OpenText Data Protector Reviews

We are using this solution to back up our data from SAP HANA and Microsoft applications. We also use it to back up our domain and file servers.

The most valuable feature is the capability to back up our SQL server.

We also use this product to back up our Linux file system.

The interface has been the same for many years and needs to be updated. The dashboard has changed, but that only deals with part of the backup process.

We have been using Micro Focus Data Protector for 15 years.

We haven't had any issues with respect to stability.

The scalability is very nice.

Overall, this is a good product and it hasn't given us any problems.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

The most valuable feature for me is the duplication.

With Micro Focus, which works with the HP hardware, you don't need to use interfaces. With other solutions like Backup Exec, etc., you have to run an additional API in the background. It impacts your systems. It's not the same when you are using Micro Focus directly with the HP hardware. This solution is more efficient. If you use another solution, you need to use an additional API. The people who designed Micro Focus were from HP, which is why they work so well together.

The solution would be improved if it would work with OpenStack.

People prefer Veeam because the interface is easier, and Data Protector is difficult in comparison.

Data Protector is beginning to integrate virtual machines. Customers, however, find it more comfortable to work on a virtual machine, for example, with Veeam Backup. They find it easier, once again, because the interface is easier.

Stability isn't perfect. You have issues from time to time. 

I'm working on multiple cases, so I'm able to see what is not working with the software. Micro Focus, however, continues to refine the product, which is one of the strengths of the solution. They have new versions every month to fix problems. We advise clients from time to time to upgrade to improve stability. 

With new installations, incidents can occur sometimes. If you have an incident that affects the backup server, it can impact the software and create a bug. There are people from Micro Focus - high-level people - that can help and take control of the solution remotely to troubleshoot issues.

Regarding scalability, it's unlimited with Data Protector. You can link multiple installations and let them work together. They can share backup devices. You have many possibilities with Data Protector. It's very proficient.

I didn't previously use a different solution.

The initial setup is complex. You have software to install on all of the machines and communication to set, including security communication. It's a delicate process, and it's not something common and easy to do. Normally we plan downtime with the customer. For a big enterprise, we take nearly a week to upgrade the solution.

Occasionally, we have problems when upgrading. Sometimes there's something that's not automated and you need a specialized person that can do the upgrade or the installation for you.

We installed the solution. We are an integrator.

We essentially handle enterprise solutions. We work with enterprises that have their own cloud and machines to back up their systems.

I would rate this solution ten out of ten.

If you are an enterprise, and you need a strong backup solution, Micro Focus is for you. For me, it's the best.

We are using the on-prem version of this solution. We use the software for both the Microsoft application backup and Oracle backup.

We are planning to switch to Veeam in the next six months.

The feature that was most valuable was that we could restore one mailbox and we could do different backups for different databases.

I'm sure Data Protector has improved because we have an old version and I think the new versions have many new features but I'm not familiar with them. The version we are using now does not work with virtual machines and it lacks many features. I'm sure the new version is better. It has many functions that can compete with Veeam, but the problem is that its price is more expensive. It's very expensive compared to Veeam and other similar solutions.

We changed Microsoft to a virtual environment, so in a virtual environment, we could not do a backup with the version we're using. It doesn't work with a virtual machine. In addition, we could not restore the machine. This is the main problem with it. 

We are switching to Veeam because Data Protector is lacking good virtualization features and because the cost is very high.

The solution is very stable but we had some problems with our VTL although, this is a hardware problem.

The scalability is good. 

We have three users using this application: Infrastructure section head, one senior infrastructure administrator, and one infrastructure administrator.

We require two staff members for the maintenance of this solution. We use this solution daily. 

Their technical support is good. When we wanted to change our partner and to have the support from another partner, we didn't find any partner in Egypt that could help us. We didn't know that HP is not responsible for this solution. When we bought it, it was HP Data Protector and now it's Focus. It was very hard to know this. We sent a request to Focus, but they didn't respond to our request.

Before this solution, we were using a Linux platform and we were using an open-source program, I don't remember the name. We switched from Linux to Microsoft. 

The initial setup was complex. It was not easy. Data Protector itself is easy to install, but sometimes when we re-install it, it doesn't work and some agents do not work properly especially for Microsoft and for Unix.

Our deployment was done in 2008 and it took two to three days to finalize our deployment, the agents, and everything and to be sure that all backups were working well.

We used a partner for the deployment. We had a good experience with them.

The licensing cost was not annual. We didn't pay any license. We paid when we deployed and we didn't pay for anything after that. There were no additional fees after the initial payment. 

The solution is very stable, it was very helpful. We are confident that when we do a backup, we are sure that we can restore it which is very valuable. It's very reliable and we are confident when doing a backup, we could restore it. 

I would rate it an eight out of ten. It is very stable and we trust it but we've had some problems with it which is why I would deduct two points. 

I would like to see an improvement in the reporting feature of this solution as it is really bad. It needs to include important views and dashboards so that we can configure the functions we need. They should also improve their technical support to make the response time faster.

This solution is quite stable because we have only three users. I am not sure if we will increase our usage soon.

The technical support was very slow.

The initial setup was really complex. I am not at all impressed by this solution. It was difficult to find anyone here in Denmark to help us with the setup because my experience was that everybody was moving away from this solution. So we had to do the installation ourselves.

I really wouldn't recommend others to use this solution - especially when it comes to the technical support. I rate this a five out of ten.

Our primary use case is backing up our data and restoring it when required.

Our company assets are information and data. The product protects these valuable assets.

The most valuable feature is the protection of our data with the backup capability and performance.

Make it simpler to use, integrate with as many applications as possible, and improve the dashboard.

It is stable to a point, but it has room for improvement. I would not call it a very stable solution.

The product is scalable, but it depends on the vendor's license as well as the customer's infrastructure.

The support is not good and they should really work to enhance the customer support experience.

Data Protector was our original solution. It shipped with our HP Printer.

I found the initial setup to be ok. I would not say simple or complex, but medium.

Our goal is to have the simplest possible solution that will work without extra effort.

The product was part of the backup solution that shipped with our HP printer, so we did not record a vendor implementation.

I would not recommend this product to my colleagues.

We have looked at several including Cobalt, Upline, Veritas Backup Exec, and Dell EMC.

If a company has no protection for their data and information then they need this product. However, the reliability needs to be enhanced.

Micro Focus needs to fix the current issues by working closely with customers to determine how it is that we can help.

Overall, I would rate this product a six out of ten.

I use the Micro Focus Data Protector for our corporate data backup requirements. That is the main business need for this product by our company.

I don't like any function of the Micro Focus Data Protector. Honestly, I hate the Micro Focus Data Protector. It's not really good.

I have used Micro Focus Data Protector for the file backup facilities. My primary use of the software is to backup file data.

The software needs to redesign the UI and they should organize the functions so that they are much easier to use. It's very hard to understand how to use the software.

Micro Focus Data Protector is stable. I have one customer using it. The data center utilizes it. 

It is scalable. We use it for our data center and website.

We haven't contacted the technical support with Micro Focus.

The initial setup is very complex. It's hard to understand how the components work together and how each component is related together. I read a lot of information but I still don't really understand MFDP. I don't spend much time on it, therefore it's hard to understand. 

The information about MFDP is easy, but the application of it is not easy. When I deploy the software, I only understand it because I have written down all the information.

It just takes a few hours to finish the installation and the configuration.

I have deployed Micro Focus Data Protector myself with some technical issues and problems.

The Micro Focus Data Protector solution is not really good, but it is "good enough" that it can help our client requirements. If I compare Micro Focus Data Protector with other solutions, MFDP just does not have enough complexity in the UI.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give Micro Focus Data Protector a seven. They should design the solution so that it is much easier for deployment and make the UI easy to use.

For backup testing, previously it was taking a long time, because we needed to restore all the machines and systems. Now, testing the backup machines is very fast.

It's supports Unix, Linux, all of the OS's. It's very stable software, we have been using it for many years now. It's great.

The new backup systems are using new mechanisms for the recovery phases; for example, VM, recovery and testing the backup before recovering it. These features are not available in Data Protector. What we need to see is fast recovery and testing of backups.

The second thing is the license type. Because in Data Protector, if you need extra features, you need to buy the agents for these features. Some of the features are Terabytes, some of them are agents. There's some complexity in the pricing and licensing.

It's stable, but there are times when you need to open a ticket with vendor support. It is stable but when you are using any system, you need to open tickets from time to time.

No problem with the scalability. There are many agents, anything I need, I can buy agents and do it with Data Protector. It's very scalable. But it's costly when we need to scale it.

Data Protector is great software, but after we started getting support from Micro Focus, it was taking too much time, there was too much delay. That's why we are thinking of testing other backup software. It used to be helpful and very good. But with Micro Focus, now it's taking more time.

I wasn't directly involved but I think it was straightforward, because the integrator who did the installation was an expert.

Commvault and Veeam, these are the options on the shortlist. We haven't made a decision because there are new features being added by Micro Focus to Data Protector. We need to see if the new features and updates - maybe up until the end of this year - cover our needs. Perhaps we will not change backup software. But if we find that no, there is still complexity in recovering and testing the backups, then we will choose one of the two above options. 

We requested a PoC from the vendors, just to see the features that are now available.

When selecting a vendor, first of all we need local support, here in our country, so that we don't need to open tickets with the vendor every time. A lot of times we need to open a ticket with local integrators. This is how we choose our backup software.

A lot of the backup solutions have the same features or the features are similar, because when one of them adds a feature, the others, after a few months are are adding the same thing. So mainly, we're based on the local integrator, who is providing the support and who is doing the implementation, who has very good experience. Based on comparison ratings, we haven't found a lot of difference between, for example, the Commvault and Veeam.

If you have a complex environment, if you have different OS's - Linux, Unix, Windows - if you have backup to disk, Data Protector is a very good choice to cover the whole environment. But it will cost you a lot of money.

If you need to use more than one backup software, use Commvault and Veeam for the VM environment. I have been told that Commvault is very good with physical servers and other OS's, and this is why we need to test it.

I can backup and restore our company’s various systems without issue.

It is very easy to use and the interaction with various systems is very handy.

• I'd like to be able to pause a job rather than to abort it; and
• I'd like to know which file or folder is being backed up while the job is running.
• Faster VEAgent Restores

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

Customer Service:

In my experience, the customer service was very good and helpful.

Technical Support:

Technical support was very good.

I used Backup Exec in a previous position. I only switched solutions because I changed changed jobs, and my current company uses Data Protector.

Initial setup was straightforward.

Implementation was done in-house.

Our return on investment has been better restorations.

Get it and use it. Read the manuals well before implementing and have a test environment in place, especially for upgrades.