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Backup Direct review

in Software

Verdict

Solid business backup, but other services offer better value.

Review Date: 17 Sep 2008

Reviewed By: Stuart Andrews

Price when reviewed: £360 (£414 inc VAT)

Overall Rating
4 stars out of 6

Features & Design
6 stars out of 6

Value for Money
3 stars out of 6

Aimed squarely at business users, Backup Direct offers a no-nonsense approach to online backup and has the no-nonsense interface to match. To back up, you simply click the Backup Set tab, use the tree view to check or uncheck files and folders for selection as desired, then click a large Backup button. To retrieve files, you simply repeat the process using the Retrieve tab.

Backup Direct stores up to ten versions of each file with standard price plans, and you can schedule backups by hour and day of the week. However, there's no option for continuous backup, and in general features are rather short on supply, with no way of throttling bandwidth usage or doing anything beyond applying rules to filter unwanted files out of folders in the backup set. Unfortunately, using these rules requires mastering the program's jargon and that no-nonsense interface, which proves less than intuitive.

On the positive side, opting for a System level price plan adds a Heal feature to the client, which enables you to back up and restore system files and Registry settings, and Backup Direct proved to be the fastest service on test, completing both the initial backup and a full restore in record time. Both 256-bit AES encryption and 128-bit SSL encryption during transfer keep your data safe, and your files are mirrored across two secure datacenters within the UK.

However, with rates starting at £10 exc VAT per month for 1GB on a single PC, Backup Direct is an expensive service, and its rivals offer a stronger feature set and a more generous capacity for less money.

Author: Stuart Andrews

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User comments

Times have changed...

I just wanted to point out that this review is now over a year and a half old. Backup Direct has since advanced tremendously with regards to our products, award winning service and of course cost; providing very competitive prices for UK Business Users.

PC Pro have since reviewed our products and gave us a 5/6 Star rating. Unfortunately they have removed the review from the site; however it is available for viewing on our website under our review section.

Jennifer Jackson, Backup Direct.

By BackupDirect on 22 Mar 2010

Min Price £175/month

I cannot comment on the service, however the website is one of those where you spend ages looking for the price plan section. Don't waste your time; there isn't one shown. I had an online chat with a sales person who wanted to phone me, no doubt to convince me why their product is worth so much more than everyone elses. Just to save other people like me a bit of time, at 06/08/10 the live chat salesperson told me the minimum price per month for server backup is £175.

By derbo on 6 Aug 2010

Dear…
 
Thank you for your comment.  I am sorry you found the website and the interaction with us unclear.  For clarification, our smallest server backup begins at £10 per month. 
 
The reason why we do not put price plans on the web site is that there are many variables that determine the pricing.  We have five different technologies for backup which provide a myriad of feature combinations including scheduled or real time backup, near instant disaster recovery, database support, agent or agentless, virtual or physical support, retention from 30 days to 7 years…etc.  The cost to provide these services also vary according to the level of infrastructure investment and specialist support provided.  For example, some of our backup services store data in up to four physical locations which is required by some customers but not by others.  Hence it is important that we consult with our customers in order to determine the best price plan for them. 
 
However, we do have some fixed price packages for customers who have straightforward requirements.  The £175 package you mentioned was for an UNLIMITED storage option which is extremely cost effective for those with high volume of data.
 
I hope this has helped to clarify our approach.

By BackupDirect on 12 Nov 2010

Dear derbo, 
 
Thank you for your comment.  I am sorry you found the website and the interaction with us unclear.  For clarification, our smallest server backup begins at £10 per month. 
 
The reason why we do not put price plans on the web site is that there are many variables that determine the pricing.  We have five different technologies for backup which provide a myriad of feature combinations including scheduled or real time backup, near instant disaster recovery, database support, agent or agentless, virtual or physical support, retention from 30 days to 7 years…etc.  The cost to provide these services also vary according to the level of infrastructure investment and specialist support provided.  For example, some of our backup services store data in up to four physical locations which is required by some customers but not by others.  Hence it is important that we consult with our customers in order to determine the best price plan for them. 
 
However, we do have some fixed price packages for customers who have straightforward requirements.  The £175 package you mentioned was for an UNLIMITED storage option which is extremely cost effective for those with high volume of data.
 
I hope this has helped to clarify our approach, and apologies for the double posting, the joys of trigger happy fingers as I tried to scroll through my message! 

Jennifer, backupdirect.

By BackupDirect on 12 Nov 2010

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