Evaluation of Enterprise Data Protection using SEP Software

Executive Summary

Data protection is an ongoing challenge in IT environments of all sizes. For most organizations, the complexity of their environments, coupled with the size and the amount of data that needs protection are the primary challenges. For IT organizations, without dedicated staff to perform data protection, a concern is the complexity of the software used for data protection.

Large, enterprise backup applications have many features, but are often very difficult to utilize, understand and optimize. In contrast, data protection software designed for smaller organizations typically have far fewer features, reducing the complexity, but also limiting their usefulness and often imposing performance limitations.

Evaluator Group tested and validated several features and capabilities of the SEP sesam data protection software. These included the ability to protect both physical and virtual systems, along with rapid restoration capabilities and the performance of the software. All of these features are relevant for organizations ranging from small businesses up to the largest enterprise.

This evaluation is detailed in the following report, highlighting the configurations and environment utilized, along with the results and the implications of the findings. This report can serve as a first level evaluation guide for IT administrators who wish to compare SEP sesam to their existing product, or for IT Architects and IT management as an outline for performing an evaluation of backup products. The results of the testing are summarized in the Evaluation Summary on page 15.

The remainder of this document provides details of the tests, the results and findings, along with Evaluator Group commentary and opinions and detailed appendices.