Hi Jack
I think there are probably a range of selling points. The one thing you want more than anything else, is a reliable backup and restore. If you loose important company data, how much is that worth. Just because Windows Backup is free, does not mean that it is the most cost effective to use. If you try out both products - complete with test backups under load and restores - you'll have a better idea of what the strengths are of each.
Here are some ideas:
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Company and support
StorageCraft's focus is backup software only
Which company is likely to provide faster support when you need it: StorageCraft or Microsoft
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Reliable backups and restores
ShadowProtect tests their product backups on servers under load
Microsoft's Windows Backup can corrupt backups (e.g. Exchange Server when under load) and get VSS into a bad state.
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Verifying backups over time
ShadowProtect supports scheduled verification of backups to check against bit rot that can occur over time.
Microsoft's Windows Backup (I don't believe) supports this
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Fast, low-impact incremental backups
ShadowProtect's fast, in-memory incremental tracking make it possible for frequent snapshots of heavily used servers.
Windows Backup does not support this. Backups tend to be larger, slower and place more load on the server
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Disaster and Recovery (DR)
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Transfer of backups offsite
ShadowProtect's small incrementals make it possible and cost-effective to transfer them offsite as part of a comprehensive DR solution
StorageCraft's built in MD5 support makes it possible to check for bit errors in transmitting files to remote site
StorageCraft's ImageManager can be run at a remote site to manage, check and consolidate backups post-transfer
Windows Backup's larger backup files make offsite transfer slower and more expensive
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Restoring to replacement hardware
ShadowProtect Hardware Independent Restore (HIR) supports a restore to different hardware. This is also essential for any DR solution
Windows Backup does not (that I know of) support this. Instead, you are left with an unbootable backup.
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Restoring to Virtual Machine
ShadowProtect's bootable Recovery Environment CD supports a HIR. This is useful for any DR solution.
ShadowProtect's HIR is often faster, more flexibility and provides more options compared to VM-based "import" options
ShadowProtect's backups can, however, be imported/converted into VMware VMs using the VMware import tool.
Windows Backup only allows "import" (convert) into Windows-based VM products
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Hardware upgrades/migrations
ShadowProtect's HIR feature makes it possible to move an installed Windows OS* to new hardware (e.g. for hardware upgrade)
Windows Backup does not support this (that I know of)
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Bootable recovery media
ShadowProtect provides a pre-built, bootable recovery environment CD. This makes it possible to perform a cold backup/restore
Windows Backup does not provide this option
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Boot recovery tools
ShadowProtect's RE CD includes a range of tools (including Boot Configuration Utility and Partition Table tool) to help fix a range of boot problems
Windows Backup does not provide this. The Windows' solution is a mix of Windows install CDs, Recovery Console, bootrec etc.
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Flexible backup scheduling
ShadowProtect provides a flexible range of backup scheduling
Windows Backup scheduling is limiting
* Most companies use Microsoft Windows Volume Licenses (or similar), which provide greater flexibility when moving an installation to new hardware. Often it only requires you to deactivate the original Windows install and re-active the newly restored one. However, if you purchase hardware with Windows pre-installed, the chances are it will have a more restrictive Windows OEM license - a license which is valid for that hardware only. In this case, you will need to purchase a new Windows license for use post-restore.
Regards
FT