Is Microsoft Azure Online Backup Overpriced?

What does $1,094 a month buy you from Microsoft Azure Online Backup?
 
The answer is: 500GB of online storage, no platform support beyond Windows, extra charges to recover your data, and upgraded phone support – 4x higher overall costs and less functionality than alternative online backup solutions like Zetta.
 
Of course, it’s possible to lower that bill by choosing Microsoft’s “standard” or “included” support levels, but IT managers who have experienced a major server crash or disaster recovery event know that in those situations relying on email support or self-service knowledge forums takes significantly longer (at best) and doesn’t actually solve your problems (at worst).
 
Even when things are working fine, customer support is important because things will go wrong. Whether due to a bug in the latest release, something the intern did, or another random thing that happened. Being able to get through to professional human support for help on these big or small issues can be the difference between it growing into an emergency or getting it fixed before happy hour.
 
With Azure Online Backup, for access to phone support that isn’t limited to 3 calls per month, you’ll need to purchase “Professional Direct” support. For the price, Azure’s Professional Direct support includes unlimited phone support, faster response times than Standard support, and access to, “developer coaching and educational events, designed to accelerate your development.”

Consider an Alternative That Can Save You 80%

Integrated 3-in-1 online backup, disaster recovery, and archiving from Zetta.net starts at $225 per month, including 500GB of enterprise-grade online storage, unlimited licenses of backup & recovery software, and unlimited 24×7 US-based phone support.

In addition to the pro-active professional support all Zetta customers get, you’re able to backup more environments than just Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 Essentials, and System Center 2012. Zetta’s 3-in-1 Online Backup supports Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and includes plug-ins for Exchange, SQL, Hyper-V, and VMware.
 
For some cloud services, you may want [or have] to, consider the Azure platform. But for backup and disaster recovery that’s affordable, and doesn’t treat unlimited 24×7 US-based phone support as a premium add-on – see what Zetta can do in your environment.

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Nick is Zetta's Corporate Reporter, and has been writing and telling stories about technology with blogs and social media since the days when the BBS reigned.