Select Enterprise Backup Software
Info-Tech Research Group, March 2011
Meet recovery objectives while addressing modern challenges
Your Challenge
- Backup infrastructures are changing. Recent developments, such as increased virtualization and expanding storage requirements, have created new challenges for meeting restore objectives while minimizing costs.
- Thirty-nine percent of organizations have recently implemented a new backup architecture, which is a perfect opportunity to consider alternative backup software. Backup software is only one part of the overall backup strategy.
- Virtualization is creating new challenges and opportunities for organizations in terms of availability and recovery, leading vendors to innovate and incorporate with recent developments in deduplication capabilities.
- Get a handle on what differentiates each of eight different backup software vendors in Info-Tech’s backup software Vendor Landscape.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Backup may seem boring, but it is too important to be ignored. Regular backup review, including analysis of alternatives, is critical to ensuring the availability of foreground business-enabling IT services.
- Organizations that evaluate their backup software but choose not to switch are just as successful as those that have switched in the past 18 months. Don’t let a failure be your evaluation driver.
Impact and Result
- When looking at backup software vendors, don’t be distracted by flashy new features. Backup software should actually be called restore software.
- Failure in backup is failure to meet recovery objectives. Always evaluate features in light of these objectives.
Get to Action
1. Narrow down your list of backup software vendors.
Focus on investing in features that help achieve your availability and recovery objectives.
- Storyboard: Select Enterprise Backup Software
- Enterprise Backup Software Select
2. Compare leading vendors and develop a shortlist.
Narrow the leading vendors down to the most appropriate few.
- Backup Software Vendor Shortlist Tool
3. Contrast and evaluate a shortlist of vendors.
Select the right backup software vendor.
- Backup Software RFP Template
- Backup Software RFP Scoring Tool
- Backup Software Vendor Demonstration Script
* This is a bundle package with multiple titles
- Storyboard: Select Enterprise Backup Software (powepoint)
- Enterprise Backup Software Select (video)
- Backup Software Vendor Shortlist Tool (excel)
- Backup Software RFP Template (word)
- Backup Software RFP Scoring Tool (excel)
- Backup Software Vendor Demonstration Script (word)
What you recieve:
*Storyboard: Select Enterprise Backup Software
When assessing backup software vendors, IT leaders must avoid being taken in by flashy new features. Backup software should really be called restore software as failure in backup is failure to meet recovery objectives. Always evaluate features in light of these objectives.
Use this research to:
- Understand new features and develop a strategy to meet new challenges to enterprise backup, such as ever-increasing backup sizes, backup of virtual infrastructures, and evolving backup architecture strategy.
- Evaluate eight different backup software vendors for best fit using Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscape.
- Use Info-Tech’s scenario analysis to shortlist vendors according to your current situation and submit an RFP to vendors, score their responses, and prepare a backup software demo script.
- Assess implementation pitfalls in light of overall data management, security, and compliance requirements.
Ensure that you make the best-fit backup software decisions for enterprise availability and restore requirements, from strategy to selection to implementation.
*Enterprise Backup Software Select
Exploding volumes of data are driving the search for faster and more reliable backup, but data value and restore speed are also critical considerations. Designing a best-fit backup software solution requires that these elements are evaluated alongside total cost of ownership (TCO). This video introduces the solution set on this topic and addresses:
- Recent trends in backup software capabilities.
- Info-Tech’s breakdown of the backup software market.
- Recommendations for maintaining a backup software solution that meets the ongoing availability and restore requirements of the enterprise.
Ensure that you make the best-fit backup software decisions for your enterprise availability and restore requirements, from strategy to selection to implementation.
*Backup Software Vendor Shortlist Tool
The Backup Software Vendor Shortlist Tool allows enterprises to profile their backup software requirements and generate a rank ordered vendor shortlist from a fixed list of vendors. Vendor profiles are based on Info-Tech’s recent in-depth review of the backup software market. The tool includes the following specific aspects of analysis:
- Variable prioritization factors for both product and vendor suitability.
- Weightings to adjust the contribution of various suitability factors to overall vendor ranking.
- A self-sorted ranking list of storage vendors. The ranking is based on user input.
Narrow the vendors to a shortlist of solutions that best satisfy your organization’s requirements before sending out RFPs and scheduling vendor demonstrations.
*Backup Software RFP Template
An RFP is a formal invitation issued by a business or agency requesting interested vendors to submit written proposals meeting a particular set of requirements. This RFP template comes populated with crucial selection considerations, including:
- The Statement of Work
- Proposal Preparation Instructions
- Scope of Work
- Technical Specifications & Functional Requirements
- Operations & Support
- Vendor Qualifications & References
- Budget & Estimated Pricing
- Vendor Certification
A detailed RFP saves time in the selection process and ensures that you select a best-fit solution for the organization.
*Backup Software RFP Scoring Tool
This tool assists in the evaluation of completed backup software vendor RFP forms. It is pre-built with the essential criteria that must be considered. Use this tool to:
- Determine each feature’s level of importance to your organization.
- Score and compare potential backup software RFP vendor responses.
- Review overall vendor rankings and cost estimates.
Put hard numbers behind vendor claims, and keep evaluations objective by scoring RFP responses.
*Backup Software Vendor Demonstration Script
This template is designed to provide backup software vendors with a consistent set of instructions, ensuring an objective comparison of product features – all while evaluating ease-of-use from a user and IT perspective. The template is pre-built with five common scenarios to leverage:
- Solution Implementation
- Solution Configuration
- Restore Granularity Capabilities
- Backup and Restore of Virtual Infrastructure
- Deduplication Compression and Speed
Vendor demonstrations are essential in order to evaluate backup software user experiences. Allowing vendors to run the demonstration without your guidance will only highlight their strengths.
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