Backup And Recovery

The Top 7 Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions

Explore the Top Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions designed to safeguard sensitive information in cloud environments, with features including robust security measures, backup and recovery, encryption, and compliance support.

Last updated on Apr 23, 2024

Written by Caitlin Jones

Technical review by Laura Iannini

The Top 7 Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions include:

1. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud
2. Cohesity DataProtect
3. Commvault Cloud
4. Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
5. N-able Cove Data Protection
6. Rubrik Cloud Data Management
7. Veritas Alta Data Protection

Data Protection-as-a-Service (DPaaS) solutions are designed to protect valuable data from the risks of loss, corruption, and security violations. DPaaS goes beyond traditional data protection methods by combining backup, disaster recovery, data management, and data security capabilities such as encryption and user authentication in a single platform. This helps businesses to easily protect their data against accidental and malicious loss, recover quickly from data loss incidents, and ensure business continuity.

DPaaS solutions are delivered in the cloud, with all of their features available via a single platform on a subscription-based model. The “as-a-Service” part of DPaaS means that the security provider offers the server resources and infrastructure required within the subscription or SLA. This allows organizations to benefit from robust data protection, without having to build, manage, or maintain any complex, on-premises infrastructure. This, in turn, makes DPaaS solutions easier to manage, more cost-effective, and more scalable than traditional, on-prem data protection tools.

In this article, we’ll explore the top Data Protection-as-a-Service solutions designed to safeguard sensitive information in cloud environments. These will include standalone DPaaS solutions and wider data management platforms that also offer features such as multi-factor authentication, event monitoring, and encryption. We’ll highlight the key use cases and features of each solution, including integrations, data protection policies, encryption, and audit trails.

Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud

Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is an integrated platform that enables Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide their clients with comprehensive backup, disaster recovery, cybersecurity, and endpoint management services. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud covers data protection across various environments, whether physical, virtual, or cloud-based. It offers robust automation and integration capabilities that make it easier for MSPs to deliver streamlined and comprehensive security.

Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud’s backup and recovery capabilities enable the restoration of data in multiple forms, including full images or file-based. Its disaster recovery feature minimizes downtime, quickly spinning up workloads when a disaster recovery event occurs. The platform also offers runbooks and test failovers, ensuring operability when required. In addition to its backup and recovery capabilities, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud includes AI-powered threat protection, which provides robust protection against ransomware and other types of malware, email threats, and endpoint threats. The platform also offers automated patch management.

Acronis’ platform offers powerful automation capabilities help improve business operations by streamlining workflows, creating improved manageability and stronger client relationships. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud also offers broad integration capabilities across its ecosystem, including APIs and SDKs that allow developers, ISVs, and MSPs to customize and integrate their applications with Acronis solutions.

Cohesity DataProtect

Cohesity DataProtect is a cloud backup service used for protecting critical SaaS, cloud-native, and on-premises data sources. It is a fully-managed Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) that is designed to secure data, simplify IT operations, and optimize costs. Cohesity DataProtect can be hosted in AWS and Microsoft Azure environments, offering choice and flexibility as well as aiding in the enhancement of cyber resilience.

Cohesity DataProtect provides one backup service for all workloads through one solution for both as-a-service and self-managed software and via one user interface for all data. A key feature of Cohesity DataProtect is its simplicity—the platform offers global visibility and policy-based automation for data sources, while removing the need to manage on-prem infrastructure. When it comes to security, DataProtect employs a multilayered data security architecture that includes data encryption and flexible key management systems, as well as strong access controls. This includes privileged access management. The platform creates immutable, tamper-resistant backups, which it stores in a secure, isolated cloud environment.

Cohesity DataProtect has been designed to provide a streamlined experience by eliminating silos and offering unified backup across multiple locations. This helps to optimize resources, freeing up time spent by IT in managing infrastructure, and allowing self-service backup for teams with limited resources. Additionally, the platform offers data reduction, rapid data recovery, and no infrastructure or maintenance costs, enabling teams to benefit from comprehensive but cost-optimized security.

Commvault Cloud

Commvault Cloud is a cyber resilience platform specifically developed for use within a hybrid enterprise. The platform aims to deliver a robust defense against ransomware and ensure fast recovery. It is able to enhance cyber resilience with its embedded Metallic AI feature, which enables swift detection, threat readiness, quick response, and rapid recovery from cyber threats.

Commvault Cloud’s Metallic AI feature helps organizations to manage risk across all stored data. This entails strengthening data security against threats and ensuring compliance with confidentiality, availability, and accessibility standards to manage risk efficiently. The platform features capabilities for smart pattern recognition and e-discovery, allowing users to identify and protect sensitive data. It also enables the automation of redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data removal processes to mitigate compliance risks. Commvault Cloud’s extensive features also include an intelligent consolidation of security insights, which leads to real-time monitoring and alert functionality, including ransomware detection and warnings about potential cyber threats.

Commvault Cloud uses secure-by-design architecture with zero-trust access and provides air-gapped data copies along with immutable storage inside. For added security measures, it employs AI and ML for risk detection and management, in addition to offering automated forensics for validated recovery points.

Druva Data Resiliency Cloud

Druva Data Resiliency Cloud is a cloud-based DPaaS platform designed to significantly enhance data security, scalability, and transparency. The platform is characterized by its scalable infrastructure, which adapts according to business needs, while delivering superior level security and performance, all in line with pre-set SLAs.

The Druva Data Resiliency Cloud aims to help businesses reduce costs up to 50% through optimizing infrastructure utilization. The platform eliminates the need for maintaining underutilized infrastructure, while providing the convenience of an on-demand scale with global accessibility. This infrastructure-free model promises a hassle-free user experience with no hardware, software, or maintenance. Additionally, it requires no patches or upgrades, thus eliminating downtime and contributing to the overall simplicity of management. A key feature of the Druva Data Resiliency Cloud is its unified interface that provides a comprehensive view of all protected workloads. It facilitates efficient protection and management of all workloads via policies based simply on the web interface. The platform also offers robust data backup, with granular recovery and restoration options to ensure productivity and continuity in the event of accidental or malicious data loss.

Finally, Druva offers historical usage features which help forecast future resource requirements. Its auto-scaling feature allows the business to scale up or down based on data needs, ensuring easy prediction and management of data protection costs.

N-able Cove Data Protection

Cove Data Protection is N-able’s fully-managed disaster recovery system that helps reduce attack surfaces and speeds up recovery, without the requirement of separate expensive hardware.

Cove Data Protection is a direct-to-cloud backup service that does not require the installation or maintenance of any external appliances. The platform is designed to protect servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365 data, managing backups and recovery from Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. The service includes cloud storage and manages data from worldwide data centers. Cove Data Protection offers a very flexible restoration feature that supports full image recovery and virtualization, as well as fast file-level restore. The platform also offers automated recovery tests and quick failover via standby image.

Cove Data Protection also includes archiving as part of the offer in their private cloud at no extra charge, and the recovery from archives matches the speed of your latest backup.

All the platform’s functionality can be managed from within the same multitenant dashboard. This is alongside servers and workstations for optimum convenience.

Rubrik Cloud Data Management

Rubrik Cloud Data Management is a unified software platform offering secure backup, recovery, analytics, data governance, and compliance for both data centers and cloud ecosystems. The platform is designed with SLA automation, enabling policy application across varied workloads and helping to streamline numerous backup jobs.

Rubrik allows users to search across their global environments, locate specific data, and implement immediate recovery—all contributing to minimized business disruption. Emphasizing the importance of security, the platform ensures that backup data, once written, is unalterable. This helps to safeguard sensitive data against potential threats such as ransomware. Additionally, Rubrik offers flexible cloud archival and data integration, providing easy and instant accessibility of archived data through real-time predictive search of cloud storage. Finally, in its commitment to compliance, Rubrik invests in aligning its platform with key global compliance standards and frameworks.

Rubrik’s platform is software-defined. This enables organizations to run it in multiple environments, such as on-premises via plug-and-play appliances, as software on selected hardware, or as cloud software. The platform caters to every deployment, supporting industry-leading applications, operating systems, databases, hypervisors, clouds, and SaaS applications across data centers, edge environments, cloud ecosystems, and industry platforms.

Veritas Alta Data Protection

Veritas Alta Data Protection is a scalable data management solution that covers a range of cloud environments. The platform offers extensive cloud data management suitable for both hybrid and multi-cloud settings, and its AI-powered automation provides a variety of recovery options, cloud-native storage technology, and elastic infrastructure.

The Veritas Data Protection portfolio includes Veritas Alta Backup as a Service, Veritas Alta Data Protection, Veritas Alta Recovery Vault, and Veritas Alta SaaS Protection. This complete suite provides enterprise-grade data protection for critical data, emphasizing on security, cyber resiliency, multi-cloud visibility, control, and lowered total cost of ownership (TCO).

Using AI and machine learning, Veritas Alta automates the entire data management process, allowing for autonomous data management. From the platform’s cloud-based management console, Veritas Alta View, users can access a centralized view and of their entire data landscape across edge, core, and cloud environments. The platform also uses automated policies and provisioning to ensure a consistent experience across multiple clouds, improving ROI and service resiliency, and decreasing operational complexity and costs.

The Top 7 Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions

Everything You Need To Know About Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions (FAQs)

What Is Data Protection-as-a-Service?

Data Protection-as-a-Service (DPaaS) is a cloud-delivered software package that enables organizations to secure their data through security, backup, recovery, and archiving modules. These modules are all delivered via a single platform on a consumption-based model, and the “as-a-Service” part of DPaaS means that the security provider also offers the necessary server resources and infrastructure within the subscription or SLA, so you don’t have to manage that in-house. This makes DPaaS much easier to manage—and often more cost effective—than the traditional method of deploying multiple disparate, on-premises security tools.

Some DPaaS solutions focus largely on data backup and disaster recovery, but many modern DPaaS solutions offer a wide range of in-built security tools such as vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, VPNs, incident management, firewalls, and access controls to help safeguard your data.

How Do Data Protection-as-a-Service Solutions Work?

DPaaS solutions enable organizations to swap from using and maintaining multiple security and backup tools, to using just one data security solution, which they subscribe to on a consumption-based or “pay-as-you-go” model. To achieve this, DPaaS offers the resources, infrastructure, and APIs needed to implement and automate data protection and recovery processes. You can then configure security policies to bring the solution in line with your organization’s requirements.

To work out your billing, DPaaS providers analyze your previous workloads to calculate how much compute, networking, and storage your organization needs. This ensures that you only pay for what you use and enables you to scale up your usage as your business grows.

What Are The Benefits Of Data Protection-as-a-Service?

There are numerous benefits to implementing a Data Protection-as-a-Service solution:

Secure your data: Most DPaaS solutions offer automated data backup, archiving, and disaster recovery, which can help you restore your data in the event it’s accidentally deleted or destroyed by a natural disaster or cyberattack. The best DPaaS solutions also include security features that help prevent your data from being lost or tampered with in the first place, such as encryption, a VPN, multi-factor authentication, traffic monitoring, and vulnerability scanning.
Improve recovery times: By automating the processes involved in recovering your data, DPaaS solutions can help you greatly reduce the time it takes for you to recover from a data loss incident.
Ensure compliance: The best DPaaS solutions can help you adhere to any federal or industry specific data protection and privacy requirements relevant to your organization. They do this by providing secure data storage facilities, enabling you to configure granular data security policies, and allowing you to choose where your data is stored. They also provide audit logs that help you track data access and movement across the organization, which can be used to help prove compliance.
Streamline your data management: Your data is distributed across various applications, data bases, and systems across your IT environment. DPaaS solutions give you a single interface from which you can manage all of your data, no matter where it resides. Additionally, they make it easier to manage your data security by enabling you to manage multiple security tools and functions (e.g., backups, recovery, encryption, access) via one central, unified dashboard.
Scale easily: DPaaS solutions are cloud-based and you pay for the services you use on a subscription basis. This means they can easily scale to accommodate your business’ requirements as you grow. For example, if you need more backup storage to hold larger volumes of data, or you need to secure more endpoints, you can simply adjust your subscription to cover this—without having to expand and maintain the solution’s infrastructure.
Improve your data availability: The best DPaaS providers offer high uptime guarantees, which means that your data is almost always going to be available when you need it.
Save money: DPaaS eliminates the costs involved in building and maintaining on-premises hardware and data centers, instead providing you with predictable monthly or annual bills. And because they’re so scalable, you also don’t have to pay for storage space you aren’t using.

What Features Should You Look For In A Data Protection-as-a-Service Solution?

There are lots of Data Protection-as-a-Service solutions on the market, each with features catering to different use cases and industries. However, there are some features that you should look for in any DPaaS solution, no matter the size or industry of your organization. These include:

Encryption: The solution should provide robust encryption for data both in transit and at rest. This helps protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.
Access controls: You should be able to configure role-based access controls that restrict access based on job roles, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access specific data. The best DPaaS solutions also enable you to enforce multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security, requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods before being granted access to certain data or systems.
Data residency and compliance: Make sure that the DPaaS provider complies with industry-specific regulations and standards relevant to your organization (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, etc.). Choose a solution that allows you to specify the geographical location where your data will be stored to comply with regional data residency requirements. You should also be able to set and enforce data retention policies to manage the lifecycle of data and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Backup: The solution should automatically create regular backups of your data to prevent data loss.
Disaster recovery: The solution should offer robust disaster recovery capabilities to ensure business continuity in the event of a major disruption. While comparing backup features between solutions, evaluate the speed and efficiency of the data recovery process to minimize downtime in case of a data loss event. You should also confirm that the DPaaS provider has a well-defined incident response plan in case of security breaches or data incidents.
Alerts and notifications: The solution should offer real-time alerts and notifications for any suspicious or unauthorized activities, so you can investigate and remediate any issues promptly.
Auditing: Look for robust logging and auditing capabilities to help you track data access, modifications, and other relevant activities for compliance and security purposes.
Scalability and performance: Ensure the solution can scale with your organization’s growing data needs and evaluate the performance metrics of the DPaaS solution—such as its throughput and latency—to ensure it meets your specific requirements.
Integration capabilities: The solution should offer APIs for seamless integration with your existing infrastructure and applications.

Caitlin Jones

Deputy Head Of Content

Caitlin Jones is Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. Caitlin is an experienced writer and journalist, with years of experience producing award-winning technical training materials and journalistic content. Caitlin holds a First Class BA in English Literature and German, and provides our content team with strategic editorial guidance as well as carrying out detailed research to create articles that are accurate, engaging and relevant. Caitlin co-hosts the Expert Insights Podcast, where she interviews world-leading B2B tech experts.

Laura Iannini

Cybersecurity Analyst

Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.