For many SMB users of Backup Exec, switching to BackupAssist is not just an alternative, but an upgrade. You’ll get ransomware-specific protections, agentless Hyper-V backup, and recovery in under 10 minutes. You’ll also get non-proprietary backup formats, modular pricing designed for SMBs, and direct access to real support people—not tiered enterprise queues.
Cyber-security features unique to BackupAssist Classic
- CryptoSafeGuard – dedicated ransomware protection
- Cyber Black Box – saving historical forensics
Backup capabilities
- Multiple backup engines in one product
- Reverse incremental drive imaging
- Agentless Hyper-V backup
- Better USB/removable media management
- Defense in depth capabilities
Restore and recovery features
- Rapid recovery features (<10 minutes)
- Full system recovery with Lifeline Recovery
- Integrated granular restore tools and Recovery Bible
- Long term accessibility thanks to non-proprietary data formats
Company
- You’ll deal with real people, not a giant faceless company
- Modular pricing that’s fair and reasonable
- Significantly lighter footprint
- Avoiding vendor lock in
- Stable ownership and company
Cyber-security features unique to BackupAssist Classic
Criminals now routinely target backup systems alongside production data.
BackupAssist has responded with innovative, purpose-built ransomware protections, while Backup Exec’s architecture predates the modern ransomware era.
1. CryptoSafeGuard – dedicated ransomware protection
This is BackupAssist Classic’s signature differentiator. CryptoSafeGuard is a cyber-resilience feature designed to protect backups from ransomware attack and prevent ransomware-encrypted files from being backed up.
It has 2 components:
CryptoSafeGuard Detector: When a backup job starts, BackupAssist scans the data being backed up. If there is any sign of a possible ransomware infection, all backup jobs will be blocked from running, and SMS alerts will be sent if configured.
CryptoSafeGuard Shield: The Shield protects backup files where ordinary user-based access controls fail. Conventional user-based access controls (such as those offered by NTFS, or NAS that integrate with Active Directory) fail because they restrict access based on the user. Ransomware can bypass these controls as it can run as a regular user or a privileged user. The Shield restricts based on process, which is a more effective method to preserve the integrity of your backups.
While Backup Exec offers encryption and anomaly detection, it doesn’t have this proactive, process-level shielding that actively blocks unauthorized access to backups.
2. Cyber Black Box – saving historical forensics
Inspired by stories of frustration from cybercrime investigators, the Cyber Black Box logs vital forensic data such as network connections, processes, and logs, and inserts them into the backups. In the event of a security breach, this greatly assists investigators by providing historical data points which otherwise would be lost.
Backup capabilities
Backup Exec was primarily built for large enterprises.
BackupAssist Classic is tailored for SMBs – offering a surprisingly flexible set of backup options, giving you multiple ways to protect your data to suit your environment.
3. Multiple backup engines in one product
We know there’s no one-size that fits all, and the backup needs of each business can vary considerably. That’s why we include 4 different “backup engines” in BackupAssist Classic:
- Drive imaging to VHDX files
- File replication – exact copies of files, ACLs, alternate data streams
- File archiving – ZIP64 compression with optional encryption and tape drive support
- Cloud backup – bandwidth efficient, deduplicated compressed sync
These different engines enable BackupAssist to offer both image and file-based backup, to both local and cloud destinations. Here’s a rundown of the capabilities:
Backing up to local storage
- Works with Network Attached Storage (NAS), USB HDD, RDX, iSCSI
- Options for image backups, application backups, file or ZIP backups
- Achieve offsite and air-gapped backups
- Secured by CryptoSafeGuard
Backing up to cloud storage
- Works with Amazon S3, S3 compatible and Microsoft Azure blob storage
- Automatic block-level data deduplication, compression, and encryption – saves space and ensures confidentiality
- Options for immutable cloud backups
4. Reverse incremental drive imaging
Because of the reverse incremental design, you will never suffer a broken chain of incremental backups or need to collapse incremental backups to save space.
This eliminates the “incremental chain” problem that can occur with traditional backup approaches.
5. Agentless Hyper-V backup
With Backup Exec, you need to install the Hyper-V agent within the guest machine. You also need to have the appropriate agent licensing. With BackupAssist Classic, you do not need to install anything on the guest – just on the host.
6. Better USB/removable media management
USB connected hard drives are a popular choice for backup, but they can be prone to problems if they are treated like ordinary hard drives. BackupAssist specifically addresses these problems: Safely removing hardware after the backup – so no data is lost or corrupted when the drive is unplugged.
7. Defense in depth capabilities
The days of running a single backup job and then thinking “I’m protected” are well and truly over.
Modern cyber-resilience is about defense in depth, and the best way to do this is by having multiple uncorrelated backups.
BackupAssist Classic lets you run an unlimited number of backup jobs, to multiple places. Important components to defense in depth are:
- Air-gapped backups to offline and offsite media
- Immutable cloud backups
- Automatic backup verification
- Cyber protections for your backups (CryptoSafeGuard)
Restore and recovery features
Whatever type of restore or recovery features you need, BackupAssist has you covered.
8. Rapid recovery features (<10 minutes)
If you’re in an emergency situation and need your systems running again quickly, BackupAssist Classic offers 2 options:
- VM Instant Boot – allowing you to boot a physical server from its backup
- Rapid VM Recovery – allowing you to boot a virtual machine from its backup
Both technologies create a virtual machine from the backup and let you boot it – so you can be up and running again in under 10 minutes. You can operate in this “instant boot” mode until you have a convenient time for a full server recovery.
Importantly, BackupAssist Classic automatically configures differencing disks so that the recovered server will write further changes to a separate VHDX file. This means the original backup is fully preserved.
The main advantage of the VM Instant Boot is that unlike the Bare Metal Recovery, no data needs to be transferred from one place to another. That’s why you can get up and running so quickly.
9. Full system recovery with Lifeline Recovery
Full bare metal recovery (BMR) is easy thanks to our Lifeline Recovery Media (universal boot media).
When the worst happens and you need to do a full server rebuild from bare metal, reach for your Lifeline Recovery Media. Bootable Recovery Environment – boot a “blank” (bare metal) machine in order to reimage your computer from backup. Extreme recovery situations are handled with ease – P2P, P2V, P2C, V2P, V2V, V2C, C2P, C2V, C2C.
- Create a Lifeline Recovery bootable USB drive – you’ll only need to do this once, even if you have multiple versions of operating systems, because the single Lifeline Recovery Media can recover all versions of Windows from backup.
- For even greater convenience and speed, you can make every USB backup drive into a bootable backup. To do a recovery, just plug in your backup disk, boot from it, and you’re automatically in Lifeline Recovery.
10. Integrated granular restore tools and Recovery Bible
When you need to restore something more granular – you can turn to the BackupAssist Recovery Bible.
With step-by-step instructions, you can granularly recover:
- Specific files and folders
- Entire applications
- SQL databases, as a whole or to a point in time
11. Long term accessibility thanks to non-proprietary data formats
Understanding this is vital if you want to recover your data years or decades later.
So many backup products, Backup Exec included, use their own obscure, proprietary data formats to store your data. That’s an unacceptable business risk to you if your data is in a format that only your backup software can open up. How are you going to get your data back after 5, 10 or 20 years have passed, if your backup software vendor goes out of business or discontinues their product?
BackupAssist Classic solves this by using ubiquitous or non-proprietary data formats such as VHDX, ZIP, PST and SQL, or just plain files. This guarantees your data will be accessible well into the future.
A dedicated company who values relationships
Finding a new backup vendor takes time. Technical features matter, but so does knowing who you’re doing business with.
BackupAssist will be a breath of fresh air: big enough to deliver, small enough to care.
12. You’ll deal with real people, not a giant faceless company
We all know the frustrations of dealing with large vendors – tiered support, ticket queues, outsourced call centers, “have you tried turning it off and on again” scripts. And your feedback and feature requests disappear into a black hole. Do you even have a phone number to call?
At BackupAssist, being smaller is our advantage because we’re nimble. Many of our features came directly from user requests. When you call or email technical support, you’ll be helped by people who care and are only one step away from company leadership.
13. Modular pricing that’s fair and reasonable
BackupAssist is designed to be simple and easy to use so that users can set up a backup strategy to protect their business, and only pay for what they need. BackupAssist Classic is ideal for SMBs with its modular pricing. Essential resilience starts at just $1.19 per day. Enhanced features can be purchased as add-ons.
Backup Exec, by comparison, has been designed with the complex requirements of much larger enterprise organizations in mind, so small business users may find themselves paying for a number of high-level features that they do not need. Backup Exec historically required purchasing separate agents and options (Exchange Agent, SQL Agent, etc.), while BackupAssist Classic bundles more functionality into the base product.
14. Significantly lighter footprint
As BackupAssist was designed for Small and Medium Businesses, it has a much lighter footprint than Backup Exec. That’s in terms of size of download, time to upskill, and infrastructure to install.
Just look at the download of the products:
- BackupAssist Classic v15 – freely downloadable from the website, 62MB size
- Backup Exec – we couldn’t find an online download, but one report stated a 1.25 GB typical installation size.
15. Avoiding vendor lock in
Many software vendors make it difficult to switch away – whether through proprietary data formats that only their software can read, agents installed across your infrastructure, or complex licensing that obscures true costs. When Backup Exec reaches end-of-life in 2029, customers with years of backups in BKF format will discover just how painful this lock-in can be.
BackupAssist gives you choice and freedom:
- Storage location: back up to local drives, NAS, USB, or cloud – your choice
- Portability: move your backups between storage targets as your needs change
- Data formats: non-proprietary formats (VHDX, ZIP64, PST, SQL) that you can access without BackupAssist
16. Stable ownership and company
Backup Exec has been subject to numerous mergers and acquisitions, from Seagate Software to Veritas Software to Symantec to Veritas Technologies to Arctera… with each change of ownership creating uncertainty over the future direction of the product.
In contrast, BackupAssist was created by software developer, Linus Chang, after he experienced first-hand how difficult it was to set up backups on Windows Server NT 4.0 and 2000. A year into the journey, he teamed up with Steven Chua, who added sales and BDM skills. Both Linus and Steven are still the company owners and are heavily involved today.
That level of stability is valued highly by BackupAssist’s clients, especially in this uncertain world.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does switching from Backup Exec to BackupAssist take?
Most SMB complete it in 1-2 days. You’ll install BackupAssist Classic, configure your backup jobs, and run your first backup (that’s what takes the longest). There’s no need to migrate old Backup Exec backups—you can keep them accessible while building fresh BackupAssist backups going forward.
Can I access my old Backup Exec backups after switching?
Yes. Keep your Backup Exec installation and treat it as “read-only” to access historical backups when needed. BackupAssist creates new backups going forward, so you maintain access to your archive without dependency on the old system.
What’s the cost difference between Backup Exec and BackupAssist?
BackupAssist Classic starts at $436 for the core license with essential features, including 12 months of BackupCare protection. Backup Exec’s enterprise licensing typically costs significantly more, especially when adding agents for Exchange, SQL, and Hyper-V. BackupAssist bundles more functionality into the base product with modular add-ons only for advanced features.
Beyond the lower entry price, BackupAssist also offers flexible licensing through MSP and Reseller programs. Interested partners can register their interest to explore the best fit for their business model.
Will BackupAssist Classic work with my existing backup storage?
Yes. BackupAssist Classic works with Network Attached Storage (NAS), USB hard drives, RDX, iSCSI, and cloud storage (Amazon S3, Azure). You can continue using your current backup infrastructure.
However, you’ll need to make sure you have enough storage space. After switching to BackupAssist, you’ll have 2 copies of your data – the legacy backup from Backup Exec (which you’ll likely keep for data retention purposes) and the new “active” backup with BackupAssist.
Should I migrate from Backup Exec now or wait?
Migrate sooner rather than later. Starting now gives you time to build a reliable backup history before Backup Exec reaches end-of-life in 2029.
This is critically important: delaying the migration exposes you to the risk that you can’t restore historical files. If Backup Exec won’t start after the EOL, how will you restore your data?
You’ll also gain immediate benefits like ransomware protection and faster recovery.
Is BackupAssist Classic the right Backup Exec replacement for everyone?
No – let’s be open about this.
BackupAssist Classic excels for small and medium businesses (typically 1-50 servers) running Windows Server and Hyper-V environments. It’s ideal if you need strong ransomware protection, simple deployment, and reasonable pricing.
However, BackupAssist Classic may not fit if you’re running large-scale enterprise environments with hundreds of servers, need VMware backup, or require tape library automation with complex media rotation. For complex enterprise needs, you might need enterprise-grade alternatives. But for most SMBs, BackupAssist delivers exactly what’s needed without enterprise complexity.
What happens to my backups if BackupAssist discontinues their product?
BackupAssist Classic uses non-proprietary formats (VHDX, ZIP64, PST, SQL, or plain files). You can access your data with standard tools even without BackupAssist software. This contrasts with Backup Exec’s proprietary BKF format, which requires their software to read.
Is there a trial period to test BackupAssist?
Yes. BackupAssist Classic offers a free 30-day trial with full functionality, so you can test it in your environment before committing.
Ready to give BackupAssist a try?
With Backup Exec’s 2029 end-of-life approaching, download BackupAssist Classic today for a free 30-day trial.
