling the end user. As it is such an automated system, once it is up and running, there is little or no support needed from the service provider. From what I understand the support from Carbonite during the setup and implementation was absolutely fine.

Incentivized

If I had to dislike something about the system it would be how much it changes once you upgrade. This could be more of a problem of mine since I get used to one way and don't like it when it changes so much. I am enjoying the newest update, but it is a mess when you are actually going through the upgrades.

Incentivized

Carbonite Endpoint 360 definitely has a solid footing in the market. Barracuda Essentials is a more comprehensive solution offering many additional features and complementing services including archiving and email Antispam and encryption. Proofpoint is very similar to both products and has many features as well. Overall, the market is very competitive on the backup and retention of Office 365.

Incentivized

None. We are a Microsoft business, and this is THE tool for imaging, packaging, remote support, and antivirus management. Microsoft's tool is the best for managing its software, systems, and antivirus clients. I will say that Microsoft Intune, the cloud platform, can be used for those with heavy 365 usage, but for us, that does not meet our current company needs.

Incentivized

• We have only started this process at this time and have not fully completed our transfer of data up to the cloud.
• As far as business objectives, we now have at least implemented a backup solution on a very vital server at an off-site facility that had not ever been backed up in two years and holds data for a major constitutional office in the county.

Incentivized

• We have been able to automate our patch management, firmware and other security concerns.
• We have a standardized "image" ensuring our setup is consistent across the enterprise. This alone has saved us in time to support and time to understand how to use our desktops.

Incentivized