Item: Veeam Backup for AWS
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Veeam Backup for AWS to backup all of our AWS EC2 instances as well as our VPCs across multiple AWS accounts. It was such a pain to manage backups using the built-in backup tools in AWS, and Veeam Backup for AWS makes managing our AWS backups so much easier. We're also able to keep an eye on our VBA backups within our Veeam Backup and Replication console, which we use for our on-prem VMware backups. It really is a time saver!

Pros and Cons

File Level Restore
Manage backup sources using AWS Tags
Managing backup policies across multiple accounts.

Scheduled/Automatic Updates
Initial setup of VBA configuration
Initial size of VBA HDD was too small, I've had to expand it twice to correct errors.

Return on Investment

Significant reduction in the time spent managing backups in AWS (15 minutes a week down from 3 to 4 hours)!
Significant cost reduction in storage costs due to duplicates and retention (with the standard AWS backup platform we often had lots of duplicate backups or backups that should have been purged, that we didn't even realize we had)

Reliability and Availability

Based on what I've seen so far the process of recovering to other locations, such as our on-prem data center was very easy and relatively quick to move around large amounts of data. In our testing with restores to the same location or cloning to a new machine the steps were very straightforward.

Alternatives Considered

We do also use Veeam Backup and Replication for our on-prem VMware backups. Previously we used the built-in Backup feature in AWS for backing up our EC2 instances, and for backing up our on-prem VMs we leveraged the built-in backup features of the HPE Simplivity Hyperconverged platform we were using at the time.

Key Insights

Do you think Veeam Backup for AWS delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Veeam Backup for AWS's feature set?

Yes

Did Veeam Backup for AWS live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Veeam Backup for AWS go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Veeam Backup for AWS again?

Yes

Other Software Used

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor, Symantec Endpoint Security, Cisco Secure Access by Duo

Likelihood to Recommend

We have some minor issues with Veeam Backup for AWS during the initial setup and configuration of the virtual appliance, and over the course of the first year, we've used it. However, overall it is a great product and works well. It really makes backing up your AWS resources so much faster and easier, including EC2 instances, RDS instances, and VPCs.

Products Replaced

Yes - We were using the backup capabilities built into our HPE Simplivity Hyperconverged platform. After HPE purchased Simplivity their support went downhill and so when it was time to refresh our hardware we went with Dell VXrail environment, but needed a separate backup platform. We also evaluated Zerto, but Veeam by far was the better choice.

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability

We really felt like Veeam had the best feature set with great usability for the best value. Veeam is definitely not the cheapest backup product out there, but for the price point you get a very rich set of features and the platform is intuitive and easy to use and understand.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

We also evaluated Zerto when we were looking at new backup platforms, as it was recommended by the Vendor that we worked with to replace our Hyperconverged environment. I think we may have invested some time in looking into one other platform as well, and spent less time evaluating Zerto.

Veeam Backup AWS is a great product that simplifies management of AWS Backups

Overall Satisfaction with Veeam Backup for AWS