Backblaze Business Backup Review | PCMag

Backblaze Business Backup is a solid cloud backup solution that will do well for customers interested in backing up Microsoft Windows 10 and Apple Apple macOS computers. It can also handle network attached storage (NAS) devices, servers, and cloud backups as long as they're from the Veeam public cloud. Backblaze also gives customers access to Backblaze B2 Storage, which will make your cloud backup target choices a lot simpler, if limited. If you're accessing your data or restoring it, you'll also have a robust set of choices, including downloading from the cloud, saving to or copying from Backblaze B2 storage, or having the company send you an external hard drive. While it's known mainly for its consumer service, we found Backblaze Business Backup to be a solid overall option, though some shortcoming around devices, reporting and analytics, as well as the emphasis on a single cloud target keep it behind our Editors' Choice winner in this space, Acronis Cyber Protect.

Solid Data Protection

A Backblaze Business Backup subscription is centrally managed and consistent, though it's intended primarily for desktops and laptop endpoints, similar to CrashPlan. If that's enough for you, Backblaze presents an enticing mix of expertise and convenience. You'll find automated and continuous backups without caps or throttling, and the aforementioned external hard drive restore functionality (more on that below). All of these services are managed from a web console that adds flexibility when deploying and managing multiple devices remotely. In terms of security, Backblaze Business Backup secures stored data with client-side encryption as well as a 30-day rollback capability, which helps protect businesses from ransomware attacks, though you'll probably still want a more dedicated tool to meet this threat, like our Editors' Choice winner in that space, Bitdefender GravityZone Elite.

Fortunately, its anti-ransomware and encryption capabilities aren't where Backblaze stops when it comes to security. You'll also find features like single sign-on via Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, two-factor authentication (2FA) via SMS or Time-based One-time Password (TOTP) apps. There's also detailed usage and access monitoring on all subscribed accounts.

And Backblaze does go somewhat beyond just desktops and laptops, though that's definitely its main function. Still, the service does backup network attached storage (NAS) devices, Windows-based servers, and Veeam-specific cloud volumes, too. That's not as comprehensive as a service like Acronis, but it should be a wide enough range to satisfy many mainstream small businesses. Overall it's very similar to much of the small business competition, not only CrashPlan but also Carbonite Safe.  

Pricing and Set Up

Backblaze Business Backup starts at $6 a month per endpoint, though it can also be had for $60 for an annual subscription or $110 for two years. The Backblaze website has a computer backup quote creation tool where you can easily determine costs for monthly and yearly plans depending on the number targets you're protecting. Another wizard helps you figure out storage pricing for server or NAS endpoints. This works by determining the initial upload size, monthly upload size, monthly delete and download size, and finally the time period you're seeking. The result is a fairly exact quote for how much your organization will spend with Backblaze protecting it. Another calculator determines competing costs from Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud; obviously it's intend to show how much more affordable Backblaze’s B2 storage is, so you might still want to check with those sources before taking these numbers as gospel.

Getting up and running with Backblaze is very straightforward, and again similar to what you'll do if you opt for CrashPlan or Carbonite. First, you need to create an account as an administrator and make sure the Groups feature is enabled. This is also where you select your region, so Backblaze can park your backup data as close to your primary location as possible. Your choices are EU Central and US West, which makes things fairly easy, but certainly isn't as detailed as the same list you'd be from larger vendors, like Amazon, Google, or Microsoft.

Last, you'll have to verify your administrator's email address for additional security before you can proceed. Once verified, you can create a group. This allows you to add a group name and select whether group members can access Backblaze Online Backup or B2 Cloud Storage. You can also determine who else will have administrator privileges (meaning the ability to view and restore files). Then you need to select among the payment options described above.

That involves indicating how many targets will be backed up, selecting a monthly, yearly, or two-year plan, as well as selecting what version history you want to apply to your files. If you delete a file by mistake, or save over a file by accident, saving the history means you can recover an earlier version, provided that you’re doing so within Backblaze's time limit for this service. You can tweak those settings as you need for retention purposes, but it's set at 30 days by default. Choosing one year or forever will cost more, as this will require more storage space over time.

If you compare Backblaze pricing to the rest of the field, you'll find it's fairly affordable when viewed per endpoint. In comparison, MSP360 is a similar business-focused service but costs more at $10 per endpoint per month. Even the more direct feature-for-feature competitors, for example Carbonite, which will run $24 per endpoint per month without unlimited storage.

Convenient Control and Features

Once you’ve set parameters for your account, you'll be presented with a Group Management webpage where you can invite persons to your group, create a new group, edit groups, and purchase more licenses for computers, servers, and Backblaze B2 storage accounts. Once the client is installed on a target, Backblaze initiates its continuous backup, which is the default setting for minimizing data loss.

Managers and IT admins will like how the Group Management page presents all its options and data in one easy-to-read page. You don’t even need to scroll down to access all the sections, and you can initiate restores right from the menu. By having a lightweight web client that’s mostly made out of text links, Backblaze Business Backup is not only quick and responsive, but we also found it generally lag-free.

The onboard client you'll be installing on your target devices is similarly minimalist and can be invoked from the user's menu bar. It allows the user to initiate a backup, set parameters for their backup schedules, and configure a variety of restore options. The desktop client offers quick links to Backup Now, Restore Files, Check for Updates, Help, and Inherit Backup State, which easily covers the vast majority of tasks a user will need.

As an added convenience, Backblaze can also locate connected PCs since each individual laptop or desktop's IP address is recorded during a backup and located on a map. This is a simple feature that leverages data Backblaze already has, and it gives IT managers the ability to track endpoint locations. While this doesn't make a whole lot of difference to the majority of people working remotely from home, it adds another layer of security for remote workers on the field.

Security and Encryption

As mentioned, Backblaze is fairly robust on security, considering its price. It employs 2,048-bit public and private keys, and Backblaze Business Backup can also secure a symmetric AES 128-bit key or token that changes for every backup session.

Once encrypted, backups are uploaded to Backblaze's data centers. In transit, they're protected by an SSL connection, and they'll remain in an encrypted state once the data is at rest in the cloud. The encryption is a good precaution because it makes it possible to restore data safely after some ransomware attacks, and it'll keep data safe even if someone hacks into your company's cloud storage account.

Some businesses will want more control over their data privacy and Backblaze gives them the option to create their own private key. But keep in mind that if that private key gets lost or forgotten, Backblaze will not be able to help you get your data back. Backblaze can't reset the lost private key, and you can't access the encrypted backup data without it. Still, as far as general small business data protection goes, Backblaze has done well on the security front with an effective balance between ease of use and data security.

Restoring From Backblaze

Data restoration is a particular strong point for Backblaze. Downloading your backed up files from the cloud is the most common method, and likely the quickest if you're just restoring a few folders or documents. You can also opt to save files or recover to a Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage account where data will be kept in a ZIP file snapshot. This file can be retained even if those files are gone from your device or your cloud backup volume. This option costs more because you need to pay for the additional Backblaze B2 storage space, but it's a convenient failsafe for securing critical files and backups.

For $99, Backblaze Business Backup's Restore by Mail service will ship you your files (up to a maximum of 256GB) on a USB flash drive anywhere in the world. If you return the drive within 30 days after your restore, Backblaze refunds you for the service. The same rules apply for a USB Hard Drive option, which costs $189 for up to 8TB of storage. Files on these mailed drives are also encrypted, so if anyone tries to open them, they'll be locked out unless they have the Drive Unlock Code. This code is given to the account's administrator.

We like the Backblaze USB or hard drive backup options because as long as you return the drive, it's basically free. And even if you don't, it's not terribly expensive. Plus, it's an easy way to enforce the 3-2-1 file backup strategy that most small business IT managers like to follow. The 3-2-1 rule determines that you should have three copies of your data, backed up on two types of storage (i.e. local external drive and cloud backup), and also have one copy of the data kept externally.

Good Restore Options and Data Protection Features

Backblaze's restore focus provides customers with a nice variety of options when it comes to retrieving data. That's combined with a nice price, good security coverage for data in transit or at rest, and an easy interface. Its lack of support for other cloud targets, limited reporting and analytics, as well as no support for mobile device backups is all that keep it behind our Editors' Choice winner, Acronis.

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