CloudAlly

Features

End-To-End Automated Backup

CloudAlly backups can be fully automated to store all your MS365 data, including Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, SharePoint, OneDrive, Office Groups, and Teams. The solution also stores metadata, ensuring that you can resume business operations immediately after a restore. From the admin console, you can specify the frequency of data backups, the type of data you want saved (specific applications or users), the time of day that you would like backups to be taken, and the data retention period.

Anytime/Anywhere Data Restore

Admin users can perform a complete restore, or granularly select the data that needs to be recovered. This data can be restored to the original account, to a new account, to an admin’s local device, or to a cloud storage environment. This flexibility gives you greater control and can be used for sharing records with third parties and stakeholders, such as legal partners.

CloudAlly’s search function is quick and accurate – you can easily find the files you are looking to recover through keyword or date searches. The solution has an unlimited storge and retention capacity, which is particularly useful for organizations that need to store data for extended periods for compliance purposes, such as healthcare and legal services.

Secure And Certified

It currently supports Microsoft Authentication and Okta’s MFA solutions to ensure that only verified users are able to access your backups and backup settings. CloudAlly itself adheres to ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance regulations. Data is secured using AES 256-bit encryption whilst at rest and in transit.

Intelligent Workforce Management

The platform makes it easy to manage user accounts with simplified employee on-boarding and off-boarding features. You can automate the bulk activation and removal of users to reduce admin workload and ensure that no accounts are missed. It is easy to assign backup policies to specific groups based on categories like department, geography, or job role, amongst others.

Granular Control And Configuration

CloudAlly gives admin a great deal of granular control over how their account is set up. These control can be shared with users, allowing them to perform self-help tasks, without being granted unrestricted access. For instance, a user can be granted permission to restore their data but are prevented from downloading or exporting that data beyond their own machine.

Ease Of Use

Ease of use is at the heart of CloudAlly’s Microsoft 365 Backup product. From initial implementation, through customizing backup policies, identifying lost data, and recovery, the user experience is stress free. The UI is simple and intutive, whilst allowing users all the functionality and control they need. The user workflow is logical and streamlined, thereby making it easy to make necessary changes and find the information that needs to be recovered.

The dashboard makes it easy to set and modify policies, as well as identify instances where backups have failed. Admins (provided they have the correct level of permission) can drill down into each failure instance and fix the problem. In most cases, these fixes can be carried out by the admin. If this is not the case, CloudAlly runs a 24/7 helpdesk that can help to resolve more complex issues.

Pricing And Plans

For organizations with up to 100 users, CloudAlly Microsoft 365 Backup costs $30/user/year. If your organization operates within the education sector, or is a not-for-profit, this annual price per user drops to $21. For organizations with more than 100 users, contact CloudAlly directly for a custom quote. CloudAlly will not charge you for mailbox accounts that are not linked to a Microsoft Exchange license but will still backup the data. This is particularly useful for group mailboxes or old users.

Final Verdict

CloudAlly is an effective solution that organizations of all sizes can rely on to back up their data. The solution is highly scalable so can be used from 5 accounts to 1000+. Recovery can be executed with granular precision, thereby meaning that a recovery event can be performed easily, without having a drastic impact on productivity. The solution’s biggest asset is its ease of use. The UI is simple and sleek, whilst giving you a great deal of control and configurability. At every step of the backup and recovery journey, user experience is prioritized, allowing you to have control and perform tasks with ease. We recommend that any sized organization looking to back up their Microsoft 365 data consider adding CloudAlly Microsoft 365 Backup to their shortlist.