Enterprise Backup Ledger 2026: 17 Vendors Scored
Seventeen enterprise backup vendors scored on capability since 2016, credibility, commercial risk, lock-in and AI, from public records only.
Reports in this series
How the Enterprise Backup Ledger scores 17 backup vendors: fixed anchors, public evidence only, a security-record rule and two entries left unranked.
Acronis is extending combined protection and recovery across additional hypervisors.
Arcserve is combining recovery validation with immutable storage and guided management.
Bacula Enterprise is extending plugin coverage and security controls around its daemon and catalog architecture.
Cohesity is joining two backup product lines under common management and cyber recovery services.
Commvault is combining hybrid protection with cleanroom recovery and agent interfaces.
Dell is consolidating protection management while retaining PPDM, Avamar and NetWorker roles.
Druva is extending a cloud-managed backup service across alternative hypervisors and cyber recovery workflows.
Zerto is extending journal-based VM recovery with vaulting and conversational operator tools.
Huawei documents backup software alongside a larger appliance portfolio.
HYCU is expanding hybrid protection while adding cloud database and threat-detection modules.
IBM is connecting established backup engines with recovery governance and threat scanning.
NAKIVO is extending VM recovery and replication across Proxmox while retaining several licence metrics.
OpenText is adding isolation, anomaly analysis and web recovery to an established enterprise backup engine.
Rubrik is extending backup security into identity and AI-agent resilience.
Sangfor presents backup and DR capabilities across HCI and cloud services.
Storware is expanding alternative-hypervisor coverage and restore paths with a channel-led delivery model.
Veeam is expanding recovery portability and cyber controls around Backup & Replication and ONE.
Part of the Enterprise Backup Ledger (edition 2026-10-03). How the scores work: methodology. Each vendor links to its own report.
Ranked vendors, by Ledger Index
| Vendor | Tier | Capability /100 | Momentum | Credibility /25 | Commercial risk /25 (lower better) | Lock-in /25 (lower better) | Integrator fit /20 | AI /20 | Ledger Index | Archetype |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veeam Data Platform (Backup & Replication / ONE) | Leader incumbent | 86.8 | +7.2 | 18.5 | 12.5 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 11.0 | 72.3 | Portable recovery platform |
| Commvault Cloud (Complete Data Protection / HyperScale X) | Leader incumbent | 84.4 | +11.2 | 16.5 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 16.5 | 12.0 | 71.0 | Hybrid recovery orchestration |
| Cohesity DataProtect / NetBackup (separate product lines) | Leader incumbent | 87.8 | +6.6 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 14.5 | 17.0 | 12.5 | 67.9 | Merged protection portfolio |
| IBM Storage Defender / Storage Protect | Storage-vendor suite | 82.8 | +6.2 | 17.0 | 12.5 | 15.0 | 13.5 | 10.5 | 65.1 | Governed recovery portfolio |
| NAKIVO Backup & Replication | Mid-market / MSP | 76.0 | +5.6 | 18.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 15.0 | 2.0 | 64.3 | VM recovery and MSPs |
| HYCU R-Cloud (Hybrid Cloud Edition) | Challenger | 72.8 | +7.0 | 17.0 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 15.0 | 7.0 | 63.8 | Hybrid controller expansion |
| Rubrik Security Cloud (data-centre protection) | Leader incumbent | 85.4 | +6.2 | 13.5 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 8.0 | 63.1 | Backup security expansion |
| Dell PowerProtect Data Manager / Avamar / NetWorker | Storage-vendor suite | 80.6 | +8.6 | 15.5 | 11.5 | 16.0 | 14.0 | 8.5 | 63.0 | Storage coupled protection |
| Bacula Enterprise (Bacula Systems commercial product) | Legacy enterprise | 78.8 | +8.8 | 16.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 2.0 | 62.5 | Plugin based enterprise engine |
| Druva Enterprise Workloads (hybrid VMs / servers / databases) | Mid-market / MSP | 72.2 | +5.6 | 17.0 | 11.5 | 17.5 | 14.0 | 13.5 | 62.4 | Cloud managed hybrid backup |
| Acronis Cyber Protect (15 / 16 / 17; cloud capabilities labelled separately) | Mid-market / MSP | 72.8 | +6.8 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 15.0 | 8.5 | 60.9 | Integrated protection and recovery |
| OpenText Data Protector | Legacy enterprise | 76.6 | +5.8 | 17.0 | 14.0 | 13.5 | 11.5 | 7.5 | 60.4 | Enterprise engine modernization |
| HPE Zerto | Storage-vendor suite | 62.0 | +13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 10.0 | 57.0 | Journal based VM recovery |
| Storware Backup and Recovery | Open-virtualization specialist | 63.8 | +8.8 | 15.5 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 1.5 | 56.9 | Alternative hypervisor specialist |
| Arcserve UDP (other portfolio products labelled separately) | Mid-market / MSP | 72.4 | +4.8 | 14.5 | 15.0 | 13.5 | 13.0 | 7.0 | 56.7 | Recovery validation suite |
Not ranked: insufficient public evidence (scores for reference only)
| Vendor | Tier | Capability /100 | Momentum | Credibility /25 | Commercial risk /25 (lower better) | Lock-in /25 (lower better) | Integrator fit /20 | AI /20 | Ledger Index | Archetype |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huawei OceanProtect DataBackup (software) | Regional candidate | 45.2 | +7.8 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 7.5 | 1.0 | 37.8 | Software eligibility unresolved |
| Sangfor backup / DR software candidate | Regional candidate | 39.8 | +14.6 | 11.5 | 13.0 | 17.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 38.8 | Integrated platform candidate |
Capability by domain today
| Domain | Veeam | Commvault | Cohesity | Rubrik | Dell | IBM | Zerto | OpenText | HYCU | Druva | NAKIVO | Arcserve | Acronis | Bacula Enterprise | Storware | Huawei | Sangfor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual and physical servers (12) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Databases and applications (12) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 1 |
| Recovery (14) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2 |
| Cyber resilience (14) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Storage efficiency and targets (10) | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Long-term retention and tape (6) | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Replication and DR (10) | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 | 3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Security and compliance (8) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| New-platform support (VMware exit) (8) | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Management at scale and automation (6) | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2.5 |
Capability by year
| Year | Veeam | Commvault | Cohesity | Rubrik | Dell | IBM | Zerto | OpenText | HYCU | Druva | NAKIVO | Arcserve | Acronis | Bacula Enterprise | Storware | Huawei | Sangfor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 49.4 | 50.6 | 53.8 | 53.0 | 50.2 | 43.0 | 38.2 | 55.8 | n/a | 42.4 | 36.8 | 48.6 | 40.6 | 36.6 | 22.0 | n/a | n/a |
| 2017 | 51.2 | 50.6 | 53.8 | 67.0 | 51.8 | 43.0 | 38.2 | 56.6 | 35.0 | 45.4 | 38.8 | 53.4 | 40.6 | 36.6 | 27.0 | n/a | n/a |
| 2018 | 51.2 | 50.6 | 55.2 | 70.2 | 51.8 | 51.2 | 39.6 | 56.6 | 35.0 | 46.8 | 46.2 | 53.4 | 45.4 | 45.0 | 27.0 | n/a | n/a |
| 2019 | 62.0 | 61.4 | 68.6 | 73.0 | 51.8 | 64.8 | 45.8 | 63.6 | 46.2 | 53.4 | 52.2 | 60.2 | 63.0 | 59.2 | 43.0 | n/a | 25.2 |
| 2020 | 66.2 | 61.4 | 68.6 | 73.6 | 51.8 | 64.8 | 49.0 | 63.6 | 48.0 | 54.8 | 59.6 | 60.2 | 64.4 | 60.6 | 43.0 | n/a | 25.2 |
| 2021 | 79.6 | 68.8 | 73.0 | 77.2 | 51.8 | 69.6 | 49.0 | 63.6 | 50.8 | 60.4 | 68.2 | 66.8 | 64.4 | 70.0 | 43.0 | n/a | 25.2 |
| 2022 | 79.6 | 73.2 | 81.2 | 79.2 | 72.0 | 76.6 | 49.0 | 70.8 | 65.8 | 66.6 | 70.4 | 67.6 | 66.0 | 70.0 | 55.0 | n/a | 25.2 |
| 2023 | 84.8 | 75.4 | 84.2 | 81.8 | 72.0 | 76.6 | 49.0 | 70.8 | 65.8 | 67.8 | 71.8 | 67.6 | 66.0 | 70.0 | 59.8 | 37.4 | 25.2 |
| 2024 | 86.4 | 75.4 | 85.0 | 82.6 | 72.0 | 76.6 | 57.4 | 74.4 | 65.8 | 69.2 | 73.8 | 69.0 | 66.0 | 73.4 | 61.0 | 37.4 | 25.2 |
| 2025 | 86.4 | 82.6 | 85.8 | 83.4 | 78.2 | 78.6 | 57.4 | 75.8 | 68.2 | 70.0 | 76.8 | 71.0 | 66.8 | 73.4 | 61.0 | 45.2 | 25.2 |
| 2026 | 86.8 | 84.4 | 87.8 | 85.4 | 80.6 | 82.8 | 62.0 | 76.6 | 72.8 | 72.2 | 76.0 | 72.4 | 72.8 | 78.8 | 63.8 | 45.2 | 39.8 |
How to read these scores
- Capability uses the same ten domains as the Open-Source Enterprise Backup Ledger, so commercial and open-source entries can be compared.
- History is scored at the end of 2016, 2019 and 2022 and today against fixed anchors; products launched later start in their launch year.
- The Ledger Index is shown only for 2023 onward, because credibility, risk and integrator fit are scored for that window only.
- Entries marked not ranked lack enough public evidence; their scores are shown for reference only.
Related reading
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