HPE Zerto In-Cloud Software for AWS

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Reviews from AWS customer

14 AWS reviews

External reviews

173 reviews
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External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.


4-star reviews ( Show all reviews )

    Steve McFate

Helped us streamline our DR testing and notably reduce associated downtime

  • June 23, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use Zerto as our disaster recovery solution for our servers in the multiple data centers we have. It allows us to replicate our servers from one data center to another and perform disaster recovery testing to ensure compliance with our organization's DR requirements.

Our organization wanted a solution for replication, whether for VMs or Azure sites, and the ability to migrate servers or VPGs in case of a disaster or for testing purposes. And we wanted something reliable.

How has it helped my organization?

We're migrating out of one of our older data centers currently, and sending them to either Azure or one of our two VM data centers. We've been working on getting all the servers out of the old data center for a year. Being able to migrate those servers, with the help of the service teams, is one of the best features. Instead of having to do them one at a time, we can build a VPG. That is especially helpful with some of these really large VPGs. We did one a couple of months ago that was 36 terabytes. We were able to migrate that entire VPG at one time, watch it replicate once it was there, and then do the reverse replication. That process has been amazing.

We use Zerto to protect VMs and our RPOs are very solid. The RPO is a little slower for Azure, but that was expected and it was covered in the documentation that Zerto provided. But the RPOs from one VM center to another are solid. The same is true for our RTOs. We have no complaints in that regard at all.

And it will definitely help reduce downtime if we have to migrate from one data center to another due to a disaster (which we have not had to do so far). Downtime would cost us a lot, no doubt. We have not had any major disasters as of yet or problems with spyware or ransomware. But we have had instances where a server was corrupted in one data center and because it was backed up with Zerto, we were able to fail over to the secondary site and get the VPG back up very quickly. From the time that the decision was made that we needed to fail over, it took around 30 minutes. It was very quick, especially compared to trying to troubleshoot and rebuild. Our patients weren't affected.

The platform has also helped us to streamline our DR testing. We're able to do our annual test as quickly as possible, whether it's a failover rollback or a system move. It has made that process much much quicker and a lot less painful.

I've only been in this position for a year, but from what I've heard, DR testing was not a pleasant experience prior to moving to Zerto. They were always having failures and then would have to set up another downtime and test again. With a lot of our applications, those that are tier-ones, we're having to do the DR test at 1 AM or 2 AM. Nobody wants to have to do a four-hour downtime test multiple times.

And not having long downtimes for DR has helped a lot. Our customers and service teams know that we have to do these tests once a year to stay compliant. We plan for a four-hour downtime every time we do a DR test. Very rarely do we need four hours. We block out that time just in case there are issues we didn't expect but we're usually done in under two hours, including failing over, doing the testing, rolling back, and testing again. I don't know if you can actually put a number on not having downtime, in terms of the impact on the service teams, nurses, or patients.

Right now, our DR team is just me and my boss. At one point, there were three people on the team. It says a lot about Zerto when it can be used with a minimal staff for DR. Prior to moving to Zerto, the team had four members. So it was double what it is now.

What is most valuable?

The replication works really well. We perform multiple tests a month and annual tests for our tier-one and many of our tier-two apps. We need to make sure we can quickly and reliably migrate VPGs to the backup data center in a disaster scenario. Migrating systems as a failover rollback or a system move are two of the functions that I like the most.

It's also very simple to use. For example, when we need to move data so that our users can keep collaborating with one another, using Zerto is very simple. Putting the servers into maintenance mode and either moving or testing them for our teams, has worked very well. We have found very few hiccups with any part of the solution, especially with the new version that they released recently.

The near-synchronous replication-also works really well. When you move or have just built a VPG, watching it step through things is great. It's a well-made product. Near-synchronous replication is very important, making sure that it's done properly and that it's complete.

We have Azure data centers. When migrating out of our older data center, if we find that Azure is the best place for those new servers, we have been migrating them there and doing the DR test at the same time. I haven't found any problems with migration to the cloud. For our applications that will work in Azure, Zerto's disaster recovery in the cloud has worked really well.

What needs improvement?

I turned in a ticket a while back when I found a glitch within Zerto. When building out a VPG and doing the machine types within Azure, they were not coming across correctly. It would say it had a CPU and memory of a specific type, but it was not accurate. When I sent that ticket in, the support manager said that it hadn't been found before, but that my report was accurate and that it was a bug, and that they were working on it.

But I've been very pleased with the updates that they put out and the service. I don't have a lot of negative things to say about Zerto.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been in this position for a little over a year and have been using Zerto during that time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've never seen it go down. It has been stable and easy to use, which are some of the main reasons we're still with them. We haven't had any large bugs with it. The software seems to be well-tested before new updates go out.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have it deployed across three on-prem data centers in two different states, plus the two different Azure sites that are also out of state.

We've added a couple of new data centers since I've been in my position and adding them to our Zerto interface was not very difficult. The scalability is good.

How are customer service and support?

Whenever I have had any issues, I have contacted support and they have been knowledgeable. Getting a hold of Zerto's support has been easy. In general, compared to all the other applications that I've ever supported in my career, Zerto has been one of the easiest to contact and actually get help with. I've worked with some vendors that were really difficult to work with.

Overall, Zerto's technical support has been fantastic. When I've had issues, submitting a ticket online is fast. In all but maybe one instance, I had a callback within just a couple of hours. Their support has been awesome.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Our organization migrated away from a couple of other solutions prior to my starting this position. But the disaster recovery manager that I work for has said multiple times that Zerto is the easiest solution and has the most robust features compared to whatever they were using prior.

I know our organization still uses Veeam, but they do so in tandem with Zerto.

What was our ROI?

There is an annual cost for Zerto, but that is something that our director level works through. Our organization, St. Luke's, goes through all vendor contracts looking for the best value. The fact that we have been using Zerto for a few years says that the value must be there compared to other vendors.

Not having to take down our tier-one system for an extended period of time for DR testing is invaluable. You can't put a dollar value on the impact on a patient's life. We need our systems to stay up constantly because they are what keep people alive.

What other advice do I have?

In terms of maintenance of Zerto, we do our monthly reboots of the servers so that they stay up to date with the Microsoft patching. And anytime that Zerto has updates to their software, we make sure that we stay compliant with that. And once every year or 18 months, we update the cert on the servers.

My advice is to look for a product that is easy to use and easy to learn and allows for scalability and DR testing that works well.


    reviewer2191422

Runs behind the firewall to help block unknown threats and attacks

  • May 23, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use Zerto for disaster recovery purposes. We do not use Zerto for backups, only for the redundancy of the data center.

How has it helped my organization?

Zerto uses a rapid user interface that is user-friendly. Zerto's Near Synchronous Replication is helpful for our 12,000 servers.

Zerto runs behind the firewall to help block unknown threats and attacks.

The solution has improved our RTO and we rarely experience any issues during failovers. We use Zerto on-premises and Azure for the cloud. We have a very good RTO whenever we have a failover from Zerto to the cloud.

Zerto reduced our downtime by approximately 15 percent by increasing our recovery speed. Zerto also helped our organization's disaster recovery testing by reducing the time it takes to bring up virtual machines on the DR side to 15 minutes.

Because Zerto's GUI is user-friendly, it is easy to execute a failover, so we require 1/3 of the employees to perform the task during recovery situations.

What is most valuable?

Our RTO is quick, and we can recover five to ten terabytes of data within minutes of a failover.

What needs improvement?

Zerto's effect on our RPO can be improved. When we have a VPG, we typically have multiple VMs and more than ten terabytes of data. This can cause long failover times due to data limitations, and sometimes the VPG can become full.

The technical support response time could also be improved. We often have to follow up multiple times to get a response, and when we do get a response, it is not always from the correct person who can handle our case.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zerto for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zerto is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Zerto is scalable. We have around 3,000 people that use Zerto in our organization. Zerto is deployed in multiple environments and multiple databases in two countries.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support's response time is slow.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment with Zerto.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Zerto is more cost-effective than Azure.

What other advice do I have?

I give Zerto an eight out of ten.

We wanted a solution that would help us reduce our recovery time objective, and Zerto does just that.

We use VPGs to maintain data consistency in our environment. We do this by placing multiple servers in a single VPG, which belongs to the same application or database.

Zerto can recover data quickly when the data size is under ten terabytes. However, recovery can be slow for data sizes that exceed ten terabytes.

The distance of our data transfers will affect the RTO. Data transfers within one region will be quicker than those across multiple regions.

We also use Azure Cloud and are currently migrating Zerto to the cloud. Both use a GUI interface and both have good failover tests.

I recommend Zerto but it does have data limitations when using a single VPG.


    reviewer2180742

Helped our organization by merging many different technologies into one, including desktop virtualization and replication

  • May 10, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

Currently, we use Zerto to replicate our production visual systems at our disaster recovery site in Germany. This allows us to easily meet our RTO and RPO.

How has it helped my organization?

Zerto is easy to use. Zerto is the leading disaster recovery solution.

Zerto's synchronous replication is important for our organization.

Zerto has helped our organization by merging many different technologies into one, including desktop virtualization and replication. Previously, we used to hire other providers for these services, but now we have everything in one system, saving us around 30 percent. For example, we used to have to keep a copy of our data on Veeam Backup, but now we can store it all in Zerto. This saved us time and money, and it has also made our IT infrastructure more reliable.

With Zerto, we are meeting our RPO better. Previously, it took us 20 minutes and now it is five seconds.

With Zerto, we have the best RTO.

In our simulations, we observed a reduction in downtime when using Zerto.

Our recovery time with Zerto is excellent in data recovery situations, such as those caused by ransomware. We can save around five hours compared to other solutions.

Zerto reduced the number of people involved in our data recovery by 30 percent.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable tool is the dashboard, which allows us to immediately check the DLP status, replication data, and all other data needed to have cleaner and immediate control of the situation.

What needs improvement?

File management can be improved. Zimbra is the only platform that allows for file replication.

The technical support has room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zerto for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zerto is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Zerto is scalable. We have around 200 users.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is average. We have had some cases where we were not as comfortable with the outcomes as we were with other solutions.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used a custom solution, but we switched to Zerto to unify our systems and improve visibility.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was simple. We were able to deploy one FPE every two weeks. One person was involved in the deployment.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment with Zerto, which saved us 30 percent of our costs and improved our disaster recovery time.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is reasonable.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other solutions because we were confident that Zerto was the best, as indicated by the Gartner chart.

What other advice do I have?

I give Zerto an eight out of ten.

Zerto is deployed to replicate our on-premises and virtual infrastructure data between our two offices in Germany and Italy.

Zerto requires around two hours per month of maintenance.

I recommend that new users take advantage of Zerto's flexible license program to buy one or two licenses and try them out before fully committing.


    Abdellateef Hasan

Easy to use with a straightforward interface and menus, and provides excellent analytics, reporting, and monitoring

  • February 27, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use Zerto for backups and DR; we back up to a StoreOnce unit and then offsite. We have over 11 servers, including three Oracle servers, one Oracle database, and an Active Directory.

How has it helped my organization?

Before Zerto, we used another solution that caused database crashes and did not offer certainty regarding disaster recovery. Zerto is more configurable and stable.

A DR site reduces downtime, especially with full VM backup and online synchronization. Zerto accomplishes this without affecting network efficiency, as synchronization occurs at specific intervals.

What is most valuable?

Zerto's ease of use is outstanding; it's easy to set up and has a clear interface and menus. The reporting, analytics, and online monitoring are also excellent.

Compared to other solutions, the speed of recovery with Zerto is faster. Our last backup solution, Data Protector, was very slow, but Zerto is rapid even in file retrieval.

The solution helped reduce our organization's DR testing; it's hard to say precisely how much, but Zerto does faster DR testing than other products.

What needs improvement?

Improvements in stability would be welcome; there are some software bugs that can affect RPOs. We want more of a guarantee that we won't lose any of our backups, even in the event of a disaster.

The platform measures the right speed of storage devices and gives an alert on the VPG if there is latency, but the nature of the alert suggests the solution isn't meeting the SLA. However, this shouldn't affect the health status of the backup. It should provide an express report that we should enhance our hardware rather than express latency as a threat to the backup capability.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is acceptable, we experienced an issue once, but the backup time is speedy.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution's architecture supports business owners to expand their disaster recovery capabilities as their infrastructure grows. Additionally, Zerto's ability to integrate with various cloud platforms and on-premises environments further enhances its scalability, offering a flexible and robust solution for organizations with evolving needs.

How are customer service and support?

Customer support is one of Zerto's best aspects; the support is excellent, and we can quickly get through to them. I rate them ten out of ten. The support staff are very kind and always solve a problem. I feel secure knowing I have access to such good support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Micro Focus Data Protector and Veeam Backup & Replication. Zerto is easier to use and more straightforward to configure.

Zerto replaced our legacy backup solution, Data Protector. This not only saved on the cost of the old product but also provided more stability and security to our company. We now have a new backup methodology, and it's a significant upgrade.

How was the initial setup?

I carried out the initial setup with support from Zerto, which was very straightforward.

The only requirement for maintenance is monitoring the solution and updating versions.

What about the implementation team?

I have 20 years of experience in IT, so I was well-positioned to carry out the deployment myself, with the assistance of Zerto support.

What was our ROI?

We have seen an ROI with Zerto.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is slightly above average, but the immediate and comprehensive support makes the price acceptable.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated many other options but found Zerto the best, especially for our HPE environment. It's the most stable and straightforward tool, and even those with limited experience can operate it.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution eight out of ten.

I strongly recommend Zerto; I've tried many other solutions, but it's the most stable.

We use the product to help protect VMs in our environment, and regarding RPOs, I carry out the test for them every six months, and it's working correctly.

I advise those evaluating the solution to use it, especially in an HPE environment, as it's fully compatible and easy to manage. There is no requirement for special drivers or configurations.