Case Study: XCentral achieves simpler, cost-effective backup protection with BackupAssist

Using BackupAssist to complement existing third-party backup software products

XCentral, a Sydney-based IT solutions provider for small and medium businesses, needed a simple and affordable way to add extra protection to a client’s existing backup strategy. The client’s current third-party imaging software on Server 2008 R2 could not back up to tape, so XCentral turned to BackupAssist to help create offsite tape copies and keep a second local copy for faster recovery.

BackupAssist implemented a tape backup using the Zip-to-Tape add-on and a file replication setup to retain local image copies, while also resolving VSS conflicts between the products by adjusting snapshot handling. The result was an automated, more resilient backup process with offsite protection and up to 12 months of recoverability, plus major cost savings: the BackupAssist solution cost US$378 versus US$1,115.40 for Symantec BackupExec, and an all-BackupAssist approach could reduce total cost to US$378 compared with US$1,373 for the mixed-software option.

XCentral