Are you kidding me?? - This 11d version really stinks!

[David_Hall_2]

I have been a loyal Backup Exec user for years, but NO MORE. After upgrading to the new 11d version, and losing the ability to back anything up, and after placing a priority critical support call over 28 hours ago with no response, I give up. I am currently looking for a different product to replace Backup Exec (unfortunately), since the current pack of losers cannot make a phone call to solve a priority issue for a paying customer.
Symantec...if you guys actually read these posts, take this to heart and read some of the other opinions here. I have used Backup Exec since the version 6-7 days, and have always had great results. I have never in my years of experience had an experience like I have NOT had with you guys. No return calls after placing an urgent issue, even though I was told I would be getting a call back in 'no more than 2 hours'. This was early yesterday, and nobody has called. Not even a mail message or anything stating you acknowledge there is an issue you need to respond to, but are either too busy or too understaffed to attend to.
From the other posts here, it seems it's probably just as well I did not speak to anyone, because from other posts, it appears that your technicians don't know what's up anyway.
I removed the new version, and re-installed the older, reliable Veritas version that I know works. There I'll stay until I find another alternative that does not have Symantec on the label. I will be telling everybody I know about this, and I hope Symantec will actually react to the serious predicament they have placed many people in with this new piece of garbage.

[David_Hall_2]

Just a follow up on my comments...
I placed a priority ciritcal support issue on Jan 3 at about 10AM. Here it is on the 5th, and no response at all yet.

How can they do this to their customers and call themselves a 'leader..innovator'? I assure you, I am now an EX-customer, and will not return for any reason.

[Dennis_Thornton]

David,
Please post what you find with other products. There are several groups looking for an alternative. ;)

[Bill_Deans]

David,
Me also...

[Philip_Pearson]

Is it the product or the support (both), I have a phone conference with a Symantec customer service dude tomorrow, let me know what you think the main issues are.

I am getting backups now without too much problem, my biggest issue was getting help to sort the multitude of issues I had post install

[David_Hall_2]

Philip:
BOTH...no question. I could not get a priority critical support call answered within 48 hours. The product would not work after installation at all, it would not let me create a new backup job, alter an existing one, or in fact, even choose a backup device. After waiting 48 hours for a return call from tech support, I removed the version and am now back on 10d and running fine.

[colin_weiner]

The last two tickets I have opened with Symantec (for Version 9.1 and 10d) never got resolved by Symantec. They are at the top of my list for poor support.

http://walkingblind.com/blognew/index.php?/archives/26-Proof-that-Veritas-support-has-gone-down-hill-since-Symantec-has-taken-over.html

[Randy_Blasik]

I placed a support call in to them yesterday. After waiting on hold for an hour they took my name and phone number and claimed "Someone will call me back within 2 hours". They wound up calling me back 6:30PM, when I was obviously home. They guy left a email and voice mail but with no way to contact him back...

I'm still waiting for a call back.


By the way he was probably from a different country and extremely diffacult to understand on my voice mail so I can imagine how the "support" call will go when I actually get a hold of him.

[Harry_Beekman]

I have used Veritas BackuExec quiet a long time now, 8.6 was good but the interface not. The newer versions all worked great, never had to much of a problem, but now....... I do not get reply's of the support calls I make and if they phone me after a couple of days they call me in the middle of the night, or call me twice in a hour with the same quiestions (no kidding!!).
The manual has an big error regarding sharing NDMP option and local tape device, leaving me with a situation that I can not normaly backup My NetApp filer.
I having serius problems backing up the Lotus databases, had to install Openfile option to get it work, and now the job hangs and I have to restart my server!
The performance is realy poor.
I get the same feeling that I had with Acrserve, yes it was a good product until CA messed it up. And now I see BackupExec with the same issues. Guess its time for something else.

I am realy disapointed in the version 11d, it realy sucks bigtime, and the support is below every level of Professional IT services and they even dare to ask money for it!

[Dennis_Thornton]

David,
Did you go with another solution? If so, could you post who you evaluated and who you went with? TIA

[Harry_Beekman]

I am currently looking in to bakbone netvault. I still have a hard feeling with Arcserve but it seems that version 11.5 is ok.
Both products offer much better NDMP options than BackupExec.
And support?: I had realy bad expirience with Arcserve a couple of years ago and I will not forget that! I do not know for NetVault but I have not found anyone with problems on the internet yet.
I hope this helps!!!

[Dennis_Thornton]

I downloaded the UltraBac eval for a second time today. Within 20 minutes I received an email from the regional account manager. In that email it was clear they still knew who I was and that I was running on x64. My first eval with them I spent an hour on support. The tech. knew the product intimately, was extremely easy to understand, and was very, very, helpful.

I pulled a bonehead move and went for the product with the glitzy interface and bought BE.

Good support is now the #1 criteria.

I'm now doing an in depth eval of UltraBac for our D2D and D2Tape solution. Acronis is being considered for Bare Metal Recovery.

[Rogue_One]

I don't know what's going on with Symantec here, but seeing how their support is treating everyone, my guess is that they are either incapable of producing a quality product and supporting it, or they don't care about their customers (or both). Maybe the guys at Symantec who make the decisions don't even know that there's a problem because their sales are still up. My suggestion to everyone is to let Symantec know that there is indeed a big problem. We can start by going to online retailers that sell Backup Exec and start giving it low ratings, thereby discouraging people from buying this software. I just recently entered my rating at CNET and one at pricegrabber.com. I was surprised to see that there was only one other rating ever given. No wonder Symantec thinks that they're doing a fine job! If sales start dropping though, maybe the guys that make the decisions (and have allowed the situation to get to this point) will wonder what's going on and start looking into what needs to be done to fix it. The guys in the support department get their heads bitten off by guys like us every day, but it's not their fault that the software engineers did what they did and they probably don't have any say in anything about how it's handled anyway. No, what gets big companies' attention is the bottom line. Let the ratings begin!