Updated September 2026
Enterprise backup is a broad category. The platform that makes sense for a company protecting thousands of virtual machines, databases, and Kubernetes clusters may differ greatly from what an IT team needs to protect the data employees create and use every day.
For this comparison, we’re focusing specifically on business-critical user data: data stored across employee endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Windows and Linux servers. These workloads increasingly span SaaS applications, devices, and distributed infrastructure, but IT still needs a practical way to protect them, recover them quickly, govern them consistently, and control the cost of storing backup data.
We evaluated 10 enterprise backup platforms based on the capabilities that matter most for that use case: workload coverage, recovery flexibility, centralized administration, security and governance, storage flexibility and cost, and enterprise scalability. Our analysis is based on publicly available product information reviewed in September 2026.
CrashPlan ranks first for organizations primarily focused on protecting business-critical user data across endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and servers. Its combination of centralized backup and recovery, flexible storage, granular recovery, governance, and support for these user-data workloads aligns closely with the criteria used in this comparison. CrashPlan’s broader platform positioning also explicitly centers on bringing endpoint, SaaS, and server data together rather than treating each as a separate backup problem.
That does not mean CrashPlan is the best backup platform for every enterprise. Organizations whose requirements center on hypervisor-native backup, Kubernetes, containers, specialized database protection, or large-scale data-center infrastructure should place more weight on vendors built around those workloads. This guide helps IT teams understand which platforms best align with the data they need to protect, rather than declaring one product universally superior.
Best enterprise backup solutions at a glance
| Provider | Best fit | Key focus |
| 1. CrashPlan | Enterprises protecting user data across endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and servers | Storage choice, centralized policy and recovery, governance, capacity-based server pricing |
| 2. Veeam | Enterprises with extensive virtual, physical, cloud, Kubernetes, and Microsoft 365 environments | Broad workload coverage, portability, and recovery |
| 3. Commvault Cloud | Large organizations with broad and complex workload requirements | Data protection, cyber resilience, and platform consolidation |
| 4. Rubrik | Large enterprises prioritizing cyber resilience and recovery | Security-oriented backup and hybrid recovery |
| 5. Druva Data Security Cloud | Cloud-first organizations | SaaS-delivered protection across endpoints, SaaS, and infrastructure |
| 6. Cohesity | Large hybrid environments consolidating data protection | Infrastructure consolidation, recovery, and security |
| 7. Acronis Cyber Protect | Organizations combining backup with endpoint security | Integrated cyber protection and backup |
| 8. AvePoint | Microsoft 365-centered organizations | Microsoft collaboration coverage, granular recovery, and storage choice |
| 9. Keepit | Enterprises protecting multiple SaaS applications | Independent SaaS backup, retention, and data sovereignty |
| 10. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager | Infrastructure-heavy enterprises | Data-center, virtual, cloud, and container protection |
How we evaluated enterprise backup solutions
There is no universal “best” enterprise backup platform. A product designed for an infrastructure-heavy data center may be unnecessarily broad for an organization primarily protecting employee-generated data across endpoints, SaaS applications, and servers.
For this comparison, we focused on the six capabilities most important for protecting business-critical user data:
Workload coverage. The platform should protect the workloads the organization relies on today and provide a practical path as the environment changes.
Recovery flexibility. IT should be able to restore the appropriate file, folder, mailbox, site, drive, or system from the required point in time.
Security and governance. Encryption, immutability, access controls, retention, legal hold where required, and auditability affect whether backup data remains trustworthy and usable.
Centralized administration. Consistent policies, reporting, alerts, delegated administration, and identity integrations can reduce operational work across distributed environments.
Storage flexibility and cost. Licensing, storage consumption, retention growth, restore fees, storage architecture, and vendor lock-in can matter as much as the subscription price.
Enterprise scalability. The product must support distributed environments without shifting protection responsibilities to individual employees.
This comparison is based on publicly available product information reviewed in September 2026. Product capabilities, packaging, and availability can change, so buyers should confirm current requirements directly with each provider.
The 10 best enterprise backup solutions
1. CrashPlan — best for consolidated enterprise user-data protection
CrashPlan is an independent data resilience company with an enterprise backup and recovery platform spanning endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and servers. CrashPlan is distinct from Code42.
Endpoint, SaaS, and server coverage
CrashPlan supports Windows, Windows on ARM, macOS, and Linux endpoints, and Windows and Linux servers. It also protects Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive), Entra ID, and Google Workspace (Gmail and Google Drive).
Microsoft 365 archiving and governance
CrashPlan’s Microsoft 365 capabilities extend beyond backup to include archiving for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange. Archived content can remain searchable and available while reducing primary Microsoft 365 storage consumption. For organizations that generate more data than Microsoft’s included pooled storage, archiving reduces budget strain while keeping data accessible to users.
The platform also provides granular search, customizable retention, legal hold, eDiscovery, and administrator or user recovery for supported workloads.
Flexible storage
CrashPlan supports managed and customer-managed storage for all backup workloads.
Its managed options include CrashPlan data centers and CrashPlan-managed Microsoft Azure. Customer-managed destinations include Azure, AWS, Wasabi, Backblaze, and S3-compatible storage. Customers can also choose the country where server backup data is stored.
Customers pay no ingress or egress fees for CrashPlan-managed storage.
Capacity-based server pricing
CrashPlan prices server backup according to the amount of source data protected rather than licensing every server individually. Backup storage, unlimited retention, and unlimited restores are included in the base model, and capacity is measured against source data rather than accumulated retained backup volume. This leads to cost savings for organizations with multiple servers or long retention requirements.
CrashPlan publishes an example based on 20 servers protecting 10 TB of data with 90-day retention. It lists CrashPlan at $4,500–$5,500 per year, compared with $9,729–$14,259 for an unnamed “server market-share leader,” for estimated savings of 55–63%.
Where CrashPlan may not be the best fit
CrashPlan’s server page currently says hypervisor support is on the roadmap, so organizations requiring hypervisor-native image backup should evaluate that requirement separately.
CrashPlan also states that it does not provide dedicated SQL or Oracle agents. It supports application-consistent SQL and Oracle backups using a dump-and-sweep script, but it does not support other application-aware or database-aware backups.
Organizations that depend heavily on hypervisor-native recovery, database-specific agents, or broader infrastructure workloads should therefore include those requirements explicitly in their evaluation.
2. Veeam
Best fit: Enterprises with extensive virtual, physical, cloud, Kubernetes, and Microsoft 365 environments.
Veeam’s breadth makes it relevant when infrastructure protection is a core requirement. Organizations primarily protecting user data across endpoints, SaaS applications, and servers should determine whether that broader infrastructure coverage is necessary for their environment.
3. Commvault Cloud
Best fit: Large organizations with diverse and complex workload requirements.
Commvault Cloud spans enterprise backup and recovery, SaaS data protection, cyber resilience, and data management. Buyers should weigh that breadth against implementation, administration, packaging, licensing, and the skills available to operate the platform.
4. Rubrik
Best fit: Large enterprises prioritizing cyber resilience and recovery across hybrid environments.
Rubrik combines security-oriented backup, ransomware recovery, and protection for workloads including Microsoft 365. Buyers should compare its infrastructure breadth, storage model, operating requirements, and cost with the workloads they actually need to protect.
5. Druva Data Security Cloud
Best fit: Cloud-first organizations seeking SaaS-delivered data protection.
Druva covers endpoints, SaaS applications, cloud workloads, and data-center environments. Buyers should compare workload depth, recovery, retention, and consumption-based economics with their actual data profile.
6. Cohesity
Best fit: Large hybrid environments consolidating infrastructure backup and cyber recovery.
Cohesity combines backup data management, recovery, and cyber resilience. The key question for organizations focused primarily on protecting user data is whether broader infrastructure consolidation solves a meaningful requirement or adds unnecessary scope.
7. Acronis Cyber Protect
Best fit: Organizations and managed service providers combining backup with endpoint security and management.
Acronis Cyber Protect brings backup and cyber protection functions together. Enterprises should determine whether a combined suite is preferable to a dedicated backup platform integrated with existing endpoint management and security investments.
8. AvePoint
Best fit: Microsoft 365-centered organizations with broad collaboration workloads.
AvePoint protects Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Microsoft 365 Groups, Power Platform, and other Microsoft cloud services. Organizations that also need endpoint and server backup should decide whether Microsoft specialization or broader workload consolidation better fits their environment.
9. Keepit
Best fit: Enterprises protecting a broad range of SaaS applications.
Keepit covers Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Microsoft Entra ID, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, with an emphasis on independent SaaS backup, retention, immutability, and regional data control. Organizations also protecting endpoints and servers should weigh SaaS specialization against consolidated user-data protection.
10. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Best fit: Large enterprises protecting data-center, virtual, cloud, and container workloads.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager provides infrastructure-scale backup and recovery with integration into the Dell data protection ecosystem. Buyers should compare that infrastructure focus with their workload priorities, architecture requirements, administrative effort, and total cost.
Which enterprise backup platform fits which requirement?
| If your priority is… | Product to evaluate closely |
| Protecting user data on Endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and/or Windows/Linux servers | CrashPlan |
| Extensive virtual, physical, cloud, Kubernetes, and Microsoft 365 protection | Veeam |
| Broad, complex enterprise workloads and platform consolidation | Commvault Cloud |
| Cyber resilience across large hybrid environments | Rubrik |
| Security-focused SaaS-delivered protection | Druva Data Security Cloud |
| Hybrid infrastructure consolidation and cyber recovery | Cohesity |
| Backup combined with endpoint management | Acronis Cyber Protect |
| Broad SaaS protection and governance | AvePoint |
| Specialization in protecting SaaS apps | Keepit |
| Data-center, virtual, cloud, and container protection | Dell PowerProtect Data Manager |
Broader workload coverage is not automatically better. Additional capabilities matter when they solve actual recovery or operational requirements. Otherwise, they can introduce products, repositories, infrastructure, and administrative work the organization does not need.
How to test enterprise backup products before you buy
A vendor comparison can narrow the shortlist. A proof of concept determines whether the product can meet the organization’s actual recovery requirements.
Define the workloads and recovery scenarios first
Document where critical data lives, how quickly it must be recovered, how long versions must be retained, who can perform restores, and where backup copies may be stored.
Separate required capabilities from potential future needs.
Test recovery, not just backup
Ask vendors to demonstrate representative restores after:
- accidental deletion
- ransomware
- device loss
- a departed employee
- a broader site incident
Record recovery time and the administrative steps required.
Relevant tests can include point-in-time selection, file and folder recovery, full-server recovery, system-file recovery, alternate-location restores, and file stubbing where applicable.
Model the full operating cost
Include licensing, backup storage, retention growth, data transfer, appliances, professional services, and staff time.
For CrashPlan, several of these variables are part of the base model: data pricing is based on protected source capacity; storage, unlimited retention, and unlimited restores are included; no backup appliance is required; and there are no separate ingress or egress fees.
Compare those economics with the actual architecture and pricing of each shortlisted product.
Validate security and administrative boundaries
Review encryption, key management, immutability, identity integration, administrator roles, audit logging, data residency, and separation between backup administration and production administration.
Also determine who will monitor failures, respond to alerts, run recovery tests, maintain policies, and approve restores after deployment.
Enterprise backup evaluation checklist
Before choosing a platform, an enterprise should be able to answer:
- Which workloads contain business-critical data?
- Which recovery scenarios must the platform handle?
- What recovery times and restore points are required?
- How long must backup versions be retained?
- Who can initiate restores?
- Do legal hold or eDiscovery requirements apply?
- Where may backup copies be stored?
- Is customer-managed storage required?
- How does cost change as protected data and retention grow?
- Are transfer or restore fees relevant?
- What infrastructure must IT operate?
- Who monitors failures and performs recovery tests?
A proof of concept should test these requirements directly rather than relying only on feature matrices.
Which enterprise backup solution should you choose?
The right product depends on what the organization must recover and how it wants backup to operate.
CrashPlan is our top choice for enterprises prioritizing user-data protection across endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Windows and Linux servers, particularly where centralized recovery, storage choice, governance, and capacity-based server economics matter.
Organizations whose requirements center on hypervisor-native recovery, specialized database protection, containers, Kubernetes, or broader infrastructure should weigh platforms built around those workloads more heavily.
Before rollout, test representative recovery scenarios, confirm workload support and security requirements, and model total cost against the organization’s actual data profile.
See how CrashPlan fits your enterprise backup strategy.
Frequently asked questions
Which enterprise backup products protect endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and servers?
CrashPlan focuses on business-critical user data across endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Windows and Linux servers. They also protect user access through Entra ID backup and recovery.
Other products cover different combinations of SaaS, endpoint, virtual, cloud, and infrastructure workloads, so buyers should compare the exact workloads they need rather than assuming every platform provides equivalent coverage.
When should an enterprise choose a broader infrastructure backup platform?
A broader infrastructure platform may be a stronger fit when requirements extend significantly beyond endpoint, SaaS, and Windows/Linux server data—for example, extensive virtualization, Kubernetes, containers, or wider data-center and cloud infrastructure.
Does CrashPlan protect physical servers and virtual machines?
CrashPlan protects physical servers, with hypervisor support on the roadmap. Organizations requiring hypervisor-native image backup should evaluate that capability separately.
Does CrashPlan provide dedicated SQL or Oracle backup agents?
CrashPlan does support application-consistent SQL and Oracle backups through a dump-and-sweep script, but doesn’t employ dedicated database agents. Other application-aware and database-aware backups are not supported.
How is CrashPlan server backup priced?
CrashPlan prices server backup according to protected source-data capacity rather than server count. It says the base model includes backup storage, unlimited retention, and unlimited restores.
Its published 20-server example assumes 10 TB of protected data and 90-day retention. CrashPlan lists an annual cost of $4,500–$5,500 compared with $9,729–$14,259 for an unnamed server market-share leader. Buyers should validate calculations against their own workloads and competing quotes.
Can enterprises use their own storage with CrashPlan server backup?
Yes. CrashPlan lists Azure, AWS,Wasabi, Backblaze, and other S3-compatible storage as customer-managed server-backup destinations. Managed options include Microsoft Azure and CrashPlan data centers.
What should an enterprise ask a backup vendor to demonstrate during a proof of concept?
Ask vendors to perform the restores the organization would actually require rather than only demonstrating backup configuration.
Consider accidental deletion, ransomware, device loss, employee departure, and broader incidents. Record recovery time and administrative steps, and verify retention, access controls, storage location, reporting, and ongoing operational responsibilities.
Is CrashPlan the best enterprise backup solution?
CrashPlan is our top choice in this comparison for organizations prioritizing user-data protection across endpoints, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Windows and Linux servers.
Enterprises with different workload or infrastructure requirements should evaluate products against their own recovery, architecture, and operational needs.
Is CrashPlan the same company or product as Code42?
No. CrashPlan is an independent company with an enterprise backup and recovery platform. CrashPlan is distinct from Code42.
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