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Backblaze Business Backup

 & Dianna Gunn Contributor

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Backblaze Business Backup - Backblaze Business Backup (Credit: Backblaze)
4.0 Excellent

The Bottom Line

Backblaze Business Backup is an affordable, automated cloud backup solution that supports the GDPR and HIPAA protocols.

Pros & Cons

    • Easy-to-navigate interface
    • GDPR and HIPPA compliant
    • Group system simplifies managing team backups
    • Unlimited data backups
    • Two-factor authentication and private encryption keys enhance security
    • Relatively low cost
    • Mobile app doesn’t let you backup mobile devices

Backblaze Business Backup Specs

Apple macOS Client
Audit Logs
Business Continuity Features
Cloud Storage Without Local File System Sync
Encryption At Rest (Provider Managed Private Key)
Encryption At Rest (User Managed Private Key)
File Conflict Management
Group Permissions
HIPAA Compliance
ISO 27001 Compliance
Local File System Sync
Partial / Differential Sync
SOX Compliance Support (Audit Trail)
System Image Backup
Team Folders

Backblaze Business Backup is a cloud backup solution for small to medium-sized businesses. Compatible with Mac and Windows, Backblaze makes it easy to automate continuous backups and restore your data anytime, from any location. Backblaze is also highly affordable, letting you back up unlimited data without additional fees. It's compliant with GDPR and HIPAA data regulations, making it suitable for businesses dealing with highly sensitive data. However, if your business needs mobile device backup, we recommend you check out Acronis Cyber Protect, our Editors' Choice winner.


How Much Does Backblaze Business Backup Cost?

Backblaze Business Backup costs $99 per year or $189 for two years (it lacks a monthly payment option). A plan includes unlimited data backup with versioning that goes back one year. The unlimited data makes Backblaze for Business a highly affordable option for freelancers and other solopreneurs, especially compared with rival software. For example, Carbonite Backup costs a relatively pricey $287.99 per year for just 250GB of backup data.

(Credit: Backblaze/PCMag)

The app only lets you connect one computer per license. Each new computer and/or employee account costs an additional $99 per year or $189 for two years. You'll save money with Acronis Cyber Protect Standard ($85 per year for a single workstation) if your employees only need to back up small amounts of data.

Backblaze offers a cloud storage solution for enterprise businesses starting at $6 per TB per month. Larger businesses should contact Backblaze to receive a quote for the Enterprise plan, which includes additional security features like Okta device verification. Backblaze has a 15-day free trial.


Getting Started With Backblaze Business Backup

Backblaze can be installed and running in under two minutes. By default, the software continuously backs up all major folders. A pop-up asks you to enable location services, a great laptop feature that helps you find your PC if it gets lost or stolen.

The Settings area lets you select hard drives for Backblaze to back up, modify the backup schedule, and exclude folders. You can also create a private encryption key here to improve the overall security.

(Credit: Backblaze/PCMag)

To add team members, you must create a Group. You can customize the name and the version history (30 days or one year). There are two group types: Managed (where administrators perform backup restores on users' behalf) and Unmanaged (where administrators cannot manage individual users' accounts).

Once the group is created, you receive an invite link to send your employees. Alternatively, you can copy and paste their email addresses into the contact box so Backblaze can blast out invitations.

Each group can contain up to 5,000 accounts, and each account can manage up to 1,000 Backblaze Computer Backups. This makes setting up Backblaze for your company’s teams and employees incredibly easy.


Backups and Restores

You access backups by opening Backblaze and selecting Restore Options. There are four restoration options: downloading the files directly to your computer, creating a ZIP folder bundling all the files that need to be restored, having Backblaze compile a USB key and mail it to you, and accessing backups through the Backblaze mobile app.

Finding the files you want to restore is easy with Backblaze’s search function, which works like a less visual version of the Windows File Explorer. You can restore a hard drive, a single folder, or an individual file.

You can alter the timestamp at the top of the file search and click Go to view previous versions of your files or deleted files. I appreciated how intuitive this is compared with Carbonite's system, which requires right-clicking an individual folder or file to see previous versions. However, you can't view the full version history data like you can with OneDrive for Business.

Backblaze's website lets you view and restore files, too. The interface is more advanced, with options to filter the files that appear based on their activity. If you manage a group with admin powers, you can view files, including your employees’ devices.


Backblaze's Mobile Apps

The Backblaze mobile app (available for Android and iOS) lets you view your backed-up files on your phone and restore any files to your phone. This is a great way to quickly and securely move files from your computer to your handset.

Unfortunately, the Backblaze mobile app doesn’t offer advanced tools for organizing or viewing backups. This means you must navigate the full file tree whenever you want to access a specific document, which can be unpleasant on a smartphone’s smaller screen.

You can't back up files from your mobile device to Backblaze. This is common for business backup systems—Carbonite doesn't offer mobile backups, either—but some cloud storage tools, like Google Drive, do offer this feature.


Is Backblaze Business Backup Secure?

Backblaze encrypts files on your machine and sends them to the cloud over a network secured with secure socket layer (SSL) certification, the system used to encrypt most data sent to and from the web. It also uses proprietary symmetric encryption, a single shared key for encryption and decryption.

(Credit: Backblaze/PCMag)

All backups are stored in fully encrypted Storage Pods. Your login credentials are connected to a decryption key, which makes your files accessible when you log into Backblaze. You can set up two-factor authentication or enable a private encryption key to make it more difficult for malicious users to steal your data.


Verdict: Simple Solo and Team Backups

Backblaze Business Backup lets you create continuous, automated cloud backups in a few clicks. The Groups feature makes it easy to manage team backups, and the mobile app lets you grab files from any location. However, Backblaze can’t back up files from mobile devices—you need Google Drive or OneDrive for Business to do that. For those features and more, check out our Editors' Choice winner, Acronis Cyber Protect.

Final Thoughts

Backblaze Business Backup - Backblaze Business Backup (Credit: Backblaze)

Backblaze Business Backup

4.0 Excellent

Backblaze Business Backup is an affordable, automated cloud backup solution that supports the GDPR and HIPAA protocols.

About Our Expert

Dianna Gunn

Dianna Gunn

Contributor

My Experience

I've been building websites and marketing campaigns for small businesses since 2010. I also run two businesses of my own: Hired Gunn Writing & Consulting and the Weeknight Writers group. I'm obsessed with testing new tools to improve and expand these businesses, and I've written about those I've tried for sites like CNET, CodeinWP/WPShout, and WinningWP.

The Technology I Use

I use Firefox for my software reviews and testing but stick with Google Chrome for my work on the Weeknight Writers Group. I build all of my websites with WordPress. I'm still seeking the perfect CRM, though I'm leaning toward Apptivo. My email marketing solution is MailerLite. When I host virtual events, I use Zoom with a Logitech StreamCam and a Logitech H390 Wired Headset.

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