What is our primary use case?
We primarily back up VMware and Hyper-V, and we have some physical boxes as well, both physical Windows and Linux boxes. We also use the scale-out capability going out to the public cloud. We don't have any NAS devices. So, there's no taking advantage of that. We're not using the instant recovery engine. I believe we use the Veeam ONE software as well.
We have customers all over the place. They are using the current version and the earlier versions.
In terms of deployment, it is a combination. In a lot of places, it is deployed in a private cloud environment with more than one site for replication, but we do have other customers that go out to the public cloud for an off-site copy. The cloud providers primarily are AWS and Microsoft Azure.
What is most valuable?
The normal backup and replication features are valuable.
It is cost-effective. A lot of times, people pick Veeam because of its price.
What needs improvement?
Its native capability for talking to the public cloud needs improvement. Connecting to a public cloud is a little bit more of a challenge when it comes to Veeam than it is with Rubrik or Commvault. There are still some hoops that you got to jump through in order to send Veeam backups out to public cloud repositories. It is not as simple as it is with other products.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this product for three to four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales out easily. The only challenge is that as compared to some of the other products, it is a little bit more difficult to do things when you're dealing with the public cloud. Other products integrate a little easier. Veeam has not gotten there a hundred percent. You've got to deploy additional infrastructure out in the public cloud. So, on a one to five, it is a three. It is a little bit more difficult, but it is scalable.
We have hundreds of customers who are utilizing Veeam. They are any type or range of engineers, IT directors, and IT managers. There is a whole different range of individuals who are supporting backup environments running Veeam.
There are probably plans for increased usage. A lot of it comes down to the requirements of our customers.
How are customer service and support?
Their support is good. We never had a problem. They are always reachable and able to answer. The engineers we deal with are able to answer all the questions that we have.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've got customers all over the spectrum. Some customers do switch to Veeam because of its ease of use and its price point.
We sell and support Commvault, Veeam, and Rubrik. If I had my preference, Veeam might not be the first choice, but a lot of people do pick Veeam depending upon their requirements and their price point because it is more affordable than some of the other products.
How was the initial setup?
It is pretty straightforward. On a scale of one to five where one means incredibly difficult and five mean just effortless, I would rate it a four out of five.
What about the implementation team?
I don't do a lot of deployments. It is mostly handled by a different group of people in my company.
We do offer professional services for implementation. Very often, we will take care of that, but it isn't really required.
The number of people required for its deployment and implementation depends upon the size of the environment. A small environment could be basically installed, maintained, and managed by one person. A much larger environment, depending upon how frequently you're doing restores and how complex your retention policies are, could require more people.
What was our ROI?
It is hard to give that because everything depends upon the size of the environment. Smaller environments are going to have a much faster return on their investment than larger ones. It depends upon what they're doing.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is more cost-effective than some of the other solutions, but a lot of that comes down to the fact that we're a reseller. So, depending upon the deal, we do negotiate different price points for different customers. The price varies depending upon the size of the customer, the size of the deal, and the discounts we can negotiate.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Price does come into play during the evaluation. We have dealt with customers who evaluated products like Backup Exec, Commvault, Rubrik, Veeam, and Simplivity. There are quite a few that are in the mix. More often than not, depending upon the size of the customer, people pick Veeam a lot of times because of its price.
What other advice do I have?
The biggest thing is to do the research. Do a comparison of each industry-leading product and see which feature set you're looking for. There is the price point as well, but I usually recommend that the feature set is more important than the price. If you're looking for specific features and capabilities and they're not available in a product, picking that product because it is the cheapest could be a mistake. So, make sure that you're comparing feature sets and purchasing the one that has the features that you're looking for.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten. There are other products that have more advanced features. They would be rated a little higher.
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: