The Top 8 Backup Solutions For Microsoft Azure VMs
Discover the best backup solutions for Microsoft Azure VMs. Explore features such as full and incremental backups, point-in-time recovery, policy-based management, and built-in security capabilities.
Written by Caitlin Harris
Technical Review by Laura Iannini
The Top 8 Backup Solutions for Microsoft Azure VMs include:
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1.
Acronis Cyber Protect
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2.
Azure Backup
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3.
Commvault Cloud Platform
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4.
Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure
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5.
Druva Data Security Cloud
Backup solutions for Azure VMs protect the data stored in virtual machines running on Azure in the event it’s accidentally or intentionally deleted, lost, corrupted, or stolen.
Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) are a type of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) resource that allows you to run operating systems and applications in the cloud. In practice, it’s like renting a virtual computer that runs on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, which you can use for anything you’d do with a physical computer: hosting web servers, databases, and apps, running development and test environments, performing data analytics, and so on. And as with a physical computer, you have full control over the operating systems and apps on the VM, and you can secure the VM with services like firewalls, identity protection, and encryption.
There are a few key benefits to using a VM over a physical computer. First, you don’t need to buy or maintain physical hardware; you simply deploy the VM (which takes a matter of minutes) and pay for what you use per second. Plus, you can easily increase or decrease resources such as CPU, RAM, and storage.
But just as physical computers are vulnerable to data loss due to things like accidental deletion, natural disasters, system failures, and cyberthreats, so are Azure VMs. So, it’s important that you deploy a robust backup solution that helps you recover your Azure VM data in the event it’s lost or stolen.
In this shortlist, we’ll highlight the best backup solutions for Azure VMs, along with each solution’s key features and the type of organization it’s best suited to.
Acronis Cyber Protect
As part of their Acronis Cyber Protect platform (formerly Acronis Cyber Backup), Acronis offers robust backup and recovery tailored for Azure VMs. It integrates backup, disaster recovery, and advanced cyber protection to safeguard data against all cyber threats.
Why we picked Acronis Cyber Protect: We like its instant recovery capabilities (thanks to its Instant Restore feature), and the fact that it offers enhanced protection against cyber threats, including anti-ransomware technology.
Acronis Cyber Protect’s best features: Key features include file and disk backups, incremental and differential backups, data deduplication, AES-256 encryption for backups, anti-ransomware, and immutable storage. It supports flexible backup storage options to Acronis-hosted cloud, public clouds like Google and Azure, private clouds, or local storage. Disaster recovery features include rapid bare-metal restore, test failover in isolated environments, Point-to-Site VPN connection, and seamless migration capabilities.
What’s great:
- Quick recovery with Instant Restore
- AI-based static and behavioral anti-malware
- Flexible storage options for backups
- Efficient storage management with deduplication
- Secure data access with Point-to-Site VPN
What to consider:
- May require technical expertise for full utilization
- Advanced features could necessitate additional setup
Pricing: Acronis Cyber Protect is available from $85. For detailed pricing, contact Acronis directly.
Who it’s for: Acronis Cyber Protect is best suited for businesses using Azure VMs that require robust backup, instant disaster recovery, and advanced cybersecurity features. It’s ideal for organizations looking to minimize downtime and improve their data security.
Azure Backup
Azure Backup is Microsoft’s cost-effective, secure backup solution that offers one-click backups that can easily scale to meet your storage needs. Its centralized management interface makes it easy to define backup policies, and it protects various enterprise workloads, including Azure Virtual Machines, SQL and SAP databases, and Azure file shares.
Why we picked Azure Backup: We like the centralized management feature, which allows admins to monitor and optimize data protection at scale. We also like the application consistency feature, which makes sure that your backups and restorations for both Windows and Linux virtual machines are reliable. Plus, because it’s built specifically for Azure, it integrates seamlessly with Azure environments.
Azure Backup’s best features: Key features include centralized management via Backup Center, application consistency with VSS for Windows and scripts for Linux, and support for multiple workloads such as Azure VMs, on-premises servers, SQL Server, SAP HANA, Azure Files, and Azure Database for PostgreSQL. It offers durable storage options like LRS, GRS, and ZRS. Integrations include Azure Policy for compliance, role-based access controls, soft delete, and customer-managed keys for enhanced security.
What’s great:
- Azure-native
- Simplifies backup management with a centralized interface
- Supports a wide range of enterprise workloads
- Offers durable and scalable storage options
- Enhances security with multiple-user authentication and private endpoints
- Provides cost optimization through Backup reports and archive tier
What to consider:
- Advanced features may require more time and resource to configure
- Some users might find the interface complex
Pricing: For detailed pricing, visit the Azure Backup pricing estimator.
Who it’s for: Azure Backup is a strong choice for businesses of all sizes that are running an Azure environment. It’s a scalable, secure backup solution that’s well-suited for diverse enterprise workloads, particularly those heavily invested in the Azure ecosystem.
Commvault Cloud Platform
Commvault Cloud Platform is an industry-leading backup and recovery solution optimized for Microsoft Azure. It offers cloud-native protection for mission-critical data, next-gen AI stacks, and SaaS applications, ensuring robust data resilience and streamlined Azure migration.
Why we picked Commvault Cloud Platform: We like that it proactively protects data with early threat warnings and access controls. We also like that its optimized performance and low TCO allow business to leverage the scale, agility, and innovation of the cloud, while reducing cloud spend.
Commvault Cloud Platform’s best features: Features include secure, API-based protection with leading support for Azure services, proactive data defense with bi-directional Microsoft Security integrations, a zero-trust architecture, and automated protection for Azure workloads (including Active Directory). It also offers secure, streamlined Azure migration, air-gapped backups, and the ability to test recovery plans regularly. Integrations include seamless compatibility with Microsoft Azure services and the Azure Marketplace.
What’s great:
- Proactive protection with early threat warnings and access controls
- Comprehensive cyber resilience with zero trust architecture
- Streamlined Azure migration with complete workload portability
- Regular testing of recovery plans without impacting production environments
What to consider:
- May require more time to configure the solution within complex setups
- Advanced features come with a learning curve
Pricing: For detailed pricing, visit the Commvault Cloud Platform on the Azure Marketplace.
Who it’s for: Commvault Cloud Platform is a strong solution for businesses seeking robust cyber recovery and data resilience for their Azure VMs, especially those looking to optimize performance and reduce TCO.
Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure
Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery solution designed specifically for MSPs. It protects client Azure workloads from cyberattacks, ransomware, and data loss by backing up VMs to the secure, immutable Datto Cloud.
Why we picked Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure: We appreciate the solution’s hourly replication and daily backup verification, which ensure optimal recovery time and point objectives. Additionally, the flat-fee pricing model simplifies cost management for MSPs.
Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure’s best features: Key features include hourly replication to the Datto Cloud, daily backup verification, Cloud Deletion Defense™, geographically distributed locations for data sovereignty, and the ability to spin up VMs in the Datto Cloud if Azure is unavailable.
What’s great:
- Integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Azure
- Ensures reliable disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS)
- Provides secure, immutable backups
- Simplifies cost management with a predictable flat-fee model
- Offers direct access to Datto-certified Azure experts for support
What to consider:
- Primarily designed for MSPs, which may limit its appeal to other organizations
Pricing: Contact Datto for pricing details.
Who it’s for: Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure is best suited for MSPs looking to protect their clients’ Azure workloads with a reliable, cost-effective BCDR solution. It’s ideal for those needing predictable margins and expert support.
Druva Data Security Cloud
Druva Data Security Cloud for Azure VM Backup is a cost-effective, agentless solution designed to protect Azure VM data from ransomware and other cyber threats. It offers secure, air-gapped backups stored in Druva’s cloud, with no egress fees, ensuring data remains safe and accessible.
Why we picked Druva Data Security Cloud: We like this solution’s agentless design and the robust protection it provides against ransomware by creating encrypted backup copies that are inaccessible to attackers.
Druva Data Security Cloud’s best features: Key features include unified cross-cloud data security, easy data restoration, full support across the Microsoft ecosystem, and threat hunting capabilities across backup data. Integrations include Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Azure VMs, enhancing response and recovery with existing IT and security tools.
What’s great:
- Offers secure, air-gapped backups to protect against ransomware
- Enables easy recovery of entire VMs or specific files and folders
- Provides threat hunting and defensible deletion to manage compromised data
- Eliminates egress fees
What to consider:
- Requires a strong understanding of Microsoft’s ecosystem for full utilization
- Advanced features like threat hunting might need additional setup
Pricing: For specific pricing, contact Druva directly.
Who it’s for: Druva Data Security Cloud for Azure VM Backup is ideal for businesses leveraging Microsoft Azure and seeking a cost-effective, secure backup solution. It is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to streamline their data protection strategy across the Microsoft ecosystem.
IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Azure
IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Azure is a cloud-based data protection solution designed to safeguard Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Virtual Machines, and Azure Blob, File, and Object against data loss from system failures, cyberattacks, and other threats. To achieve this, it offers frequent encrypted backups and rapid restoration capabilities.
Why we picked IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Azure: We like its proactive data protection through early event detection and its flexible deployment options that allow storage on Microsoft Azure, your own cloud, or SFTP/FTP servers.
IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Azure’s best features: Key features include early event detection for proactive data protection, frequent encrypted backups with scheduling as often as every six hours, granular restore capabilities, and enhanced security with role-based access controls and user-managed encryption keys. Integrations include Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Virtual Machines, and Azure Blob, File, and Object.
What’s great:
- Proactively protects data from various cyberthreats
- Enhances business continuity with quick data recovery
- Frees up IT resources with self-service options
- Provides centralized management and reporting
- Doesn’t require any installation
What to consider:
- Requires you to dedicate time to set it up for optimal configuration
- Advanced features might need additional user training
Pricing: IBM offers a 30-day free trial of their Storage Protect for Cloud Azure solution. For detailed pricing, visit IBM’s official website.
Who it’s for: IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Azure is ideal for businesses utilizing Microsoft Azure that require robust, flexible, and secure cloud-based data protection. It’s particularly beneficial for organizations looking to enhance their business continuity and IT efficiency.
Rubrik Security Cloud
Within Rubrik Security Cloud, Rubrik offers a comprehensive data protection and recovery solution designed for Microsoft Azure environments. It offers robust protection for a variety of Azure services, including VMs, SQL databases, and Microsoft 365.
Why we picked Rubrik Security Cloud for Azure: We appreciate its ability to secure data across multiple Azure services with features like ransomware protection and immutable backups. The solution’s seamless integration with Azure makes it much easier to manage data security and recovery processes.
Rubrik Security Cloud for Azure’s best features: Key features include protection for Azure VMs, Managed Disks, SQL databases, and Microsoft 365, with capabilities for secure archiving, anomaly detection, and sensitive data monitoring. It supports cloud migration, long-term retention, and heterogeneous replication across different environments. Integrations include Terraform, PowerShell, Ansible, Puppet, and Chef for automated provisioning.
What’s great:
- Comprehensive protection across various Azure services
- Effective ransomware protection with immutable backups
- Seamless integration with Azure for enhanced data management
- Automated provisioning for growing environments
- Centralized management with customizable dashboards
What to consider:
- The platform’s more advanced features may require more management overhead to set up
Pricing: For detailed pricing, contact Rubrik directly.
Who it’s for: Rubrik Security Cloud for Azure is a strong option for businesses that require robust data protection across multiple Azure services.
Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure
Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure offers reliable recovery from accidental deletion, ransomware, and other data loss scenarios by creating immutable backups and offering versatile restore options.
Why we picked Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure: We like its comprehensive, policy-based backups and the flexibility of recovery options across different environments. Plus, the solution’s immutable storage feature ensures data integrity in the face of threats like ransomware.
Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure’s best features: Features include layered security with logical separation and least privilege access, immutable backups, and full-and file-level restores. It supports multiple Azure services such as VMs, Virtual Networks, Managed Disks, Azure SQL, Azure Files, Azure Cosmos DB, and Azure Blob. Recovery options span subscriptions, regions, and even outside Azure when integrated with Veeam Backup & Replication. Deployment options are flexible, including software-only, Software-as-a-Service, and managed services.
What’s great:
- Policy-based backups ensure RPO attainment
- Immutable storage for data integrity
- Supports a wide range of Azure services
- Flexible deployment options
- Cost-optimized backup lifecycle management
What to consider:
- May require additional setup overhead for complex and/or hybrid environments
- Advanced features require more in-depth configuration
Pricing: For detailed pricing, visit Veeam’s website.
Who it’s for: Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure is ideal for businesses leveraging Microsoft Azure that need robust, flexible data protection, and are looking for a tool with lots of built-in security capabiliites.
FAQs
Backup For Azure VMs: Everything You Need To Know (FAQs)
A VM backup solution is a cybersecurity product or service that creates copies of a VM’s data, configuration, and operating state to protect against data loss, corruption, or system failure. These copies, i.e., “backups”, can include the entire VM image (full backup), changes that have been made to the VM since the last full backup (incremental backup), or just selected files and folders.
While they may offer slightly different feature sets, most VM backup solutions typically follow the same workflow: first, they take a snapshot of the VM’s disk, often using features like VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) for Windows or pre/post scripts for Linux to ensure the consistency of your applications.
They then write these snapshots out to a in secure storage facility, often in a different location (region or availability zone).
Then, if your data is lost or stolen, you can restore the entire VM, specific files, or even recover data to a different region or subscription, helping ensure business continuity with minimal downtime.
Azure VM backup solutions provide safeguard against data loss caused by hardware failures, accidental deletion, malware attacks, or system crashes by making sure that you always have a reliable, secure spare copy of your data, and allowing you to quickly and effectively recover those copies should you need to. By enabling you to restore entire virtual machines or specific data, Azure VM backup tools help you maintain productivity and minimize the impact of unexpected disruptions.
They can also help you achieve compliance with data protection regulations by enabling you to define retention policies and securely store your data, often with encryption and access controls.
- Full VM backup support: You should be able to back up the entire VM, including its OS, configurations, and data, and the solution should ensure consistency for workloads and applications using VSS or similar tools.
- Scheduled and automated backups: You should be able to schedule backups to run automatically.
- Incremental backups: To save time, bandwidth, and storage, you should be able to configure the solution to create incremental backups, which only back up any data that’s changed since your last full backup.
- Geo-redundant storage: The solution should give you the option to store your backups in multiple regions. This will not only provide a failsafe during disaster recovery, but it can also help you meet data residency requirements if you’re operating in a highly regulated industry.
- Point-in-time recovery: You should be able to restore VMs or individual files from specific backup versions or timestamps to minimize the amount of data lost should you experience a system failure or cyberattack.
- Built-in security: The solution should offer in-built security features, such as data encryption in transit and at rest, tamper-proof storage, and Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC). Some also offer malware scanning within your backup server to ensure the integrity of your backups.
- Policy-based management: You should be able to centrally configure backup schedules and retention rules.
- Monitoring and alerts: The solution should notify you in real-time about the status of your backups and any issues that come up.
- Integration with Azure services: The solution should be seamlessly compatible with Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Azure Portal, and Azure Monitor.
Written By
Caitlin Harris is the Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. As an experienced content writer and editor, Caitlin helps cybersecurity leaders to cut through the noise in the cybersecurity space with expert analysis and insightful recommendations. Prior to Expert Insights, Caitlin worked at QA Ltd, where she produced award-winning technical training materials, and she has also produced journalistic content over the course of her career. Caitlin has 8 years of experience in the cybersecurity and technology space, helping technical teams, CISOs, and security professionals find clarity on complex, mission critical topics like security awareness training, backup and recovery, and endpoint protection. Caitlin also hosts the Expert Insights Podcast and co-writes the weekly newsletter, Decrypted.
Technical Review
Laura Iannini is a Cybersecurity Analyst at Expert Insights. With deep cybersecurity knowledge and strong research skills, she leads Expert Insights’ product testing team, conducting thorough tests of product features and in-depth industry analysis to ensure that Expert Insights’ product reviews are definitive and insightful. Laura also carries out wider analysis of vendor landscapes and industry trends to inform Expert Insights’ enterprise cybersecurity buyers’ guides, covering topics such as security awareness training, cloud backup and recovery, email security, and network monitoring. Prior to working at Expert Insights, Laura worked as a Senior Information Security Engineer at Constant Edge, where she tested cybersecurity solutions, carried out product demos, and provided high-quality ongoing technical support. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida.