Google Cloud: Actifio GO Review

After being recognized as a leader in backup and disaster recovery (DR) with over 3,700 customers and 57 patents, Actifio, founded in 2009, was acquired by Google Cloud in December 2020. 

Understanding that backup and recovery are fundamental requirements for any trusted cloud provider, Google felt Actifio was the best partner to prevent data loss and downtime for its Cloud customers. See below to learn all about the software-as-a-service (SaaS) backup and disaster recovery solution for Google Cloud, Actifio GO:

The data backup and recovery market

The global data backup and recovery market was valued at an estimated $9.69 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to over $22.22 billion by 2030.

Some of the leading competitors in the sector are iland, Commvault, and EVault.

Key features

The key features of Actifio GO include:

• Self-service sign up with simple deployment and central management for backup and recovery of virtual machines (VMs), SQL Server, and SAP HANA databases on Google Cloud or on-premises VMware VMs
• Small and efficient backup windows with consistent incremental forever database and VM capture
• Service-level agreement (SLA)-driven data management
• Instant multi-region recovery whether on-premises or in Google Cloud
• Data encryption in transit and at rest
• Identity and access management (IAM) with Active Directory and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (AD/LDAP)

Key benefits

• Provides a single, cloud-based platform, providing incremental forever backup to Google Cloud
• Leverages Google Nearline/Coldline for data retention and intelligent caching, reducing egress charges and application programming interface (API) cost
• Recovers from ransomware attacks with simultaneous point-in-time recoveries
• Accelerates application test and release cycles with rapid database cloning

See more: Best Data Recovery Services

Use cases

Actifio GO’s pre-acquisition customer list shows why Google became interested in the brand and how companies use the data recovery solution:

• Cengage chose Actifio for backup of its virtual environment and all databases
• KCB Group partnered with Actifio to be its data protection and application development partner
• HUB24 used Actifio to speed up copying large production databases
• CGI engaged Actifio to provide simpler and faster data management solutions to hundreds of its enterprise clients
• Abilene Christian University used the power of Actifio to migrate from tape
• Colorado College modernized its data backup platform with Actifio for improved disaster recovery, data retention, and DevOps acceleration

See more: How Data Recovery is Used by Nationwide, Divine Capital Markets, FCR Media, City of Lodi, and Maple Reinders: Case Studies

Differentiators

• Backup and recovery of on-premises workloads to Google Cloud
• Application-consistent and incremental forever backup of mission-critical databases
• Instant mount and recovery from backups stored in Google Cloud PD/NL/CL
• Data immutability ensuring rogue users or administrators cannot delete backups ahead of their scheduled retention expiry
• Ability to access data even after unsubscribing

User reviews

Reviews of Actifio GO are positive, with users indicating the solution delivers excellent customer service and ongoing support with extreme ease of use.

• Gartner Peer Insights: 4.8 out of 5
• G2: 5 out of 5
• PeerSpot: 4 out of 5
• TrustRadius: 8 out of 10

Industry recognition

Actifio has earned various award and accolades over the years:

• Forbes “Best Cloud Computing Companies” and “CEOs to Work For,” 2019
• BostInno BostonFest Coolest Companies finalist, 2019
• Enterprise Storage “20 Top Enterprise Data Storage Vendors,” 2018
• Gartner “Magic Quadrant,” visionary
• JMP Securities list of “Hottest Privately Held Tech Companies,” 2017 and 2018
• Scored highest for fully virtualized environments in Gartner “Critical Capabilities Report,” 2017
• Boston Business Journal “Best Places to Work,” 2014–2016

Bottom line

As companies continue to invest in the development and storage of data, the need to protect those assets from the threat of compromise or disaster increases. Deciding which data backup and disaster recovery solution to trust can be intimidating when the consequences of data loss include damage to reputation and brand, unhappy customers, and possible legal liability. The weight of this decision can be decreased by choosing Google Cloud and Actifio GO.

See more: 5 Top Data Recovery Trends