Technical Consultant at Beta Information Technology
Consultant
Saves administrators time due to minimal errors, and helps reduce infrastructure costs
Pros and Cons
  • "Commvault has support for backing up operating systems and servers."
  • "There is room for improvement in terms of data security."

What is our primary use case?

We are a systems integrator and we sell Commvault to our customers.

One of our customers has Oracle Cloud and we needed to create a backup for that. Only two solutions can do that, Commvault and Veritas. Our customer compared Commvault and Veritas by doing a PoC of each. We displayed the features of each one and the customer chose Commvault. 

We have another customer with a different environment. They have virtualization and they have a physical infrastructure and many operating systems and environments. They compared different backup solutions like Commvault, Veeam, and Veritas, and Commvault was the only solution that could cover all the operating systems and the whole virtual and physical environment.

Another customer is in the petroleum sector. They have different sites and they need replication between the sites and they also need to back up their main sites and their remote sites. Commvault is one of the best solutions for this scenario.

How has it helped my organization?

The number of errors or problems with Commvault, when dealing with backups, is very minimal compared to other backup solutions. It saves a lot of time for system administrators. An administrator using another backup solution will take one, two, or three hours per day just to check if the backup jobs have run. With Commvault, it takes about 10 to 30 minutes, maximum.

The solution saves on infrastructure and protects data. Compared to other solutions, using Commvault saves our customers around 15 to 20 percent. In addition, it reduces storage space because of the deduplication and compression during backup.

What is most valuable?

  • One of the big features is the 10-mega backup for endpoints. Not many backup solutions support that. 
  • Commvault has support for backing up operating systems and servers.
  • The solution covers Oracle Cloud, on-prem, virtual, and physical.
  • The support for cloud is good.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in terms of data security.

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How are customer service and support?

We use Commvault's technical support at times. I would rate it at 10 out of 10. Their support is perfect.

How was the initial setup?

For some customers we do the implementation on-premise, and others use the cloud version. It's very easy and straightforward. The design, implementation, and documentation is very straightforward, especially the Commvault hybrid product.

The deployment time depends on the customer and it depends on the environment. It takes a minimum of two to three days, and the maximum is 10 days. It depends on the size of the environment.

We have straightforward procedures for the implementation. We have a manual. We have procedures for the automation of installation for HA environments, whether it's for a virtual or physical, and for different operating systems.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Commvault's licensing is very flexible.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
Senior Technical Support Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Provides us with one product, one console, and one license for our VM backups
Pros and Cons
  • "The most important feature is that everything can be controlled using a single console."
  • "I would like them not to push Command Center. It is good, but I would like them to enable all the features for the Java console. Some things are not in the Java console, like Office 365 agents. In fact, they are there, but one of the engineers had to show me how to configure it. It's not done the same as in the Command Center."

What is our primary use case?

We are mainly using it for backing up our VMware environment, some file servers, and some SQL databases. We also use it for some replication.

How has it helped my organization?

Before Commvault we had one product for backup, one for replication, and a few consoles. That was hard to manage for the administrator. With Commvault it's just one product, just one license. It does not require a special, separate license for deduplication or other stuff. It's easy to manage everything now.

Commvault provides us with a single platform to move, manage, and recover our data across on-premises locations. We usually have daily, incremental backups and a full backup weekly. That leads to reduced storage space for our Commvault storage. It's saving us about 30 percent.

The fact that the solution is a single platform has enabled our company to accelerate growth. We have a database and there are some major changes that happen to it at the end of month, or sometimes the developers have done something to change it in a whole different way. Before they apply those changes, we take a backup with Commvault so if something has gone wrong with the update, we can always revert it back.

Also, because it has alerts enabled, the solution helps our admins to minimize the time they spend on backup tasks so they can spend time on other projects. We don't monitor the backup system all the time. We only look at it when we get email alerts. If something has failed, then we'll look at what the error is and what's happening. There are daily backup reports configured so that at 10:00 am, every day, I get a backup report. It says what has been backed up and what has not.

In addition, we have had a few crashes of our VM environment and we have had to restore some VMs, as well as some files that have been deleted by users off our file server. We had another solution before, but that was before I started with the company. People say it was pretty crappy and that sometimes, when they were doing recovery, it took about eight to 10 hours for a VM. But with Commvault, the last time I did a recovery of a 500 GB hard disk with a VM, it took about one-and-a-half hours. That is good.

Finally, Commvault has helped by telling me there are outdated tools in the VM environment.

What is most valuable?

The most important feature is that everything can be controlled using a single console. That is the best feature of Commvault.

What needs improvement?

The user interface is a bit tough, to be honest, but once you get the hang of it, it's okay. In the beginning it was tough, but now I know what I'm doing. We had free training but after that, just to learn the interface took me four to six months. There are still things to learn because with every service pack there are changes. Service Pack 18 was recently released and there are some features that I haven't even seen yet.

I would like them not to push Command Center. It is good, but I would like them to enable all the features for the Java console. Some things are not in the Java console, like Office 365 agents. In fact, they are there, but one of the engineers had to show me how to configure it. It's not done the same as in the Command Center.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Commvault since 2018.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable. 

Sometimes the Java console might not respond. It might happen one out of 20 times that the Java console might crash. And then we have to use Task Manager to end it and reopen it. Other than that, the server has never crashed nor has the database ever crashed.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have actually moved into 365 recently. We had to buy some licenses but they agreed to give us some trial licenses for testing, but it is based on the user base. Commvault is supporting everything that we are doing.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support in the India region is a bit disappointing, but after 6:00 pm it is switched to the U.S and European teams, and they are much better in supporting and understanding the issues and fixing them. Sometimes the Indian team is also good, but we don't usually raise a ticket until after 6:00 pm. If it's a small issue that doesn't cause any harm to the production environment, we will go to the Indian team and some of them are good enough to help us.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Our company switched to Commvault because it had some issues with recovering data and the recovery time was high. Also, the local support team for our old product was not available when we needed them. That's why they were looking for something new and they found Commvault.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was straightforward. We didn't have many complications. When we had to install the agents on the servers, there were some issues with authentication with the SQL database, but that was from the database side. That was sorted and there was nothing much more than the usual administrative stuff.

The initial deployment took about three weeks because we had some complications with database servers. Some of them had to study the user account permissions. After that was sorted out, it was fine.

Our strategy was to install it on critical servers. After the vendor installed the physical servers for Commvault, we had to download about nine to 10 GB of their setup files. After that, they installed and there were some prerequisites to complete such as .NET. After that, it was pretty easy. Once we installed we had some local support. We also had to plan and provide retention periods.

What about the implementation team?

We had support from the local distributor. They were very friendly and they were cooperative and concerned with our requirements. They addressed them properly. Overall it was a good experience. 

And they provided us with the training after the deployment. We played with our environment for two to three months after the deployment, and then they gave us the training. That approach was better because we had an idea about what we were learning. We had questions when we went to the training so it was very good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Commvault licensing is a perpetual license so only the support is being renewed yearly.

What other advice do I have?

I don't like the solution's Command Center. I don't know why they have pushed it. The old Java console is much better. Maybe it's because I was used to it. One good thing about the Command Center is that it has reduced the steps we have to take. If we had to do 10 steps on the Java console, it's been reduced to four or five steps in Command Center. But I'm confused about whether I'm doing things right because there are some steps missing. For a newcomer, Command Center would be good. But for me, I still prefer the Java console.

Currently, there is only me, as a system administrator, and another guy on the database team who use Commvault. That's all. We don't have many administrators.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
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Commvault Cloud
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Commvault Cloud. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
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Senior Systems Consultant | Virtualization at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
Top 10
Provides good technical support services, but its scalability needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "Commvault HyperScale X is also a good choice for regulations that require the backup system to be isolated from the rest of the infrastructure."
  • "Commvault HyperScale X is more expensive for hybrid environments than traditional solutions."
  • "Commvault HyperScale X is more expensive for hybrid environments than traditional solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We use the Commvault HyperScale X to manage complex infrastructure, so deployments are fast.

What is most valuable?

Commvault HyperScale X is also a good choice for regulations that require the backup system to be isolated from the rest of the infrastructure. If there is an issue with the software, we open a support ticket with the software vendor. We then escalate the case to the hardware support team.

What needs improvement?

Commvault HyperScale X is more expensive for hybrid environments than traditional solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Commvault HyperScale X as a reseller for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product’s stability an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good, but there is a limitation on expanding the cluster to scale to a higher level. We have smaller and enterprise-level clients. I rate its scalability a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

We have a team of four to manage support. We have many paid credits for networking and application support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is moderately easy. I rate the process a seven on a scale of ten. The deployment time depends on the environment. It takes around four to eight hours to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

If the customer needs to protect five terabytes of data, they will need five licenses if they need to upgrade to make devices flexible or create this model. Many small customers can start with a 10TB appliance, and enterprises can scale up to 50 TB. The appliance is compatible with various hardware platforms, including LG, Lenovo, IBM, Dell, etc.

I recommend the Commvault HyperScale X for its enhanced quality, performance focus, and data isolation. I recommend looking for support for various solutions from a single vendor. Overall, I rate it a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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Mahmoud Dabash - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Consultant at eSky IT
Consultant
Top 10
Has good scalability and helps us back up virtual environments effectively
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a stable solution."
  • "Its technical support could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for mail archiving and sync application features. We can back up the virtual environment with its help.

What needs improvement?

They should provide more integration with OpenShift for the solution. Also, its support could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability as an eight.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have four solution users in our organization. I rate its scalability a nine.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support team resolves the queries efficiently. However, it takes time to respond.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used IBM Spectrum Protect before. I have attended training sessions and implemented them as well.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup process is complicated. One needs to know the product in-depth for easy deployment. It takes a couple of hours but depends on the type of environment. Also, one executive with good knowledge can conduct its maintenance process efficiently.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution's cost is reasonable. I rate its pricing a nine.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution to others and rate it as an eight.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Project Manager at datasitter INC
Real User
Stable with professional support, but the interface should be more user-friendly and the price more affordable
Pros and Cons
  • "This is a very stable product."
  • "I would like to see a more user-friendly GUI."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and we offer Commvault to our customers.

In my company, we are also using it for backup and recovery.

What needs improvement?

The price should be reduced because it is too expensive for our customers.

I would like to see a more user-friendly GUI.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Commvault for between five and six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Commvault is scalable. We have about seven or eight engineers 

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is very professional.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In the past, we have worked with similar solutions from competitors such as Dell EMC.

How was the initial setup?

I found the installation easy because I have a lot of experience with backup solutions.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is looking at Commvault is that it is better suited to larger businesses.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Reseller
A single platform where you can enable whatever you want to use
Pros and Cons
  • "Commvault software is a single platform where you can enable whatever you want to use, like endpoint protection. You can enable those licenses on a single platform screen. This is where I see the value ad. This is a single management tool."
  • "They don't market their products well. They don't do a lot of marketing to enable them to move forward."

What is our primary use case?

We use it mostly for backup and sell it to our customers. We are moving more into data management. Our customers also use it for data classification, it's becoming a major role. 

How has it helped my organization?

The previous version of Commvault was complex from a licensing point of view. Veeam is taking up the virtualization space. 

It helps my customers recover data and to replicate the data as well. 

What is most valuable?

Commvault software is a single platform where you can enable whatever you want to use, like endpoint protection. You can enable those licenses on a single platform screen. This is where I see the value ad. This is a single management tool.

With other products, you need to have different management tools.

What needs improvement?

They don't market their products well. They don't do a lot of marketing to enable them to move forward. 

It's a very good product. It works. If their marketing was great, the product would sell itself. It's harder because their competitors have much better marketing. Everybody knows Veritas and Veeam because they market well. If a customer chooses Commvault, it would be the first time they've heard of it. 

For how long have I used the solution?

My company has been using it for the last five years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is great. In the new license model, I can scale it on the virtual environment. We are going to increase our Commvault center in our data center. The maintenance will increase. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is very good. I am very satisfied. I work with somebody who is connected to the development side as well so they make sure to implement changes if we encounter issues. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Commvault is an enterprise product set and Veeam only started the virtualization layer. Commvault is already at the front. Veritas has a lot of appliances and Commvault only started doing appliances a few years ago. Veritas marketed their appliances aggressively but Commvault didn't. I think Commvault is moving into data management. 

How was the initial setup?

It's not that easy to implement. It takes some time to implement and make it work. It was complex to implement and understand how to get everything correctly. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Commvault changed their model to make it easier for partners and customers to understand. Before there were 16 licenses for one area but now they've made it easier to work.

What other advice do I have?

Understand the way it works in terms of sizing and configuration. As soon as that is correctly done, it's not so difficult to understand. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
PeerSpot user
Senior Presales Consultant at OFFTEC International
Consultant
Global deduplication and the indexing of the data object saves costs on the product side by doing compression and deduplication
Pros and Cons
  • "Global deduplication and the indexing of the data object are the most valuable features. It saves costs on the product side by doing compression and deduplication. It will help you and make your life easy to reach the data that you need within the minimum downtime when it's required."
  • "The setup is not that straightforward or easy. Even the documentation is not generic or public like other products. You have to be a partner or you have to have a specific account and download it from the vendor themselves."

What is our primary use case?

For the past five years, I was part of a big team as a solution architect that was designing Commvault as a solution for different connector projects and enterprise sectors within the region: the Middle East, North Africa, and so on.

Commvault is unique in the backup and recovery category. It has many features. If you are using the Commvault as a backup, you don't need any additional software to have an archiving solution. While with other products, you do. We use Commvault for backup, recovery, and archiving.

How has it helped my organization?

From the cost perspective, it minimized the costs which reflected on the investment of the storage, even the investment on the network side. The algorithm and the technology that Commvault is using will be reflected in other parts of the IT components, like network, storage, etc. 

What is most valuable?

Global deduplication and the indexing of the data object are the most valuable features. It saves costs on the product side by doing compression and deduplication. It will help you and make it easier to reach the data that you need within the minimum downtime when it's required. 

What needs improvement?

The setup is not that straightforward or easy. Even the documentation is not generic or public like other products. You have to be a partner or you have to have a specific account and download it from the vendor themselves. 

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. The product setup went well. It was deployed without any problems.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. Commvault has recently changed the licensing. The licensing methodology makes things much easier and easy to scale up and scale out. Usually, the rate of technology they are accomplishing with other partnerships with vendors like Fujitsu is using the scale appliances which are massively scalable. 

We have more than 11 customers over here, and in total, there are around 400 users. Some of them are in the financial sector and the government sector.

The amount of people we require for maintenance depends on the project. If it's a medium project, then it's around five. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support are very good. You can chat with the support engineers that are available 24/7 and can provide you with anything you need. I haven't had any major incidents that I've really needed them for.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used Veritas. We switched because if I wanted to use a backup and recovery feature plus an archiving feature I would need to buy more software. With Commvault, I only need one license. It was not a centralized solution like Commvault is. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex. The company itself and technology do not have a market share here in the region. Compared to other software or solutions which have most of the market share in the Middle East, it might be that people could use on the other software or other solution better. From the Commvault perspective, the way to install this solution is totally different than others. The mentality of how the solution should work is totally different than other competitors. In the Middle East, we don't have many technical people to work on it. 

The time it takes to deploy will depend from sector to sector. If it is an enterprise with more than 1,000 users it can take around three weeks. If it's mid-range like SAP accounts it could take one week. Taking into account the features that you want to enable will not take that much time.

What about the implementation team?

We integrated it ourselves. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is not expensive. The prices are competitive. Other vendors are now adjusting their prices to compete with Commvault. Compared to other competitors and vendors the pricing is fair. 

What other advice do I have?

The advice that I would give someone considering this solution is that you need to have the right people and the right team to implement Commvault. Other than that it's a good tool. From the backup and recovery processes aspect, there's a feature currently they are working with us to enhance it. It does what it says it'll do. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten. Not a ten because there is a little complexity of the overall product. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1004244 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer1004244software support at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User

There is no doubt that Commvault is nice software. However, when you look at TSM (New name is Spectrum Protect) which comes as a FULL license, including all types of agents (SQL/Exchange / Oracle) and is free of charge for 82 years, which include at the software. All vendors are using HASH algorithm for Dedup and LZ for compression.

Hayam Salem - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Engineer at Adaptive Solutions
Reseller
Top 10
A stable solution that helps recover virtual machines
Pros and Cons
  • "The return points are very valuable."
  • "The pricing of the solution can be improved and made cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is mostly used for backups as customers ask for virtual machine backups.

How has it helped my organization?

A lot of customers have lost their data and Commvault Backup & Recovery has helped recover it.

What is most valuable?

The return points are very valuable.

What needs improvement?

The pricing of the solution can be improved and made cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Commvault Backup & Recovery for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is highly stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Commvault is a scalable solution. At present, medium businesses work with the solution. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team is good. I rate the support a nine out of ten. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. The deployment depends on the size of the project but usually takes a few hours. For the deployment, there is a console ID that needs to be implemented on the customer side. I rate the initial setup a ten out of ten. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive. However, there are no additional costs involved. I rate the pricing a five out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend my clients to choose Commvault's accessible license. I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Commvault Cloud Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Commvault Cloud Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.