CrashPlan vs. Veeam Data Platform

This is a great Cloud backup solution. The cost is low, the bandwidth is managed well within the application, and the footprint for the client on a machine is very small and provides a notification menu icon with info about what is happening now or very recently. This does not backup to anything locally, so if that is a requirement, it will not meet that need. It used to be able to backup from one machine to another remote machine at one time, but now it is only cloud-based.

Incentivized

Veeam Data Platform is best suited in environments that fall under its compatible applications, which it backs up. Any sized business could benefit. The ease of use and metrics are a breeze and the learning curve is low. However, if you're using hypervisors, products that have no support by Veeam Data Platform, then clearly wouldn't be a great fit. Their workaround for this by using OS level backups for baremetal deployments but increases the risk of failure when doing restores.

Incentivized

• Code42 is the most affordable backup system offering unlimited storage that I could find. I came from SOS Online Backup, which I ultimately decided to drop after my monthly rate for their unlimited plan increased by 20x.
• With Code42's unlimited storage option, I don't have to worry about the fact that my backups are significant in space. As a photographer with thousands of images at stake, I need to run large backups often.
• Code42 runs continuously and silently in the background of my desktop computer. It is truly "set and go", so I don't have to think about it when I'm away. It runs until the designated drive has been fully backed up to my cloud storage. It will then automatically email me once the backup is complete (or, it will email me if it encounters any errors).
• Customer service is above par. Anytime I need help, a chat agent is available (chat is my communication preference), they are always friendly, and go above and beyond to resolve my needs.

Incentivized

• Veeam stands out among backup solutions because of its ability to work with almost any storage type. For example, only a small portion of backup solutions will support catalyst stores, Veeam does.
• Veeam is extremely flexible when it comes to setting it up. I had a network recently that limited ethernet connectivity between the Veeam VM and the backup repository and Veeam handled it easily.
• Day-to-day use of Veeam is very simple. It is easy to train our technicians to use it proficiently in a very short amount of time.
• Our Veeam VMs don't have issues very often, but the one or two times I have called for support, they answered right away, and the technicians assisting us were knowledgeable about their products.

Incentivized

• The CrashPlan program installed on your computer is Java-based vs. a native application. While this makes development for CrashPlan easier, there are a lot of drawbacks to Java programs including more resources usage, less stability, and overall more clunky interface.
• While this was also in the Pros category - CrashPlan is an extremely powerful and flexible program, which adds a great deal of complexity. Setting up CrashPlan isn't always a simple procedure, and depending on the complexity of your backup set, can take a while to tinker around with the settings to get everything to work properly.
• The CrashPlan desktop program consists of a Java program front end, as well as a backend service - there are times when the backend service will crash, and the front end Java program will refuse to load. Typically, restarting the service or restarting the computer will resolve the issue, but sometimes more in-depth troubleshooting is required.
• Perhaps one of the biggest downsides to CrashPlan is its price - at $10/month/computer CrashPlan is more than double the price of some existing backup services such as Backblaze (priced at $50/year/computer). To add salt to the wound, about a year and a half ago, CrashPlan discontinued their consumer options - which were very reasonably priced at $60/year for a single computer or a family plan priced at $150/year for up to 10 computers. When these options were discontinued, the cost of backing up with CrashPlan was effectively doubled for the same feature set.
• Along with the previous example, CrashPlan had the option to back up to a remote machine on a different network with a free Crashplan account. This option was eliminated when the consumer line of services were discontinued.
• While the backup service provided by CrashPlan are still first in class, the above two controversial changes have broken some trust between CrashPlan and its clients.

• It should recommend the most secure method of backup methods to ensure immutability.
• It should maximize SnapMirror technology when using a NetApp as a backup target to replicate backups to CVO targets.
• It should provide a centralized dashboard for backing up all PaaS services in Azure.

Incentivized

No other product works as well.

The platform has consistently delivered strong performance, reliability, and innovative features that align well with our data protection needs. Its robust capabilities in backup, recovery, and cloud integration have significantly improved our operational efficiency and disaster recovery planning. The only reason for not giving a full 10 would be our ongoing evaluation of emerging technologies and solutions to ensure we are maximizing our IT investments. Overall, Veeam Data Platform has proven to be an invaluable asset to our organization.

Incentivized

Overall, it is simple to use, lightweight, and effective.

Incentivized

If you are familiar with most Windows software UIs, there should be no issue learning Veeam. Even better if you're already familiar with backup strategies, &c., since all of that is integrated and possible. I doubt my grandmother could use it, but she's not the target audience. If you've been in IT for a bit, this is very usable.

Incentivized

The Veeam Backup & Replication solution is up and running every time you need it as it was planned. In more than 3 years that we have been using the product every night, it might have failed or presented an error once or twice, so the availability percentage is almost at 100%.

Incentivized

Veeam does a good job with backing up our servers in a timely manner. We are still at the beginning of our Veeam use and are pleased with the speed at which we can access the system as well as the backups and restore points. Veeam is definitely superior to our previous backup system in terms of speed and accessibility

Incentivized

Friendly and knowledgeable support team available to assist with this product. Code 42 (formerly CrashPlan) offers unlimited storage options for reasonable costs, so you really can't go wrong with this product. They have been a reliable resource for our company, and I would recommend to others looking for an easy setup with unlimited storage.

Incentivized

The support team has never asked me to jump through silly hoops or waste time on pointless exercises. They seem to truly have a handle on what may be wrong. In fact, when we were having trouble getting our license renewal setup (because of yet another license migration at Veeam) a support incident got us connected to the right people to get our renewal done in time.

Incentivized

I rated the in-person training an 8 because it was generally effective and provided a solid foundation for understanding the Veeam Data Platform. The instructors were knowledgeable and engaged, making the sessions interactive. However, I felt that some topics could have been covered in more depth, and additional hands-on exercises would have further reinforced the learning experience. Overall, it was a positive training session that adequately prepared attendees for using the product, but there's room for improvement.

Incentivized

I gave it a rating of 7 because, although the online training offered valuable content and covered the essential aspects of the Veeam Data Platform, it lacked interactivity and opportunities for direct engagement with instructors. This made it challenging to ask questions or delve deeper into specific topics. Additionally, some sections felt a bit rushed, which could hinder a comprehensive understanding of more complex features. Overall, while the training was useful, improvements in interactivity and pacing could elevate the experience significantly.

Incentivized

Very easy to follow the install guide.

When deploying Veeam, be sure you have your environment right-sized. While it is not a big deal to increase capacity later, it will make a difference if you are trying to run Veeam on instances/VMs that are not appropriately sized on CPU and Memory requirements.

Incentivized

CrashPlan (in my specific case the CrashPlan Pro or CrashPlan for Small Business (there seems to be somewhat of an ongoing identity crisis with the products) is significantly lower overhead, in terms of cost and complexity, when compared to the other two products I have evaluated/used. The downsides are that it is also significantly less functional than the other products. CrashPlan is, as I have said a good value simple point solution.

Commvault is a standard backup platform for Enterprise backups, but we have no need for its extensive client abilities or the staff for the vast infrastructure that is required to use it. Cohesity is a truly fantastic system, but it is too far for larger companies than the one that I work for. Its cost also makes it prohibitive for SME's like us. Norton Backup was so long ago, I don't know if it even exists. It was difficult to use, had very slow recovery times, and I don't miss it at all.

Incentivized

In terms of scalability for our company, Veeam was able to cover our backup needs with ease. They have options for even more individualized backup if we were to need them; i.e. if a specific workstation needs its own independent backup. We have not used these resources yet, but I am confident they will be beneficial to our company in the near future.

Incentivized

• Tremendous cost savings as the amount of data you backup doesn't impact cost. One flat rate!
• Implementation time was minimal and requires little to no maintenance. Since installation, I've not had to correct or fix any issues. It just works.
• We opted to supplement Code42 with another solution that allowed us to backup data to a local repository due to the amount for data that changes in our firm.

Incentivized

• When Veeam is running well, I don't need to babysit it at all; I just read the email reports and am done.
• When it doesn't work, Veeam consumes entire days getting everything working again.
• Veeam has significantly improved how we test new software by enabling easy duplication of existing resources to different platforms.

Incentivized