In the recent past we have looked at a few very good options for backing up and protecting your data. These varied in price all the way from basically $100 (Acronis TI 2020 Premium) to free (AOMEI Backupper Standard)… and nearly everything in between. Today we are going to show another option. An option that resides in-between these two extremes and yet offers almost everything people need, want, and possibly even desire in an imaging / backup software solution. We are of course talking about Ashampoo Backup Pro 14, which retails for $50 but routinely goes on sale for a mere $25 USD.
With their latest edition, Ashampoo has taken the ‘middle path’ when it comes to imaging solutions. What we mean is their goal was to offer 80-90 percent of what Acronis does, but do so at a price that is much more palatable. For example, a lot of people want their imaging software to come with Cloud Storage capabilities. This is because once you upload it, it is no longer your responsibility to make sure it is safe – it is the Cloud Storage providers responsibility. Beyond the low hassle factor, Cloud Storage really can save your data even if a natural disaster strikes and your house, your neighborhood, or even your entire island country is devastated (though in the last instance you have bigger worries than just your data being safe).
With all that said, a lot of people dislike being locked into one specific Cloud Storage provider. What about if you like DropBox this year… but next want to switch Google Drive, or One Drive… or etc. etc.? This flexibility is what Ashampoo offers as you can select which cloud storage provider to upload the backup to. Of course, the downside is you get zero cloud storage included with this program. It is up to you to decide what is best for your needs.
Make no mistake, cloud storage flexibility is just one of the features they have included – and all the ‘basics’ appear to be more than covered. Features such as disk error diagnostics (to make sure your backup is not copying ‘bad’ data), multiple backup schemes, backup file encryption, different compression levels, background backup options. Even recovery disc creation (for those times when your OS is corrupt and you want to recover it) is included. As you can see Ashampoo’s latest and greatest does indeed have a very interesting sale pitch. One that promises near parity with the premium priced options, just without the premium price tag. So let’s dig in and see if it is all sizzle and not steak… or indeed can live up to its marketing department’s promises!
