Item: NAKIVO Backup & Replication
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We first considered NAKIVO as a result of a recommendation made by one of our resellers. We needed a robust backup solution primarily for our VMware environment that didn't break the bank. NAKIVO checked almost all of the boxes during our proof of concept, so we decided to move forward with the purchase. NAKIVO is now our primary backup tool for our main campus and our DR site.

Pros and Cons

Seamless integration with VMware.
Screenshot verification (alternative to traditional verify jobs).
Competitive pricing.
It just works (no babysitting needed).
Native installs for most of the major NAS manufacturers.

Screenshot verification stops working if a newer version of VMware tools becomes available.
No agents for physical servers (looks like that's changing with v9 though).
No support for S3 compatible storage (if you need to send a copy of your backup to a host that's emulating AWS S3 storage).

Return on Investment

Provides a robust service at an affordable cost.
Intuitive web interface along with the technology itself provides a path for quick, easy restores.
Not supporting S3 compatible storage for off-site storage of backups has required us to add an additional piece of software to the workflow.

Alternatives Considered

Veeam Backup & Replication and Infrascale Platform

NAKIVO does everything that we need it to do at a price point that the competitors couldn't touch.

Other Software Used

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection, Solarwinds Samanage, VMware Horizon (formerly VMware View)

Likelihood to Recommend

We have NAKIVO installed on Synology NAS appliances at both our primary and DR sites and it works great. We didn't have to make a heavy investment in hardware or software to get this solution in production. This solution is well suited for 100% (or near 100%) virtual environments. You may want to look elsewhere if your are primarily running a physical server environment. The v9 beta is touting support for Windows servers. Even with that support, I still see this product as being designed for a virtual environment with the potential to backup a few Windows servers that you still have in production.

NAKIVO - Powerful, Reliable, and Cost-Effective.

Overall Satisfaction with NAKIVO Backup & Replication