IDERA SQL Safe Backup vs Unitrends comparison

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84% willing to recommend

IDERA SQL Safe Backup

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Unitrends and IDERA SQL Safe Backup are competitive data protection solutions with distinct strengths. Users report better feature satisfaction with IDERA SQL Safe Backup but find Unitrends offers more value for pricing and support.

Features: Unitrends users value its comprehensive backup and recovery capabilities, automation, and integration with various environments. IDERA SQL Safe Backup users highlight its advanced compression, encryption, and efficient backup processes. IDERA SQL Safe Backup's robust feature set gives it the upper hand in this category.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Unitrends could benefit from a more intuitive configuration process and enhanced reporting tools. Meanwhile, IDERA SQL Safe Backup users mention the need for smoother upgrades and compatibility improvements with newer SQL server versions. Unitrends shows more potential for refinement in its usability aspects.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Unitrends is praised for straightforward deployment across diverse systems and responsive customer support. On the other hand, IDERA SQL Safe Backup's deployment is appreciated for its speed and ease, but users note a preference for better post-deployment support. Unitrends excels in customer service responsiveness, making it favorable for ongoing support.

Pricing and ROI: Unitrends receives positive feedback on its cost-effectiveness and return on investment, making it a budget-friendly choice. IDERA SQL Safe Backup users acknowledge higher initial setup costs but feel justified by its advanced functionalities. Despite Unitrends being more economical, IDERA SQL Safe Backup's features justify its higher price for those needing specific capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IDERA SQL Safe Backup vs. Unitrends Report (Updated: April 2025).

IDERA SQL Safe Backup vs. Unitrends

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IDERA SQL Safe Backup

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

87th

Average Rating

5.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Event Monitoring (18th)

Unitrends

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

37th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of IDERA SQL Safe Backup is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unitrends is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

it_user386274

Database Administrator at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

You can't see any metrics about how long it took you to backup the entire server. We've had a huge reduction in the nightly backup footprint size.

Idera treats a backup of a SQL Server as if it is essentially a single backup job of each individual database. You can't see any metrics about how long it took you to backup the entire server. It doesn't handle restoration to different drives very easily, and it won't create folder structures if they don't exist already. It cannot be used to implement replication on another instance without first converting files back into SQL Server .bak files. There appears to be LOTs of shortcomings. [All of these short-comings are still very much present even after 6 months of feedback to Idera. No solution is in sight.] Still has a focus on individual databases and not for entire server recoveries. Have tried adjusting max threads values, but it seems to have little affect and Idera is still researching the issue.

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Todd Guthrie

Director Of Information Technology at Creation Technologies

The solution can be used to back up servers and Hyper-V cluster nodes, but its support is super expensive

I wouldn't rate Unitrends a ten out of ten because we had some hard drive failures in the appliance. Typically, when you have OneDrive, you can get it replaced. For some particular reason, the situation caused the entire system to crash. We had to reinstall the CentOS operating system on it, and we lost all our backups. They said there was no way to retain it, and it was pretty devastating and concerning that a drive failure would cause the loss of all the data on the appliance. It was extremely disappointing, and we had to start from scratch after three years worth of backup data. I rate Unitrends a nine out of ten for stability.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It has reduced our backup time and simplified our backup processes across all the servers."

"The compression, because it drastically reduces the disk space."

"The ability to diversify jobs within the same server helps break down a large chunk of data into more manageable and concentrated chunks."

"It is fairly stable."

"The predictive analytics are great and the reporting is awesome."

"The ability to backup both physical and virtual machines, along with having an appliance store the backups locally instead of on a file server, NAS, or SAN."

"I am impressed with the tool's reporting and UniView features."

"The ability to back up both physical and virtual appliances under one roof."

"It is very easy to set up and get started. Almost too easy. We racked this device and had it up and running in less than 15 minutes."

"It is a quick and easy way to organize my backups and to keep track of them."

More Unitrends pros

Cons

"Make sure you check your backups on a regular basis. Backups do get missed with this tool, for whatever reason."

"I would like to see the pieces that they have put in the web only to be put into the thick client sitting on the desktop client."

"The way the filtering goes, if you filter on your view, there is no indication that you have made a selection."

"I would like to see more storage options for the free version."

"The solution’s UI can be improved. I am saying this because I have seen solutions with better UIs."

"If the interface could be less complex, it is would be great."

"The solution's base operating system needs to be improved."

"Techs don't see to be well-versed in troubleshooting issues that arise and tickets stay opened for weeks for resolution."

"There are some questions as to how safely they are storing backup data."

"There's a lot that can be made better. For example, it could be more scalable."

"I would like to see the real-time replication process improved, and a zero RPO feature added."

More Unitrends cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's pricing is a good value. They have a straightforward licensing model."

"Make sure you do the homework to size the solution properly. Buy the Enterprise Plus licensing if you can afford it."

"I would rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten. The licensing is yearly and it depends on the customers."

"Talk with the sales guys. They can work with you on the best package."

"Initial pricing is competitive. Renewal pricing is steep, so make sure to project costs for the lifetime of the appliance(s)."

"You should be aware how much the monthly costs are to use, what the initial costs for hardware are, and what the options to expand are, if needed."

"Their licensing depended on the number of CPUs you had."

"Unitrends is an expensive solution."

"We found that the cost of Unitrends was about the same as the Dell DR6300. We liked the fact that the Unitrends appliance was all-in-one."

More Unitrends pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

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Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Unitrends?

The most valuable feature of Unitrends for me is the automated feedback

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Unitrends?

Unitrends is an expensive solution. We've negotiated deals where they've given us the $ 62,000 to $ 64,000 appliance for free but charged $ 90,000 for three years of support.

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What needs improvement with Unitrends?

In terms of improvement, the UI, especially in the recovery section, is unclear about which repository it uses—I had to hover over to find that information. Figuring out the scripting part wasn't s...

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Product Reports

IDERA SQL Safe Backup

Download IDERA SQL Safe Backup product report

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Also Known As

SQL Safe Backup

No data available

Overview

SQL Safe Backup helps database administrators to back up and recover instantly across SQL Servers. Unlike its competition, it provides virtual databases with access to back up files without consuming disk space, instant restore, centralized management across SQL Servers, and alert notifications for success and failure of operations.

IDERA

Organizations rely on Unitrends to back up and protect both physical and virtual servers with compatibility for legacy systems and an appliance model.

Unitrends supports Microsoft Hyper-V clusters, VMware ESXi clusters, SQL databases, and Exchange DAGs. Valuable for K-12 schools for continuous monitoring via a graphical interface, it also offers real-time synchronization, file restoration, report generation, email status updates, redundancy, and ransomware protection. Features include effective technical support, instant recovery, detailed reporting, real-time synchronization, global deduplication, cross-compatibility for OS backups, and frequent updates. Easy to install for Hyper-V appliances, the platform benefits users with its dashboard insights, saving time and ensuring reliability. While improvements are needed in high availability features, customer engagement, cloud capabilities, storage options, and the free version, the UI, configuration complexity, pricing, and support costs also demand attention. Users find scaling challenging and desire better feature parity with competitors, clearer recovery information, improved scripting, and flexible retention settings based on repository.

What are the most important features?

Effective technical support
Instant recovery
Detailed daily and email reporting
User-friendly interface
Real-time synchronization
Global deduplication
Cross-compatibility for diverse OS backups
Frequent updates
Ease of installation for Hyper-V appliances
Automated feedback
UniView features
Instant power-on
Cost-effective pricing
Time-saving dashboard insights

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Time-saving features
Efficient data synchronization
Enhanced data recovery and protection
Accurate reporting and insights
Cost-effective and reliable solution

K-12 schools use Unitrends for continuous monitoring and verification via a graphical interface. Its real-time synchronization, file restoration, and report generation features support educational institutions' needs, ensuring data protection and operational efficiency.

Sample Customers

Woman's Hospital; Sisters of Mercy Hospital System; University Medical Center; MetTel; PPG Industries; 3M; Abbott Laboratories; Comcast; Daimler; GameStop; Hormel Foods; Marriott International; Merck; NCR; United Technologies; City of Lynnwood; Linfosys B.V.; TRI-KES; American Customer Care; Merck & Co., Inc.; Service Corporation International; Fresenius Vascular Care Inc.; Bates White; TechPro Inc.; TW Metals, Inc.; Tulane University; ISO Group; Ameriben Solutions; Instron Corporation; Sentric, Inc.; SPIE; GAS Distribution Company of Thessaloniki and Thessaly SA; American Printing House for the Blind; Paysafe; Freeman Decorating Services, Inc.; Sentric, Inc.; Auburn University; Corporate Communications Group; Sagicor Financial Corporation; Crystal Run Healthcare; Principality Building Society; Experiencias Xcaret; Missoula County; Shellpoint Partners LLC; Solix Inc.; Advicent Solutions, Inc.; Phoenix Newspaper Inc.; Park Place Technologies; Kelly & Associates Insurance Group; Boston Medical Center; Service Corporation International; eResearchTechnology, Inc.

NHL Players Association, Salvation Army, Sligro Food Group, Mason General Hospital, Tec Group, Saldab IT, Baker Tilly, Clinton Savings Bank, Ennit Magna Bank, Manukau Institute of Technology

IDERA SQL Safe Backup vs. Unitrends