Any Alternatives To What ShadowProtect Offers?

In the past I've been using Image For Windows, but I'm switching gears now, looking for something that offers a bit more and so I started playing with ShadowProtect.

Along with ShadowProtect I know quite a few imaging apps, just haven't looked at them lately to remember what they offer.

I wanted to know if anyone knows if there are any other good alternatives that offer, VM Imaging/VirtualBoot, Bare Metal Recovery and a Scheduler for automatic full and incremental backups, or the options to just do them manually by hand, full and incremental?

The one thing that is turning me off over ShadowProtect at the moment, when I look through the Backup wizard, it looks like in order to use what they call, 'Continuous Incrementals' is that you have to purchase the Image Manager and I don't like companies that sell you something, then you have to pay more to use a feature in it.

I find this bad marketing and sort of like the idea of a switch and bait. I mean it would be one thing if the product was free and if you wanted to use an Advance feature then you had to buy it, that would be one thing, but to sell something, then say now in order to have an advance feature you need to pay more, well that just takes the cake in my book and I think that's a real low ball from the company for doing this.

So now I'm looking for some other alternatives that can do what this product can do I mentioned at the top...


THANKS

 

Image Manager comes (free) with Shadow Protect. I believe it is a separate install (I don't use it), but it is free.

 

At the bottom of this page it shows as a 30 day trial;

http://www.storagecraft.com/trial_downloads.php

Unless this 3.5.0.5 version you can get for free and it works with the latest version... (But the URL when you click it says free trial installers) hmmm

http://forum.storagecraft.com/Community/files/9/default.aspx

 

http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

Take a look at the bottom of the page. It says "SP Desktop provides following benefits". Image Manager is third bullet point.

Also...

http://store.storagecraft.com/acb/stores/1/ShadowProtect-Desktop-40-P148C18.aspx

 

Ok my bad for not seeing those, BUT here's the confusion still, when you get ready to run a Backup and Click on the Continuous Incremental it says:

NOTE:
You must use the ShadowProtect ImageManager service with this option.

So now I think ah ha, a 'Service' and then look through the services to see it, but nothing there, then in the start menu there is also an HTML link called ImageManager Home Page, alright, so something at last, but it just takes you to StorageCraft's home page...

All I can say is I'm not seeing where the heck this so called Service is, all I see is the 30 day trial to download...

Boy talk about making things difficult...

 

Actually I was talking to them on the phone the other day...

Royalty on the ISO, why's that?


THANKS

 

Peter -

Thank you for clarifying all that- I've been using SP for so long that I'd forgotten all that - the need to request a valuation copy.

 

The short answer is no.

 

What's the long answer? LMAO...

 

The long(er) answer is no, not at the present time. At least not that my ignorant little self is aware of anyway.