Unitrends Backup Software Review: An all-in-one solution for your company's backups

Having a system that helps us manage backups and file restoration easily and reliably is essential for the smooth operation of a business. A possible failure or incident can eliminate, in the blink of an eye, critical data and resources from your business.

Among the various options available in the market, today we will talk about Unitrends Backup Software. In this analysis, we will discuss its features, its price, and its alternatives to evaluate whether it is, for us, the best way to manage backups.

What is Unitrends Backup and Recover?

Unitrends Backup Software is a backup tool that allows us to automate, manage, and recover information from our infrastructure on both physical and virtual servers. The software's ability to perform backups of physical machines and the virtual environments they run in, along with its automation and reporting tools, are indeed its most notable features.

With features such as data deduplication and real-time report generation, we can optimize our storage usage—one of the most expensive elements of a backup infrastructure—and ensure operational continuity for the company at all times. And all of this from its unified management system.

Although it is true that automated processes and versatility in protection are excellent, it is also true that cloud backup options could be improved. Furthermore, opinions about their customer service are varied. Some are not fully satisfied with the speed of response from technical support, especially in critical situations.

When we compare this platform with other competitors such as Atempo, Backstone, or Veeam, we can see that each option has its nuances. However, Unitrends’ focus on environments with local or mixed infrastructures makes it a very interesting solution.

Do we want to try it for ourselves? With the Unitrends Backup Free Edition, we have a 30-day trial. Do we want to delve deeper into the tool? Let’s start by seeing what makes it so special.

Key Features of Unitrends Backup Software

There are a large number of backup applications on the market. Some focus on managing the backups we perform with the systems, while others focus on recovery. Unitrends Backup Software offers us a comprehensive approach to backups, highlighting these key points:

• Automation of Backups: The main strength of Unitrends Backup Software is its automation capabilities. We can set all backup and recovery processes to automatic mode. Thanks to the support of REST API and CLI, we can even configure certain processes in response to events, allowing the system to intelligently respond to each situation, thus avoiding future problems.
• Backing Up Both Physical and Virtual Systems: Not all systems are physical in an enterprise infrastructure. Unitrends Backup and Recovery supports backups in both physical and virtual environments and is compatible with Windows, Linux, AIX, and Unix, among others. For virtual machines like VMware, vSphere, Nutanix AHV, and Microsoft Hyper-V, it offers both virtualization options with and without agents.
• Deduplication: Unlike other solutions, data deduplication is performed at the source, at the destination, and/or globally. The system uses variable-length blocks, helping us to optimize storage use and significantly reduce the space required for our backups.
• Real-time Analytics and Reporting: The generation of reports, as well as performance analytics, storage usage, and tracking of other key parameters, is in real-time, allowing us to make quick decisions in unusual situations.
• A Centralized Management Console: Instead of having to resort to different tools and checkpoints, Unitrends Backup and Recovery provides all information and management in one place.

Pros and cons of Unitrends Backup

Unitrends Backup Software is a data protection tool that is quite different from other solutions on the market. Let's now look at the pros and also the cons of implementing this system in our company for a clearer picture:

Advantages of using Unitrends Backup Software

• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface: The centralized control center allows for very simple administration and an interface that is easy to manage, regardless of our technical knowledge.
• Scalability: Unitrends Backup’s data protection services are scalable, allowing for features like Disaster Recovery as a Service (DraaS) to be added.
• Wide range of backup options: Unitrends offers multiple backup options and supports both physical hardware servers and its own appliances as well as virtual ones, enabling this tool to adapt to any infrastructure.
• Powerful deduplication and storage optimization: the deduplication feature is key to not saving the same file multiple times. The reduction in storage space is significant, and the benefits increase as we scale our backup needs.
• Comprehensive reporting and analytics: having the assurance that our backup software is working as expected is crucial. Unitrends Backup and Recovery’s reports and analyses handle that.

Disadvantages of using Unitrends Backup Software

• Limited cloud backup capabilities: while it is true that the Unitrends system supports cloud backups, the number of storage providers available for selection could be improved.
• Technical support response during critical moments: the response speed of the technical support team, especially if we are in a critical moment, could be quicker.
• Uncertainty in pricing model after acquisition by Kaseya: following the integration with Kaseya, there is some concern regarding future increases in license costs or changes in the business model.
• Not available for mobile devices: Despite integrating with applications such as Google Cloud or Microsoft 365, Unitrends Backup Software is not a solution compatible with mobile devices.

Who Unitrends Backup and Recovery is For

Having seen what makes Unitrends backup management tool special, along with its strengths and weaknesses, a profile begins to emerge in which this system fits more naturally. Of course, any company will benefit from a backup and recovery system, but these are the ones that will notice the advantages the most:

• System administrators and IT teams who need to manage backups for the entire infrastructure in a fully centralized manner.
• Companies with on-premise infrastructures and data centers that require complete protection of both physical and virtual server data.
• Organizations in critical sectors (health, finance, government, and education) that must ensure operational continuity and protection of sensitive information at all times.
• Small and medium-sized enterprises that are looking for a solution that is easy to implement and manage, which can be scaled progressively as operations increase without requiring large technical teams.

Why should my company use Unitrends Backup Software?

To gain a deeper understanding of Unitrends Backup and Recovery capabilities, we spoke with several experts in the field, as well as companies that have implemented this system in their infrastructures. From these interviews, we can highlight several reasons that have led them to use this software. The main ones are:

• Complete automation of backups: once configured, the system takes care of everything, ensuring it is always available and safeguarding our data in case we need it.
• Versatility in protecting physical and virtual environments: many companies have hybrid environments that not all backup solutions can adequately protect.

Storage optimization through deduplication: although to a greater or lesser extent deduplication is a common practice in backup tools, Unitrends' ability to perform it at the source, at the destination, or globally provides very high flexibility and the results we expect.

Why do some companies not use Unitrends Backup Software?

Similarly, we have gathered the reasons why some companies choose not to use Unitrends Backup and Recovery. They are as follows:

• Cloud integration that needs improvement: For those companies prioritizing a cloud backup strategy, current capabilities may seem somewhat limited.
• Perception of technical support with long response times: In critical situations, technical support may not be the most agile.

Uncertainty in the pricing model after integration with Kaseya: Potential variation in the licensing model leads some companies to evaluate alternatives.

Unitrends Backup and Recovery Prices and Discounts

Unitrends does not publicly list the price of its tools nor does it have personal-business plans. However, we do know that it offers different prices depending on the amount of TB protected, the usage, and the additional features we want to contract. As a reference, we would be talking about around 300 or 400 € per month for the smallest implementations.

Like other solutions, Unitrends offers us discounts based on the duration we contract. If we want to evaluate the tool itself, the Unitrends Backup Free Edition allows us to evaluate the tool without commitment for an entire month.

Implementation, training, and documentation

The implementation of Unitrends Backup Software is quite simple. The initial setup and deployment are quick and, in general, do not even require the intervention of the IT team. If needed, we will find a good amount of online documentation, tutorials, and even webinars that will facilitate onboarding for our employees.

To go further and get the most out of the tool, it is advisable to take a look at the more advanced settings and integrations needed for our infrastructure. Here, the support of the Unitrends technical team is our main ally.

Customer Service: How to contact Unitrends?

Whether during initial setup or in case of questions or issues, it is essential that we can quickly contact customer service. This service is available via phone and email and is accompanied by a comprehensive knowledge base. 

Although some users have noted that support response may be slower than we would like at times of high demand, we generally have a committed team available to resolve any issues quickly and accurately.

Best alternatives to Unitrends Backup and Recovery: Veeam Backup & Replication, Atempo, and Backstone

Understanding a tool in depth also involves analyzing its alternatives. In the case of Unitrends Backup and Recovery, the three main ones are as follows:

Unitrends Backup and Recovery vs Veeam Backup & Replication

Veeam Backup & Replication is a really interesting option for companies that have hybrid and cloud environments. Veeam offers excellent integration with platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Beyond backup itself, it includes features like Instant VM Recovery and SureBackup, which allow us to quickly recover virtualized systems, although in the realm of traditional backup, Unitrends' solution still provides a more comprehensive experience.

Unitrends Backup and Recovery vs Atempo

Atempo is an interesting alternative focused on the automation and integration of backups in very large enterprise environments. It is geared towards environments with really complex infrastructures, although its integration in hybrid or cloud environments may not be as smooth as that found in other solutions.

Unitrends Backup and Recovery vs Backstone

Finally, Backstone is another alternative that deserves our attention. With a simple interface and efficient management of data in local infrastructures, it is a very practical option if we are looking for a reliable and easy-to-handle solution in traditional environments. Although it lacks some features that we find in Veeam, Backstone offers us a very direct approach focused on usability, making it ideal for certain sectors.

A tailored backup solution for our company's backups

Unitrends Backup and Recovery is a reliable and versatile tool to fully protect our data. Its ability to automate backups, the variety of options for physical and virtual environments, and the capacity to audit its operation in real time provide us with the peace of mind that a system of this type requires.

While the cloud functionalities and the agility of technical support could benefit from future improvements, its focus on on-premise protection is the most suitable for many sectors where operational continuity is essential. Are we still not convinced? We always have the option to try a free version and see its features and good results firsthand.

Beyond this, if what we want is to know that our data is safe at all times, Unitrends Backup and Recovery is a market leader. An application that, with its simplicity, provides the guarantee that a backup system brings.