Datto SIRIS vs. VMware Site Recovery Manager

Datto works well for smaller shops that just need something that will work without needing a great deal of day to day work on it. I only login to the device periodically to see where we stand on space and occasionally when we need to restore something. The offsite datacenter backup which is hosted by Datto works well for us particularly as we do not have our own offsite tech to use. In larger departments other solutions will possibly win out based on required features and setups but for the 1-10 man IT departments the Datto solutions fit in well.

Incentivized

SRM is a must-have tool if your business requires you to failover your VMs to a disaster recovery site and provide valid testing and real-time numbers. Our VP office is always amazed at how easily we are able to satisfy our annual testing and show actual results with time stamps and the sequence of each VM that is up and running. SRM may not be needed in a very small business that does not have the capacity nor the need to have their infrastructure off site in a form of a disaster recovery site.

Incentivized

• Backups: Datto does what it's supposed to do, backing up data from servers (and workstations, if need be), and then syncing that data to the cloud.
• Initial setup: Initial setup is pretty straightforward, in most cases the agent installs remotely from the device.
• UI: The UI is fairly straightforward and intuitive, at least for IT professionals. It is not difficult to find things or figure out what settings do what.

Incentivized

• Easy to build a recovery plan
• Easy to test recovery plans
• Works with storage based replication or non storage based replication

• VMware integration for backups is only at the host level, not vCenter, so you can't see all VMs from one place to select them for backup. You've gotta add each host individually and then pick from the list that populates from each individually.
• The system is appliance-based, so when you run out of local space on the appliance, there's no expansion without buying a larger appliance. You either cut back on your backups to use less space, or you open your wallet.

Incentivized

• I am not very pleased with the overall licensing cost. It's pretty expensive. Especially if you have a small number of VMs, you are paying a lot.
• We had a little struggle getting our support tickets resolved by VMWare support.

Incentivized

I trust the product and service and am satisfied with the direction of the company

Incentivized

- easy to set up - easy to protect critical servers in case of disaster

Incentivized

Usability is great. The web interface is simple and easy to use. While various options are available for client backups, it is very easy to re-use settings of the existing client, so adding new clients is a very fast process. Configuration of the agent on the client-side cannot be easier as well. Datto dashboard provides an overview of the client status, and email notifications can be configured for various events.

Incentivized

VMWare SRM is very easy to use and configure. You don't have to be a virtualization expert to learn SRM configuration and execution.

Incentivized

My specific example or reason for this rating goes back to a need for support after a client on this platform has a fire. In a nutshell, Datto had no idea how to BMR the image back to the server correctly, and as a result, the RAID on the server was lost, due to the Datto BDR environment not being able to see the RAID card, and the support technician knowing how to inject drivers.

Incentivized

Sometimes we have to struggle explaining the problem and getting it resolved on priority. The overall quality of support team is not as good as it used to be in past.

Incentivized

Datto is not as feature-rich as Veeam, but it still offers the main features in a great backups solution that will help in a recovery situation. It is mainly meant for smaller businesses, so it's not a Veeam replacement. From that perspective, Datto fills a great void in options for these clients. It doesn't have the features of Unitrends either, but I have not had great experiences with Unitrends, so I would not recommend that option. Veeam is great for larger environments, and Datto is a fantastic option for the next tier down in size.

Incentivized

Veeam Backup & Replication is slower than VMWare SRM and doesn't suits our RTO (Recovery Time Objective).

Incentivized

• In most cases, Datto will provide the appliance free of charge with a 3-5 year contract which results in a modest monthly fee instead of a large initial outlay and monthly fees.
• The contract's warranty is top-notch. Failed drives or issues with the appliances are replaced/corrected with free replacements and shipping.

Incentivized

• The biggest positive is that we have a data recovery solution that we can test and verify in a live condition. Prior to this we were only hoping we could recover from a disaster.
• We've been only running for 4 months and haven't had to use SRM.

Incentivized