Synology Active Backup Suite vs. Microsoft System Center

Synology
Active backup is a great low-cost solution to backup your entire
infrastructure, no license cost whatsoever currently, only the only requirement
is using Synology hardware which is great, and we’ve not had any issues with.

Compared to
more mature solutions like Veeam, it’s lacking some tools for restoring data /
elements quickly.

Veeam has
tools to restore databases/data or active directory elements like users, groups
or Ous.

So, if you
need the extra tools for certain applications this isn’t the right tool for
you.

For companies with more than 10 Windows devices and needing to standardize the OS, AV, access, share resources, and install software. SCCM is the way to go. This software is unnecessary if the business is all remote users and not in an office-type setting. There are cloud offerings or none to accomplish what a business needs.

Incentivized

• The interface to browse and restore files from the cloud backups is super-easy. As in drop-down boxes to select which account and then files and be exported for restore - no training needed to use it.
• The Synology device is fast on the network - 4 x 1Gbps NICs
• Updating itself
• Being Reliable as a permanently on 24/7 device

Incentivized

• Allows the grouping of devices by user.
• Allows controlling updates being deployed to user devices.
• Allows for the repurposing of machines by being able to load new or updated software on machines that already are in the system.
• Allows us the ability to wipe a machine clean and restore it back to the configuration that was assigned the machine.

Incentivized

• Agent Download more easily
• More detail information's on dates, and what was backup

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

The usability
of the suite is excellent, all tools are web based so no client or server to
remote into. It has a separate portal to restore data, you can give access to
users if you want them to be able to restore their own data.

Restoring
files or a whole server/vm is very easy to do, it just lacks the functionality
of some of the more established backup solutions.

With being
a Veeam user for many years, the comfort of the extra tools to restore a single
database or a single active directory user, I’ve grown used to Veeam’s tools.

It is not user-friendly for the most part. With IT infrastructure, sometimes it cannot handle excess requests. Every few months, you will need an upgrade in terms of server resources to keep up with incoming alerts and requests. This does not happen all of the time, but it does happen when there are too many requests.

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

Centralized system for multiples systems

Incentivized

We previously used a mix of FOG and Clonezilla to image machines. The biggest issues with these products is that changing one piece of the image required you to rebuild the entire image itself. These pieces of software also did not allow you to manage applications and Windows Updates, causing IT to have to constantly touch machines after they were imaged and update or manage them with a much more hands on approach.

Incentivized

• Positive is obviously being a main part of the backup strategy along with quick data restoration.

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