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AMI SafeTrends

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PCQ Bureau
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The need of a robust backup policy and correct implementation of the same is critical for an organization. Failure to do the same can result in a nightmarish situation. The toughest one to implement is possibly the backing up of desktops and laptops in an office. That's where SafeTrends comes in. It's a CDP solution that backs up all Windows based desktops and laptops in your office (Linux not supported at the moment).

The software requires a system with at least 512 MB RAM and a 1 GHz processor. Software requirement is confined to .NET Framework 4.0 while OS supported include Windows XP (SP 3), Windows Vista (SP 1), Windows Server 2003 (SP 2), and

Windows 7.

Snapshot

Price: Rs. 2,500

Meant for:Small Offices

Key Specs: Continuous and trickle protection; scheduled backups; local and remote backup; version control

Pros: Easy to install and manage

Cons: Limited to Windows desktops and laptops

Contact:sales@amiindia.co.in,

Write: pcquest@cybermedia.co.in with name of product in subject, for more info.

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Features and their Usability

To check out features of SafeTrends, we installed it on a Windows 7 Ultimate machine. Barring the long wait for .NET Framework 4.0 to install, the remaining steps didn't take much time. Once installed, you need to configure which files to backup, how and where to backup. There are multiple options for each choice. Once you start SafeTrends, you are greeted with a simple interface with self explanatory buttons on top.

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With SafeTrends, besides selecting files/folders of your choice for backup, you can also create filters to exclude/include certain types of files to be backed up. SafeTrends provides you multiple options to backup data. You can backup data to your local disk or a removable media. You can also backup data to a central location on your network or to a Cloud based storage. In the latter two cases, the backed up data is transferred in compressed, de-duplicated, and encrypted form to secure data and minimize network overhead. In case you've chosen to backup to a NAS or Cloud storage, but you aren't connected, then SafeTrends creates a local backup data file and syncs it with the remote storage once connected. This offline backup and sync feature is known as 'Trickle Protection' and can be scheduled.

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Backup often eats up a lot of processing power of your machine and slows it down. To overcome this issue, you can schedule backup when your machine is idle. SafeTrends also features quota system for data store (where backup data is stored) and version control for recovery of specific version of files. To keep track of backup, there is a continuous activity log maintained by the software.

The solution is great for a small office with a handful of desktops and laptops. That's because SafeTrends does not come in server-agent form. It also means that you have to get a separate license for each Windows machine you want to protect. While the utility of this package is very good, one thing we found a little odd was the ability for the user to change theme of the interface. It's no a necessity in a backup software, though!

Bottomline: A very useful and cost-effective backup solution for small offices running Windows on desktops and laptops.

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