What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and we use AWS Backup for our customers' companies.
We typically install this product on-premises, although it is easy to extend as a center in the cloud. Many our of customers are multi-cloud, using cloud provides such as Azure, AWS, and Google.
How has it helped my organization?
We are able to set up a continuous backup from our customers' on-premise hardware to the cloud.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the snapshot capability, where we backup applications to a secondary site.
What needs improvement?
The restore functionality is an area that needs to be improved because right now, it is not very good. It requires a lot of time to connect the snapshot, identify the files, and restore a single file manually.
In general, I would like to better manage the granular restoration of files. This is true both in a Linux environment, as well as Windows. A lot of our clients are using Linux for their application servers.
We want to be able to restore either single files or multiple files from one volume. Today, it is very complex because it requires us to restore the full image of the volume. Only after that, can we extract a single file. Ideally, we should be able to extract a single file from a snapshot.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with AWS Backup for between five and six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable product and we have 1,000 different machines that are being backed up. Our customers are typically enterprise-level companies.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support from Amazon is good.
We don't have much contact with them because I have an assistant engineer, and the two of us know AWS very well.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not worked with our cloud-based backup solutions.
For on-premises systems, I work with different products such as Commvault.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. Typically it is very fast to set up, and it is not complex. It does not require much activity from us.
For example, we don't have to install infrastructure on the cloud. The license covers the management of the environment, including updates, and all of this is handled by AWS rather than our customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our customers pay a monthly AWS fee that includes the AWS Backup service.
It is important to pay attention to the consumption within different services and manage it properly. However, this is true for all of AWS and not particularly the Backup service.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The advantage that AWS Backup has over competitors is that it's very simple. It is fully integrated into the cloud services, it's very fast, and it's simple to manage.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I can recommend for scenarios that are not too complex. For situations where one consultant wants to manage different on-premises backups in a multi-cloud environment, they require different products. Not a single solution, like AWS Backup.
My advice for anybody who is implementing this product is to pay attention to the data transfer across different availabilities and different regions because it can be a very high cost.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner