In short: Server and endpoint backup software captures full system images or selected files from servers, virtual machines, laptops and desktops, and stores them locally, in the cloud or both. It lets you restore a single file, a database or an entire machine, even to different hardware. Licensing is usually per server, per VM or per workstation, plus cloud storage.
What is server and endpoint backup?
Not everything lives in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Line-of-business applications, databases, file servers, accounting packages and the laptops people work on all need protecting too.
Server and endpoint backup software handles these in two main ways:
- Image-based backup captures the entire machine: operating system, applications, settings and data. You can restore the whole system, often to different hardware or as a virtual machine, or pull out individual files.
- File-level backup copies selected folders and files, which suits laptops where the operating system can be rebuilt but the documents cannot.
Backups can go to local storage for fast restores, to the cloud for off-site protection, or both. Many products also back up hypervisors such as VMware and Hyper-V at host level, and applications such as SQL Server and Exchange.
Examples include Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud and Axcient x360Recover, which can back up directly to the cloud without an on-site appliance.
For many small and mid-sized organisations, the most valuable server backup is the one that protects the accounting system, the practice management database or the specialist application that the business cannot run without. These often hold years of records and are awkward to rebuild from scratch, so they deserve frequent backups, an off-site copy and a regular test restore.
Server and endpoint backup: vendors and products we supply
- Acronis: Backup, disaster recovery, EDR, email security, RMM and protected servers on one platform.
- Acronis Cyber Platform (Cyber Protect Cloud): Backup, anti-ransomware and management in one agent, per workload or on storage used.
- Axcient: x360Recover BCDR, x360Cloud Microsoft 365 backup and x360Sync file sync.
- Axcient x360Recover: Server and workstation BCDR, direct to cloud or with an appliance.
- Axcient x360Sync: Secure file sync and share with continuous backup.
- Commvault: Commvault Cloud backup and recovery for SaaS, cloud and on-premises data.
- Commvault Cloud platform: Backup, replication and cyber recovery packages for hybrid workloads.
- Hornetsecurity: Microsoft 365 email security, archiving, backup and compliance, per user.
- Hornetsecurity VM Backup: Hyper-V, VMware and Proxmox backup, per host or per VM.
- Redstor: Hardware-free cloud backup for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Azure and Xero.
- Redstor Azure and Kubernetes backup: Azure VM, Blob and Kubernetes backup to immutable off-site storage.
What to look for
- Workloads supported: Windows and Linux servers, macOS and Windows workstations, VMware, Hyper-V, and the applications you run
- Direct-to-cloud or local plus cloud options
- Bare-metal and dissimilar hardware restore
- Ransomware resilience: immutable storage, anomaly detection and separate credentials
- Bandwidth controls, so backups do not swamp the office connection
- Integration with disaster recovery for systems you cannot afford to have down for long; see disaster recovery
- Reporting that shows every protected machine and the date of its last good backup, so gaps are easy to spot
How server and endpoint backup is licensed
Common models are per server (sometimes split into physical and virtual), per virtual machine, per CPU socket for hypervisor backup, and per workstation, with cloud storage charged per GB or TB or included up to an allowance. Some vendors offer usage-based monthly billing, which suits estates that change often; others sell annual bundles. Our per-user vs per-device licensing guide helps you count workloads accurately.
How to choose
- List every server, VM and workstation, and decide which need full images and which only files.
- Set recovery time and recovery point objectives for each critical system.
- Estimate data size and change rate to size storage and bandwidth.
- Choose local, cloud or hybrid storage, with at least one immutable copy.
- Test a full restore of at least one server.
- Review retention: daily copies for a few weeks, with weekly or monthly copies kept longer, is a common pattern that balances storage with the ability to go back in time.
For managed backup, Forever Group provides cloud backup services.
How we help
We size the licences and storage you need, deploy agents, configure schedules and retention, and help you test restores. Licences sit on your Forever Systems account. Contact us and ask us for a quote.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between image and file backup?
Image backup captures the whole machine, so you can restore the system and its data in one go. File backup copies selected files and folders only.
Should backups be stored locally or in the cloud?
Ideally both: a local copy for fast restores and a cloud copy off-site for protection against fire, theft or ransomware reaching local storage.
Do laptops need backing up if files are in OneDrive or Google Drive?
If all work files are synced to cloud storage that is itself backed up, laptops may only need rebuilding. Files saved locally outside synced folders still need protection.