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reviewer2126610 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Team Lead at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Reliable with the capability to extend but is very expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution runs well in the background, just in case we need it."
  • "The user experience could be more friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for migrating our DR site.

How has it helped my organization?

We have a system that can now move us to a DR site. I have yet to experience any major crisis, however, so I haven't yet tried it. 

What is most valuable?

The solution runs well in the background, just in case we need it. 

It is stable. 

The solution has the capability to scale well. 

What needs improvement?

I don't have any notes for improvement.

I'd like the installment and configuration to be more seamless.

The user experience could be more friendly.

It's, by definition, a complicated product. 

We'd like the entire solution to be more automated. We'd like as much automation as possible. 

The solution is very expensive. 

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For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for more than five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any stability issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It is reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not tried to scale the solution. However, we are aware that it can be quite scalable. It depends on the license. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and configuration can be complex. It's a complicated product. I'd rate the complexity of implementation eight out of ten. 

It took us a few months to fully deploy the solution. 

What about the implementation team?

We had an in-house team and professional service to manage the setup process. We did not do it fully by ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is very high. However, you get what you pay for. You need to invest a lot of money in order to gain any functionality. In order to have a DR site and maintain it, you need the investment. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's expensive. However, it's a good investment. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Rajasekaran Thiyagarajan - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtualization Consultant at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Real User
Can create custom steps to make recovery more granular
Pros and Cons
  • "In terms of recovery, if you have a test job script, you can put it on top of it. You can create custom steps so that it will be more granular. It will be an easy, one click solution when it comes to the recovery application."
  • "It would be good if this solution could integrate configuration management software such as Chef Infra."

What is most valuable?

In terms of recovery, if you have a test job script, you can put it on top of it. You can create custom steps so that it will be more granular. It will be an easy, one click solution when it comes to the recovery application.

What needs improvement?

It would be good if this solution could integrate configuration management software such as Chef Infra.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using VMware SRM for more than a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is always good because we replicate daily. I have never seen any issues because the replication is always 100% successful.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can add multiple appliances, and it supports enterprise environments.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

The deployment takes about three hours.

What other advice do I have?

VMware SRM is the best sustainability solution, I would rate it at nine on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
VMware Live Recovery
July 2025
Learn what your peers think about VMware Live Recovery. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: July 2025.
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Kunle Oyetola - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Business at Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited
Real User
Is easy to set up and is stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "I like how VMware SRM is able to automate and orchestrate disaster recovery."
  • "The price, in general, could be lower."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for disaster recovery.

What is most valuable?

I like how VMware SRM is able to automate and orchestrate disaster recovery.

What needs improvement?

The price, in general, could be lower.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for probably three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

My experience with technical support has been fine.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward if you have the required skill level. It took about a week for the initial setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price could be lower, in general. My clients pay for an annual license.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend VMware SRM and rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1656048 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Technology Manager at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Good failover time and excellent support
Pros and Cons
  • "Our systems fail over using SRM. So, we do a big bang DR, which is biannual, and we fail over our fairly massive Epic electronic health record (EHR) and our core applications. It takes us about 30 minutes to fail over using SRM, which is pretty good. In most hospitals that have Epic installed, Epic does the audit to make sure that we can fail over if something were to happen. Normally, sites will have a DR solution specific to the EHR, but right now, our pain point is the third-party tier-one clinical applications."
  • "We've had configuration issues on occasion. We start to fail over, and then we have to call it off because the configuration is not right, or the data stores aren't configured correctly in the secondary data center. Oftentimes, it is just the experience level of the team, and we have to bring in the vendor to help and validate our configuration."

What is our primary use case?

We use SRM for our failover strategy. It is for disaster recovery on failover.

What is most valuable?

Our systems fail over using SRM. So, we do a big bang DR, which is biannual, and we fail over our fairly massive Epic electronic health record (EHR) and our core applications. It takes us about 30 minutes to fail over using SRM, which is pretty good. In most hospitals that have Epic installed, Epic does the audit to make sure that we can fail over if something were to happen. Normally, sites will have a DR solution specific to the EHR, but right now, our pain point is the third-party tier-one clinical applications.

What needs improvement?

We've had configuration issues on occasion. We start to fail over, and then we have to call it off because the configuration is not right, or the data stores aren't configured correctly in the secondary data center. Oftentimes, it is just the experience level of the team, and we have to bring in the vendor to help and validate our configuration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for probably five years.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is excellent.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it an eight out of 10. There is some complexity there, and that's where I would bring it down from a 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Consultant at Daniyals Inc
Real User
Effective automation, easy to use, but stability needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is simple to use and has effective automation."
  • "There needs to be better stability during heavy capacity in future releases."

What is our primary use case?

I use VMware SRM for DR testing and VR.

What is most valuable?

The solution is simple to use and has effective automation.

What needs improvement?

VMware SRM does not have the capacity to do DR tests. We had issues whenever we were doing tests with the root cause analysis. We had 70 to 80 percent successful results because the vCenters were overloaded and that was the reason that we were having capacity issues.

We have been experiencing an additional problem when adding a regular VM in the replicated storage. By default, it will show an error. However, there is not any monitoring mechanism that would show you are not supposed to have a regular VM which is non-VR in the replicated SRM storage. Whenever we used to do testing we had to figure out that a regular VM is there and remove it manually.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability should be smooth, and as for the capacity, we should be able to run the test successfully. However, from our research and DR test results, we came to the conclusion that we have to run the DR test during the non-production hours. Logically, they should be able to be done during the production hours, but that is not the case. We have to ensure that the vCenters are free and are not doing regular work for us not to have any issues during the DR test.

There needs to be better stability during heavy capacity in future releases.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is easy to scale.

The solution is used extensively in our large organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

When we first started out using this solution we encountered a few issues and used the support but we now know how to fix most of the issues and have not used them. Additionally, we have our own team for support.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is logically simple and in the medium range of difficulty. However, you need to make sure you have the proper infrastructure.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Veritas and Zerto.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise others looking into implementing VMware SRM not to totally be dependent upon it. Review other solutions, such as Veritas regulatory platform and Zerto. There are newer VM DR options coming out regularly and they should not have only one solution.

I rate VMware SRM a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1619832 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior BCDR Professional at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
MSP
Reliable, easy to implement, and has good support
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to implement for my clients."
  • "I would like to see this solution be more scalable."

What is our primary use case?

We are consultants in disaster recovery software. We implement VMware products for our clients.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to implement for my clients. 

It's a very nice product.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see this solution be more scalable.

We currently use our security in addition to VMware SRM.

For how long have I used the solution?

I am certified in VMware and VCloud. 

I have been using VMware SRM for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have no issues with the stability of VMware SRM.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware SRM is scalable, but it can be improved.

We have 15 to 20 customers who are using SRM. We have customers not only in the US but in the UK also.

How are customer service and technical support?

They provide very good technical support that is affordable.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also using Zerto.

How was the initial setup?

It is very easy when it comes to integrating with a data center or an appliance, but it's a bit complicated.

The length of time it takes to deploy depends on the database we are accessing. It can take two hours to deploy.

We have two senior persons to deploy and maintain it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not involved with the pricing. 

We have a procurement team and sales team that work with the vendors.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate VMware SRM an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Director Of Service Delivery at Kinetic IT
Real User
A good solution for those with a VMware footprint
Pros and Cons
  • "This SRM solution can improve your footprint within a data center."
  • "The product functionality is fairly high-quality."
  • "This product is not appropriate for those moving to a broader cloud footprint."
  • "The technical support is not very good and needs to make an effort to improve."

What is our primary use case?

We vetted out that data center a number of years ago. We were told SRM would improve our footprint within the data center and that was attractive to us at the time so we went with it.  

We are using VMware SRM but we are also currently looking into alternatives that could replicate the benefits that SRM currently provides for our on-premises installation. Once we are in the cloud, we are looking at whether or not we need dual availability zones. We also are looking at what functionality we could get from not having to change RPs (Recovery Point) as we do now with SRM.  

What is most valuable?

I would not be able to tell you the features and benefits that are best for the Engineering Teams. That would be more a question for my Engineering Manager and those guys. I am in service delivery and I am familiar with the product but not with hands-on use.  

What needs improvement?

The decision to move to another product is a matter of room for improvement around functionality and requirements that we had with AWS and moving to the cloud. We are not going to be procuring any more licensing for SRM when we make the move to the cloud. We were looking at a cloud-native solution in order to provide the same functionality as the SRM provides but in the cloud. That is just a matter of the changing environment.  

If the functionality of SRM could be replicated in the cloud, that would be the improvement we are looking for in the product.  

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SRM (Site Recovery Manager) for probably six years.  

How are customer service and technical support?

I have contacted technical support multiple times. I would not say that I am satisfied. They are not very good and need to make an effort to improve.  

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and installation were pretty straightforward. It was ten plus years ago so I do not remember the exact details, but I do not remember it being difficult at all.   

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of SRM is on par with market rates. So I think the costs for this product are fine.  

What other advice do I have?

I personally will not continue using the VMware SRM solution. That is not a question of what is best. Our position moving forward is that we will not be having a footprint in the VMware space. If someone had the ability to focus on lots of things with using VMware in the cloud then there no issues at all with the product and this is a good solution for that purpose. The product functionality is fairly high-quality. Our decision is more based around the direction that we are taking. We will be cloud-based and we will be using AWS predominantly as our cloud-provider solution.  

On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I would rate this solution overall as an eight-out-of-ten. It would not be closer to a ten because there is still some work that we need to carry out with regular maintenance and then there are the increasing license costs. An eight seems about right.  

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Systems Engineer at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
Good automation with seamless failover saves us time, but it needs better granularity when used with array based replication software.
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the automation, where you press a button and everything fails over seamlessly."
  • "You cannot use VMware SRM in conjunction with storage replication software."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

VMware is being used for disaster recovery to protect two sites.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the automation, where you press a button and everything fails over seamlessly. It is quite good.

What needs improvement?

When used in conjunction with storage replication software it is not possible to separate and failover an individual VM. When the VMs are sitting on the same storage LUN, the granularity is not sufficient.  Ideally, we should be able to choose one virtual machine and separate it from the rest.

If the price were more competitive then it would be very good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with VMware SRM for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable for now. I haven't had any issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable, although the downside to scaling is the cost.

How are customer service and technical support?

When I first contacted technical support, I had some issues. However, as time went on, the support has improved and I now think that it is okay.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to using VMware SRM, we were doing everything manually. Failover of VMs was done manually from promoting the replicated LUNs to read write and then bringing them up in the DR VMware environment.  It was a lot of manual work when dealing with hundreds of VMs.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is all right and we have had no issues with it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of SRM is a little bit high, especially for smaller companies.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes Veeam and RecoverPoint for VM

What other advice do I have?

In summary, this is a mature product that works very well. It is easy to set up. I like the fact that it has a bubble test feature that allows you to test your configurations without actually failing over. However SRM is very pricy.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware Live Recovery Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: July 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware Live Recovery Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.