In the competitive landscape of Enterprise Backup Applications, it can be difficult for buyers to sift through the myriads of providers when trying to determine which backup application is best for them.  The results of a recent Quality Awards survey by Storage Magazine/SearchStorage.com highlights 7 different categories to consider when looking for an Enterprise Backup Application.  To help you sort out the many considerations in investing in a backup solution, we’ve summarized the findings below:

Sales-Force Competence

Buying new backup software involves developing a strong relationship with a new vendor and merging that relationship with your own operations.  This means that you’ll want to get to know the Sales-Force involved in the first engagements you encounter.  It’s like they say, first impressions are everything.  In particular you’re looking for a sales rep that is knowledgeable about the industry with a solid understanding of the customer’s business and a strong sales-support team.

Initial Product Quality

Once you’ve developed a solid relationship with your vendor, you have gained the trust to be assured that the product that you have invested in meets your expectations. For one, you should expect that your software installs quickly and without a hitch (ease of configuration).

Product Features

Now that your product has been installed successfully and easily, the product features of your Enterprise Backup Application should fulfill your business requirements. That is, the rubber has hit the road and a products’ features are really in focus.  Since product features vary, it is important to be specific to ensure that your particular business needs are met by the solution.  Whether it’s a product’s file-system backup, or its management features, you will have to compare solutions to find your best fit.

Product Reliability

Enterprise Backup is a heavy daily toll, day in and day out, and so it goes without saying that reliability is of utmost concern for most users.  After all, you shouldn’t have to worry about maintaining your backup solution continuously.  The software itself should do all the work.  A hint: look for a vendor whose users are happy, most of the time.  Service-level requirements, OS/platform support and upgrade guidance are a few areas to consider.

Technical Support

Every now and then, it’s inevitable that a backup app needs your attention.  Whether there is something amiss with the solution itself or there’s a conflict with another software solution, it’s likely you’ll require technical support.  And it’s fair to say, you’ll want a resolution and a response fast.  Make sure your contracts specify the types of technical support you need and expect.  Not to mention, you need to know if the tech support team you’re dealing with knows their stuff and is indeed knowledgeable and helpful.

Repeat Buy-ability

If you ask someone whether they will buy a product again, given what they now know about it, then their answer is usually a good indication of whether a product is reliable or not.  Asking your peers, or following up with analysts and reports, can give you some good hints on who to talk to in obtaining some quality peer-to-peer reviews.

Overall Ranking

Finally, if you consider all of the above and compile a score, you can start to gauge and short list your desired vendors for a solid Enterprise Backup Application.

In fact, the folks at Storage Magazine/SearchStorage.com compiled these results from their own survey, and we’re glad to mention that Asigra ranked first overall amongst many competitors.  You can see the results for yourself by visiting the blog post which contains a break down of each category: Users pick Asigra and Veeam as top backup applications

We’ve also put together a SlideShare that highlights these results:  7 Reasons Users pick Asigra as Top Enterprise Backup Application

Want to hear more from Asigra?