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Altaro VM Backupvs. AcronisAdvanced BackupProduct comparison11.5info@altaro.com www.altaro.com
Altaro VM Backup vs. Acronis Advanced Backup 11.5Altaro VM Backup 6 vs. Acronis AdvancedBackup 11.5Acronis is a familiar name in imaging and backup products and provides different backupsolutions for both home users as well as businesses of varying sizes. This comparisonshowcases the competitive differences between Altaro VM Backup and Acronis AdvancedBackup, which is Acronis’s backup offering that supports both VMware as well as Hyper-V.Executive Summary Acronis is substantially more expensive than Altaro VM Backup.Acronis offers limited functionality for Hyper-V and VMware and is very slow to implementsupport for current and recent versions of Windows Server.Acronis Backup is poorly laid out, leading to needless complexity and makes it difficult towork with at times.Acronis Weaknesses against Altaro VM Backup Heavy application requirements: Acronis backup is designed to be installed on at least onededicated server, and its console and primary backup components are resource-intensiveenough to justify it. It cannot be installed on Hyper-V Server or a Core installation ofWindows Server. A Microsoft SQL instance is required (the Express edition is acceptable insome cases). Conversely, Altaro VM Backup can be installed directly on the system tomanage and works perfectly well in Core environments, all without a heavy database system.Feature limitations: Fully four years after the introduction of SMB-based Hyper-V virtualmachines, Acronis Backup still does not support it. Acronis is generally slow to implementsupport for new versions of Windows and Hyper-V Server, potentially forcing customers todelay upgrade plans.Ease of Use: Acronis Backup’s interface is not well-designed and it is very easy to becomelost and confused by the options and screens. Choosing the wrong options can cause a job tofail entirely and the application does not generally provide any advance warnings about suchmisconfigurations. Error messages are very cryptic. Messages do provide links to the Acronisknowledge base, but it often does not have pages for the experienced errors. Altaro VMBackup is designed specifically with ease of use in mind, even for the novice user.Unstable software: The Acronis Backup product is quite error prone, partially because it isdifficult to configure properly. The difficulty of understanding the presented error messagessimply adds to the frustration.Acronis Strengths over Altaro VM Backup Larger feature set: Overall, Acronis has a wider feature set, with the salient options beingsupport for physical systems. However, Altaro VM Backup’s feature set for VMware andHyper-V is superior to that of Acronis Backup.More hypervisors: Acronis Backup includes support for Citrix XenServer; Altaro VM Backupdoes not.www.altaro.com ALTARO 2016 2
Altaro VM Backup vs. Acronis Advanced Backup 11.5 Backup to tape: Acronis Backup allows targeting of tape systems.Feature comparisonAltaro VM Backup 6Size of install filesTime to InstallTime to first backupMajor Requirements183MBAcronis Advanced Backup11.5Main installer.12.8MB web installer, up to2GB full installer maximumLess than 5 minutesAs much as an hourIf the .Net Framework is alreadyinstalled.for the pre-selected options using aremote SQL Server.Less than 5 minutes15 Minutes or more afterDepends mainly on the speed inwhich the operator can configure abackup target.installation (not including patching) isa reasonable estimate.Depends on operator's understandingof the software and complexity of theenvironment.Hyper-V: No separatesystem necessary. The entireNeeds at least oneproduct can be installed on a Hyper-Vhost.Windowsinstallation that should bededicated. SQL is required,although Express is adequate for smallorganizations.VMware: The managementconsole can be installed on anycompatible Windows system,including a desktop operating system.Does not need to be a dedicatedenvironment.Ease of useAdmin maintenancerequiredwww.altaro.com ALTARO 2016Very simple to useExtremely difficult to useA novice user should be able toperform both backups and restoreswithout much effort.Settings and screens are not wellexplained and there are no warningsabout error-causingmisconfigurations. Error messages arevery difficult to understand.MinimalModerateIf all is well, should require minimalintervention. Problems are difficult tounderstand and may requiresubstantial time to sort out. 3
Altaro VM Backup vs. Acronis Advanced Backup 11.5Cost of ownershipPrice for 1 virtualizationhost (2 sockets)Price for 5 virtualizationhosts (2 sockets per server)Pricing structureLowExpensiveMaximum 585 per host.Minimum of approximately 1,000 forthe first year (includes maintenance). 395 - 585 1,700 for Hyper-V orVMware host license;(Standard / Unlimited Edition, incl. 1year SMA*) 1,975 - 2,925(Standard / Unlimited Edition, incl. 1year SMA) 1,800 for universal license.(incl. 1 year SMA) 7,650 for specifichypervisor; 8,100 for universal licenses(incl. 1 year SMA)StraightforwardComplicatedPriced per host.Acronis licenses each backup type(server type, application type, storagetype) separately, leading to acomplex, multi-layered pricingstructure.Maintenance and Supportcost25% Of initial license fee18% Of initial license feeFirst year included with initial licensepurchase.First year included with initial licensepurchase.Quality of Support99% client satisfactionAcronis support receivesgenerally negative reviews56s avg response time – phone95m avg response time – email76s avg response time – live chatFit for SMB organizations(1-50 hosts)Perfect fitAltaro provides a product with afeature set and pricing model that fitswell with SMB needs and budgets.The most common complaints arethat issues take a very long time toresolve and that the support staffdoes not seem knowledgeable aboutthe issues.Too complicated, unreliableand expensiveComplexity and expense areproblematic enough, but the lack ofsupport for SMB 3 closes the door tosmall businesses looking to savemoney on storage.CSV-aware / Support forvCenterSMB 3-awarewww.altaro.com ALTARO 2016 4
Altaro VM Backup vs. Acronis Advanced Backup 11.5Agentless(for virtual machines)Offsite Replication w/ WANAccelerationStart VM Directly fromBackupLive Backups of WindowsVMsLive Backups of nonWindows VMsHyper-V and VMwareSupportTape Support* SMA Software Maintenance Agreement that covers software updates and Technical Support.www.altaro.com ALTARO 2016 5
Altaro VM Backup vs. Acronis Advanced Backup 11.5 Cost of ownership Low Maximum 585 per host. Expensive Minimum of approximately 1,000 for the first year (includes maintenance). Price for 1 virtualization host (2 sockets) 395 - 585 (Standard / Unlimited Edition, incl. 1
