These products won a Top Rated award for having excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The list is based purely on reviews; there is no paid placement, and analyst opinions do not influence the rankings. Read more about the Top Rated criteria.
(1-25 of 75) Sorted by Most Reviews
Commvault is the eponymous data backup and recovery solution from the data management company headquartered in New Jersey. It provides solutions multi-cloud backup, protection for applications, databases, and virtual machines, end-point user data protection, and disaster recovery.…
Microsoft Exchange is a secure email / messaging gateway with file archiving and encryption / data loss capability, available as a hosted service (Exchange Online) or installed (Exchange Server).
AppRiver, now from Zix (acquired January 2019), is a hosted messaging gateway and security platform featuring anti-spam and email encryption / data loss capability.
With organizations facing new and unprecedented challenges, the need for a secure modern workplace has never been greater. As companies seek to achieve more with less and keep their increasingly remote workforces productive, they also face an array of evolving security and compliance…
Barracuda Essentials is an email security platform designed to protect users and businesses from volumetric threats like malware and spam, as well advanced threats like targeted spear phishing and ransomware, and provides email archiving and data protection from corruption and deletion…
Amazon Glacier is a low-cost cloud archiving and backup solution from Amazon Web Services.
UK company Mimecast offers the Mimecast Cloud Archive platform, for for enterprise information archiving, sync and recover, or to support discovery and migration.
Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP) is designed to future-proof infrastructure by delivering data protection and disaster recovery for every type of workload. Backed by heterogeneous, image-based technology that protects to and from any target, the vendor boasts combining enterprise-…
From development, test, and production of critical data to the retirement and archiving phase, Informatica Application ILM solutions are offered to help IT align the business value of data with the most appropriate infrastructure to manage it. Informatica Data Archive allows users…
Actiance was a social media compliance and archiving platform acquired by Smarsh in November 2017. It is now part of the technology underlying the Smarsh Communications Intelligence Platform. Actiance products Vantage and Socialite are now Connected Capture. Actiance Alcatraz is…
Zix Information Archiving, formerly sold under the name ZixArchive, stores an unlimited number of files and communications across email, SMS, and emerging platforms like Microsoft Teams and social media. It helps protect your organization against compliance violations and unplanned…
Proofpoint in Sunnyvale, California offers Enterprise Archive, a file archiving solution.
OpenText Archive Center is a scalable, multi-tenant archive helping organizations manage unstructured data (eg. email and files) while ensuring it is cost effectively and securely stored in the cloud, on premise or as a hybrid. The vendor states end users can access data from anywhere—…
Quest Software now offers an enterprise information archiving (EIA) solution via their acquisition of the Metalogix solution suite in 2018. Metalogix Archive Manager, available in two editions (Archive Manager for Exchange, and Archive Manager for Files), support email archiving,…
Barracuda Cloud Archive (Sonian) is a file archiving option developed by Sonian and now supported by Barracuda Networks since the November 2017 acquisition.
Solix Enterprise Data Management Suite (Solix EDMS) is an information lifecycle management solution, from Solix Technologies in Santa Clara. Solix helps infrastructure and operations leaders implement the right policies, processes, and technology for application decommissioning and…
Intermedia Email Plus Exchange Email is a combined email productivity and security suite, providing anti-phishing, email archiving, email backup and archiving, as well as access to AnyMeeting web conferencing included via a subscription.
Global Relay, headquartered in Vancouver, offers Global Relay Archive, a system for managing and archiving unstructured data (e.g. IM, email, etc) in a compliant manner.
The Barracuda Message Archiver is designed to help organizations reduce email storage requirements, meet demanding compliance requirements, and address e-discovery requests easily and effectively. Integration with the Barracuda Cloud provides long-term email storage and backup.
Bloomberg Vault Enterprise Archiving provides disaster recovery and compliant file storage and archiving solution.
Google Vault is an ediscovery and archiving service for messaging and content created through some applications in G Suite. Users can retain, search, and export an organization’s data from select apps with Vault for G Suite Business and Enterprise editions.
Archiving software, also known as Enterprise Information Archiving (EIA), is designed to efficiently store, index, and retrieve multiple file types in a long-term virtual archive. These files, such as images, invoices, CAD documents, voicemail, emails, website, and business social media content, are stored with metadata to meet discovery and classification requirements. This means the archive must be searchable to facilitate indexing and recovery of all stored material in its original context.
Data archiving is the process of identifying and transferring data that is no longer active from production systems to long-term storage. Archival software tools ensure that data is stored in an organized way and preserved in its original context for the long term.
Most companies use archiving software for email, instant messaging, and social media data compliance and retention. Archive software collects and packages files together and stores them in long-term storage, creating more short-term disk storage.
The key difference between archiving software and backup software is that archiving software deals exclusively with original historical data. An archive system is designed to allow continuous and easy access to decades of business data in its native form. In contrast, backup software duplicates files and data from one system to another to restore it quickly in the event of a failure.
Archiving software often includes the following features:
When comparing archiving software, consider the following:
Compliance requirements. Every business needs archival procedures that comply with regulations, but no one-size-fits-all solution exists across industries. It’s uncommon for a software solution to suit every possible need. Before evaluating options, assess and prioritize industry-specific characteristics vital to your company. Eliminate products that do not provide the essential features you need to meet corporate and industry requirements.
For instance, if your organization handles personal health information, you’ll need a solution that satisfies compliance laws, such as HIPAA’s long-term retention requirements. Organizations that handle sensitive and financial data will require advanced security and data restoration features. Also, consider if the service provider utilizes industry-certified data centers that meet ISO or SSAE compliance.
Storage mediums. It’s important to choose a software solution that works with the data and archival system your business is using. Possible storage mediums for data archiving include tapes, disks, flash storage, hard drives, and virtual and cloud options. Smaller companies and newer enterprises may find that physical storage mediums work best for them. However, as organizations get larger, virtual archives utilizing cloud storage are usually a better solution. Cloud storage helps enterprises streamline processes, increase security and compliance, and offers high capacity with lower storage costs.
Scalability and support. Regardless of how much data is being processed today, increased storage needs are inevitable. If your business is growing, you’ll want to find a solution that can scale with you. Also, consider whether the product can support your organization’s hardware platform and the level of customer service you may need to onboard.
Demo and test. Take the time to explore your options and ask for a demo to test the solution you are considering. Look for vendors who can provide services for all of your data types (e.g., email, mobile voicemail and text messages, social media, invoices, or sensitive data). This will help you streamline your processes and manage your communications from a centralized system.
Access controls. Some archiving solutions only allow you to create pre-set user roles. In contrast, others will enable you to customize the number of roles you can create and assign permissions to specific ones. It's also critical for the archiving software to provide a complete access log (activity trail). This will help departments restrict user activity on the platform and monitor for potential misuse.
Start an archiving software comparison here.
Most archiving software products are priced by month or year. The cost depends on the volume of data to be processed and the level of features. Most vendors in this category offer free trials, and some free tools are available that can be helpful for limited budgets. Entry-level plans range $10 - $50/mo or $25 - $50/yr. Mid-market plans range from $100-$350/mo. Some one-time license options also exist. Single license options range from $275 - $3750/user. Enterprise-level single license options can be as much as $15,000.
Popular archiving software products include:
