What is our primary use case?
Use cases for Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot include protecting virtual machines running on EC2 and ensuring database protection by creating consistent snapshots for databases like SQL Server and cloud-hosted databases.
Additionally, it aids in compliance and audit by maintaining backup retentions and generating reports, and it supports disaster recovery by enabling the replication of snapshots across cloud regions to ensure business continuity during outages and major infrastructure failures.
What is most valuable?
The biggest advantage of Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is that it is agentless, which means Dell manages the platform by reducing maintenance effort and operational overhead.
It protects workloads across cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure through a single user graphical interface, and it automatically protects new workloads while reducing manual backup admin tasks, which in turn minimizes human errors.
Automation in Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot helps define protection policies such as which resources to protect, when to take snapshots, how long to retain them, and where to copy them, effectively creating and managing snapshots and their retention.
The solution does help to streamline IT operations by providing centralized visibility into backup operations, audit logs, and recovery readiness through Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot, which also assists administrators in monitoring protection status.
What needs improvement?
The disadvantages of Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot include its dependence on native cloud snapshots, which limits its functionality in on-premise environments.
While it offers simple, scalable, and SaaS-based protections for multi-cloud workloads, these trade-offs should be considered.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot for approximately 2.5 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I agree that Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is 99 percent stable and reliable.
It uses native cloud snapshot technologies and operates with a SaaS architecture that eliminates backup infrastructure management while ensuring consistent protections and recovery across all environments.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Regarding scalability, I find that while Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot offers multi-cloud scalability, it is not one of its strongest features.
Its auto-scaling protection policies make it quite scalable as it supports all platforms from a single management console.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service for Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is good.
It provides quick resolution capabilities through visibility into cloud workloads, allowing for one-click restoration of VMs, volumes, or files.
I would rate customer service for Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot between 8.5 and 9 out of 10.
How was the initial setup?
The installation process for Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is straightforward since it requires no traditional installation.
It is a software as a service hosted and managed by Dell.
What was our ROI?
In terms of ROI, I would say that Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot saves backup admins between 10 lakh to 20 lakhs per annum, providing a strong ROI by automating protection policies and lowering operational costs.
Organizations that are similar to mine typically realize value through improved cyber resilience and faster disaster recovery.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Regarding pricing, I will not comment on it directly, but I know that factors affecting the price include the number of protections required.
I believe pricing is dependent on the codebase and what kind of protected capacity or retention policies are needed, which varies based on requirements.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Regarding differences between Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot and similar market products, I have found Veeam backup to be a competitor that offers strong cloud and hybrid cloud backup solutions.
I have experience with Cohesity as well, which provides unified cloud capabilities and AI-powered analytics and reporting, making it comparable.
What other advice do I have?
Regarding reporting and analytics, I am not entirely certain about how it contributes to our data protection strategy.
The capacity planning feature in Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is primarily used for backup and snapshot orchestration solutions, tracking the number of snapshots and predicting future storage requirements based on growth trends.
It reviews retention periods and removes unnecessary backup copies from the retention policy, thereby preventing storage costs caused by over-retentions.
My rating for Dell PowerProtect Cloud Snapshot is around 8.5 to 9 out of 10, closer to 9.