Standalone backup agent for Microsoft Windows servers and workstations (formerly Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE)
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tz05
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Keep it simple!

Post by tz05 » 1 person likes this post

Given the many feature requests I see floating around here I thought I'd also share my point of view.
I love VEB for the simplicity it provides and use it with people which need exactly that.
Small businesses and individuals which have no clue about IT, just want their PC to work and most often don't do any backups at all. Because they don't know how to do them, they are oh so bussy and didn't get to it yet, you name it..I guess that's called procastination, lots of it out there :-)

Along comes VEB, simple, does exactly what's on the tin, no bells and whistles other than the automatic detach of external drives, which I think is a killer given that what we tend to propose is two external harddrives (different color even) which get used in an alternating way.
We have been looking at a few alternatives but none I saw offered the totally hands-free experience VEB does. All our clients need to know is how to plug in the USB drive and not to remove it before the drive LED is off. "Take the red drive this week and the blue one the week after..."

Thought I'd let you know that there are use cases out there which depend on you keeping things simple so it doesn't get lost. So here's a big thank you for providing such a solution on behalf of our clients!

PS. Why not consider a comerical edition which offers all the features a more sophisticated environment would demand (multiple backup jobs, etc.) while keeping VEB as simple as it is so it continues to work as a reliable, zero click solution for those which need it? Once "Joe's Garage" grows bigger and needs servers and stuff you'd be very well positioned to monetise the opportunity.
Just sayin :-)

PPS. If there's one thing I would ask for, it's a localized interface, as those users not only tend to struggle with their PCs but also foreign languages.

Thomas
Mike Resseler
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by Mike Resseler »

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for your great feedback. This is indeed something which we will always work towards. Keep it simple. VEB is designed for local endpoints and for people such as my mother, grand-mother... You know, those that come to me to fix their computer ;-)

We are releasing a commercial edition soon. VEB will be renamed to Veeam Agent for Windows (VAW) but there will always be a free version as there is today. It won't have less features (on the contrary, we are adding a few in the free version, such as encryption for your backups...) and the commercial versions will exist in 2 versions. Workstation and Server. Workstation will have some additional functionality (including the possibility to backup to a cloud connect provider direct (PS: If you are servicing such customers like the garage... This is for you an interesting option to investigate... Especially when your CC runs on Azure, no upfront investments at all...) and a server version (with even more options)

Again, thanks again for the story and if you need more info about the above... You know where to find us :-D
tz05
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by tz05 »

Hi Mike, this is great to hear! Any thoughts on the localized interfaces? I see you are based in Belgium so I guess you got first hand experience :D
Mike Resseler
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by Mike Resseler »

Hi Thomas,

No news on the localized interfaces... And yes, I am based in Belgium which means we have 3 official languages... But when we work (at least in IT), we adopt a 4th national language... English. So I'm afraid it is not that first hand experience for me ;-)
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by chaycock »

So if I am understanding this correctly, you are suggesting that people that want/need the extra features should have to pay for a version just so you can keep yours 'simple'? How about you just don't use the features you don't want and not ruin it for everyone that does want the enhanced feature set? Another option that other packages have is the 'advanced/basic' switch that hides the 'complex' stuff from people that don't want to see it but allows the people that do want to use it to use without having to have two versions of the software.
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by Mike Resseler »

Carlton,

I think you misunderstood it. We are certainly not saying that we will have a simple free version and for all others people will need to pay (although this is a business model that exists for many solutions). What we are saying is that we designed the original VEB for everyone, including those with no IT knowledge. We are indeed going forward with paid versions. One specifically for workstations and one for servers that has advanced capabilities in it, and that also include support with SLA. But we will always have the free version and we do get additional functionality in that one also. But it will be functionality that makes sense for a standalone solution. As stated above, encryption of your backups is also coming to the free version so I hope you can see we are not "forgetting" about the free version.

I hope it makes more sense

Mike
tz05
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by tz05 »

chaycock wrote:So if I am understanding this correctly, you are suggesting that people that want/need the extra features should have to pay for a version just so you can keep yours 'simple'? How about you just don't use the features you don't want and not ruin it for everyone that does want the enhanced feature set? Another option that other packages have is the 'advanced/basic' switch that hides the 'complex' stuff from people that don't want to see it but allows the people that do want to use it to use without having to have two versions of the software.
Not what I meant. What I was trying to say was, that there are use cases which depend on the product to be very simple. If complexity gets added over time because some users ask for it I am perfectly fine with this, as long as this complexity can be hidden behind an "advanced" switch. The reason for my post was because I felt if I don't raise my use case, all Veeam get's to hear is we need more.
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by chaycock »

My misunderstanding. I agree with what you said, it would be nice to hide the complex options if they are not needed. I thought you were saying to have two versions, one simple and one advanced (the commercial version).
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by Gostev »

And that's exactly our intention!
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Re: Keep it simple!

Post by rjaworski »

Thank you Gentlemen for these valuable comments!!!
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