Disclaimer: I did this analysis based on the price list available in Switzerland, where I work. I hope and believe that the proportions between the various products are comparable in other countries, however, check with your dealer.
With the release of Veeam Backup Cloud Edition, Veeam introduced not only a new version of its flagship product, but for the first time a new way of licensing their products. If prior the annual subscription was available only to service providers, now enterprise customers too have to buy this new version by paying an annual fee.
It ‘a good or a bad thing? There you gain, or lose?
First of all, dispel a myth of the perpetual license. If with other softwares you can save by buying a perpetual license and no longer renew it for long periods of time, because the software continues to work well even after several years, with a backup program (especially for virtual environments), this reasoning shows some flaws. First, support for recent versions of the hypervisor: a software just two years old does not support current hypervisors, thus it becomes useless, unless of course you do not freeze ALL your virtualized infrastructure to the versions purchased long ago (with the risk that there are other components that are not supported …). Second, support itself: would you trust to use a program to do such important activities such as protecting sensitive data of your company, without the support of the software vendor in case of need?
Therefore, found that in both cases (perpetual license or subscription) we will have to stay up to date, what version we should buy? The Cloud Edition could be viable even without having to use its specific functions?
Let’s start first from this scheme, found on the page I linked earlier in this article:
This comparison serves us to be able to properly evaluate the price of the Cloud Edition. Actually, it provides at no additional cost 24/7 support, instead in the other versions is optional and at an additional cost. With this information, I made a comparison with the Enterprise version (by far the most widely used due to the presence of the vPower functions). All prices are in CHF per 1 socket Tier A.
Enterprise Edition, 1 year standard support: 1292.20
Enterprise Edition, 1 year 24/7 support: 1356.81
Enterprise Cloud Edition, 1 year: 823.60
Assuming a 3-year cycle, let’s see how price evolves. Enterprise Edition requires only the cost of renewal, while Cloud Edition must be renewed at the same initial price:
Enterprise Edition, 3 years with 24/7 support: 1938.30
Enterprise Cloud Edition, 3 years: 2470.80
Assume, finally, that to save money, we buy in advance 24/7 support for three years, and likewise we subscribe to the Cloud Edition for three years. we obtain:
Enterprise Edition, 3 years in advance, with 24/7 support: 1925.38
Enterprise Cloud Edition, 3 years in advance: 1959.60
What can we deduce from these calculations? Surely the Cloud feature has a cost, clearly identifiable by the price differential. However, if you use Veeam Backup & Replication for at least three years, the Cloud version has the same price of the Enterprise, with the welcomed addition of new functions. So, as I was thinking, maybe you could purchase the Cloud edition even without having to use its features.
If, however, you do not need 24/7 support or you never have to use f the Cloud functions, Enterprise costs are cheaper than Cloud edition.