Item: Unitrends
Rating: 10
Author: Jeremy Ough

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I currently have 2, 8TB backup solutions in my company. One is located at my West branch and replicates all data at that location, the other is at our East location and have them replicate change data overnight. This gives us our own "cloud storage". I am able to recover anything here in the West, and if there is an issue, I can spin up VM's on our VMWare server in the East using the backups on my appliance.

Pros and Cons

Easy to use an operate.
Customer service is Excellent!
Set and forget device meaning there is little maintenance after deployment.
Deployment is simple with customer support.

Setting appliances to backup entire VMware servers should not initially be done, its a waste of space if you have several test servers.
Spinning up of VM's is not straight forward unless you are a Unitriend's expert.
Replication between 2 appliances took a while to get correct so old backups were removed.

Return on Investment

The question you always have to ask yourself, how much is your data worth to you? For the cost, this product gives you [peace] of mind knowing if there is an issue, you can [recover] the data quickly.
So far, this has been an expense because we haven't had an issue where we needed to use it, but it's there, and ready when the time comes.
This gives us a grandfather backup solution, in-house that can be [run] by someone just starting off in this field.

Key Insights

Do you think Unitrends delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Unitrends's feature set?

Yes

Did Unitrends live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Unitrends go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Unitrends again?

Yes

Alternatives Considered

Veeam Backup & Replication and Symantec Endpoint Security

Veeam product is far too "clunky" and difficult to manage. Unitrends Data Center Backup and Recovery provides a much easier solution and gives the customer peace of mind knowing their data is protected. Symantec was built on an older system and not reliable, I went with Unitriend's and replaced both of these products at different companies.

Other Software Used

VMware vCenter Server, Sophos Intercept X for Server, Cisco Meraki SM

Likelihood to Recommend

In our environment, we have 5 locations, 2 of which are main branches the others are satellites. All data runs through one location with our other main branch being a hot site. For us, it is easy to use, simple to deploy, allows for quick recovery, spin up a VM can be done with customer service and they do an awesome job.

So simple to use.. anyone can use it!

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Unitrends Data Center Backup and Recovery