Azure Blob Storage vs. Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage

In Azure, it is the storage to use, and in my view, the Blob Storage offers more, or finer-grained configuration options, than S3. So my recommendation would be to check in detail what is offered. As the Blob Storage is more or less a Microsoft exclusive product, the "interoperability" is more limited than, for example, with S3. The S3 is more widely adopted, and if you cannot exclude a migration scenario from one cloud provider to another, additional effort is needed.

Incentivized

Providing the option of purchasing a much longer archive if desired or limiting the length of time in maintaining what's been saved is brilliant. It makes all the sense in the world. At the very least, unless the retention period is clearly mandated somehow, it causes a decision maker (especially a small business owner) to think strategically about what the storage needs truly are.

Incentivized

• Ease of use both through Azure Portal as well as API.
• Cost-effective solution for storing a large amount of data compared to other storage solutions.
• Scalability, Security, and Performance are the other key aspects of Azure Blob Storage that are easily manageable through Admin Console.

Incentivized

• Tight integration with OEM backup application
• Among the lowest price per TB cloud backup provider
• AWS S3 service integration
• Optional services for initial seeding of large backup data sets
• Optional services for physical backup retrieval to speed up recovery

Incentivized

• Sometimes the behavior is nondeterministic (e.g. compare config via UI vs. terraform).
• While it does some things better than S3, the interoperability in a migration scenario seems cumbersome.
• The number of features/config options is overwhelming; we found the docs, etc., a bit hard to read.

Incentivized

• Deleting the data is not simpler and requires manual intervention
• Integration with third party tools needs much improvement as there are very less tools that can be integrated.
• Fewer data centres presently that restrict options to meet specific geographic redundancy or data sovereignty requirements.

Incentivized

Blob storage is fairly simple, with several different options/settings that can be configured. The file explorer has enhanced its usability. Some areas could be improved, such as providing more details or stats on how many times a file has been accessed. It is an obvious choice if you're already using Azure/Entra.

Incentivized

Since Backblaze added S3 compatibility a few years ago, it's become the most perfect online backup solution.

I also like their transparency in describing their platform and the reports of hard drive reliability are very interesting.

The free egress is priceless, too.

Incentivized

Microsoft has improved its customer service standpoint over the years. The ability to chat with an issue, get a callback, schedule a call or work with an architecture team(for free) is a huge plus. I can get mentorship and guidance on where to go with my environment without pushy sales tactics. This is very refreshing. Typically support can get me to where I need to be on the first contact, which is also nice.

Incentivized

Azure Blob Storage was used only because we were already using it for other projects, and it has a good reputation for being a reliable cloud provider. It also has widespread regional availability and allows for data replication. It can also be easily accessed via the API or by the console, which makes it a solid, user-friendly option.

Incentivized

Backblaze is definitely the cheapest and most cost effective out of the 6 other services I've used in the past. For personal use, they are by and away the best service available. For business use, I believe they are a very strong contender to be the #3 guys behind AWS and Linode.

Incentivized

• Azure Blob Storage is just way cheaper than anything we could afford to do on-prem. Forecasting spend is way easier with predictable growth than it is with large capital expenditures every few years, and that ability to grow or shrink dynamically is simplifies things.

Incentivized

• Difficult to quantify the peace of mind Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage services provides.
• Based on the reported experiences of other Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage clients, recovery has been smooth. We have not yet had the need to use that function.
• Because Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage's service has been seamless, I feel much more confident in their ability to deliver what they promise when we have the need to expand or enhance what we are purchasing from them.

Incentivized