Provides an easy-to-understand cost structure and strong customer support
November 11, 2019
Provides an easy-to-understand cost structure and strong customer support
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage is used for two purposes:
- It is used for nightly backups of 2 Windows 2016 Servers.
- It is used for nightly backups of Network Area Storage.
It uses IBM Cloud Objects Storage and the problem that it addresses is the quick recovery in the event of an onsite disaster that cannot be addressed locally
- Onsite servers back up quickly to the cloud.
- There is no complex cost structure. Costs are simple to figure out. Unlike some other Cloud Storage Services that I evaluated there were Technical Sales reps available by a chat with quick and complete answers.
- The online sales rep provided me his direct number and when we came across a challenge while setting up API Keys he searched for a tech in the cloud backup group while still on the call to help me through it.
- Once you go through the implementation process things are easy to find but I would have like to see a cheat sheet with step by step instructions on how to register then where to go from there. Creating the Account > Creating your object storage > Creating your bucket > generating API Keys.
- IBM Cloud Object was 75% more cost-effective than our previous Backup Service Provider.
- With Pay As You Go, you pay only for the storage that you use, unlike other backup service providers that I evaluated and that we had in the past that wanted you to pay for estimated storage up-front.
Not applicable. I am using IBM Cloud Object Storage as a backup repository.
Yes. We use IBM Cloud Object Storage as a repository for company data and image backups. Having these storage class tiers do in fact help us keep costs within or under certain thresholds. From a finance point of view, there are two things I liked the most about IBM Cloud Object Storage pricing: No hidden or hard-to-figure-out-costs. When assessing the top-tiered cloud backup service providers I had a difficult time trying to layout an estimate. IBM's cost structure is straight forward, quick, and easy to figure out. The second thing I liked about pricing is their technical support that I could speak to instantly by chat or by phone to answer all my questions - this may seem like a no-brainer but I really had a hard time with IBM's competitors to get someone within a reasonable time to help with questions. Finally, I have to say that IBM's cost structure does offer the flexibility to play with the numbers and the service to get the costs to a comfortable amount.
Microsoft Azure was one cloud storage service that I evaluated. What I liked about Azure was that there is abundant documentation however I did not like it when there was no one there to answer a question that their documentation did not cover. The specialists there seemed shy about providing answers and they always wanted to "have a pre-sales support person call you back within 3 business days". When I would finally get ahold of the pre-sales support person they would only send me documentation to read that would really not answer my questions. Then I had to wait another 3 more days. Very frustrating - this was a big reason why I did not choose Azure.
In contrast, IBM Cloud Object Storage had technical specialists available to answer questions online. That same specialist provided his phone number so that we could continue the discussion over the phone. In one instance while speaking with a specialist about pricing and service I had a technical question about backup best practice. The specialist conferences-in an expert in that area - this was a feel-good moment. I knew then that IBM Cloud Storage was the way to go!
I also looked at AWS but I lost interest before doing a deep dive evaluation because of the highest cost.