Frequently Asked Questions

Product Information

What is N2WS Backup & Recovery v4.4 and what are its main enhancements?

N2WS Backup & Recovery v4.4 is an enterprise-grade backup and disaster recovery solution for AWS and Azure environments. The main enhancements in v4.4 include direct backup to cold tier storage for Azure Blob and Wasabi S3, cost-effective long-term Azure storage with seamless Blob integration, transparent per-VM pricing, automated archiving to Wasabi S3 for multi-cloud storage, advanced snapshot technology for rapid restores, streamlined failover and failback, and targeted partial retry for policy execution failures. Note: Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics.

How does N2WS help with Azure long-term storage and cost optimization?

N2WS v4.4 enables direct backup to Azure Blob cold tier storage, allowing customers to move data and applications to cost-effective Azure repository (vault) storage for long-term retention. By leveraging Azure Blob storage tiering and transparent per-VM pricing ( per VM plus storage consumed), customers can save up to 80% compared to Azure Backup, which charges based on VM and volume size (e.g., plus storage for 1.2TB vs plus storage with N2WS). Note: Azure storage costs are still incurred separately; best fit for organizations seeking predictable backup costs.

What is the benefit of Wasabi S3 integration in N2WS v4.4?

N2WS v4.4 allows customers to automate archiving to Wasabi’s third-party S3-compatible storage repositories. This provides cost-effective, hands-free multi-cloud storage management, isolates backup data from production in a different cloud (reducing vendor lock-in risk), and supports regulatory requirements for off-site storage. Note: Wasabi storage costs are billed separately; verify Wasabi region availability for your compliance needs.

How does N2WS v4.4 improve backup and restore performance?

N2WS v4.4 leverages advanced cloud-native, platform-independent block-level snapshot technology for maximum-speed read and write access across Azure, AWS, and third-party repositories. This enables rapid restores from any repository and seamless access to both Azure and third-party storage. Note: Restore speed may depend on underlying cloud provider performance and network conditions.

What is the Partial Retry for Policy Execution Failures feature?

The Partial Retry for Policy Execution Failures feature in N2WS v4.4 enhances backup efficiency and reliability by retrying only failed resources during a backup policy execution, without reprocessing successful ones. This saves time and costs, and improves overall backup success rates. Note: Partial retry does not address failures caused by underlying cloud provider outages.

How does N2WS v4.4 handle failover and failback scenarios?

N2WS v4.4 introduces Enhanced Recovery Scenarios Functionality, which removes uncertainty during planned failover and ensures efficient failback. It supports custom tags for recovery scenarios, allowing retention of backup tags and marking Disaster Recovery targets, making it easier to differentiate between original and DR targets. Note: For unplanned disaster scenarios, additional manual steps may be required.

Pricing & Cost Optimization

How does N2WS v4.4 pricing for Azure backups compare to Azure Backup?

N2WS v4.4 uses transparent per-VM pricing for Azure backups ( per VM plus storage consumed), compared to Azure Backup, which charges based on both VM and volume size (e.g., plus storage for a 1.2TB VM). This model can save customers up to 80% on backup costs, especially as environments scale and retention requirements increase. Note: Storage costs are billed separately by Azure; actual savings depend on your environment size and retention policy.

What cost savings can customers expect with N2WS v4.4 for long-term backup storage?

By combining optimal Azure storage tiering and per-VM pricing, N2WS v4.4 enables customers to save up to 80% on long-term backup storage compared to Azure Backup. For example, backing up a 1.2TB VM costs plus storage with N2WS versus plus storage with Azure Backup. Note: Savings are most significant for larger environments and longer retention periods; actual results may vary.

Features & Capabilities

What integrations does N2WS offer for backup and disaster recovery?

N2WS offers integration with third-party monitoring tools, identity providers, and compliance reporting platforms such as Datadog, Splunk, and Bocada. It also provides a RESTful API for automation and integration with external systems. Note: Some integrations may require additional configuration or licensing; see the API documentation for details.

Does N2WS provide an API for automation?

Yes, N2WS provides a RESTful API that allows automation of tasks such as user onboarding and backup management. The API is designed to simplify automation compared to AWS Backup, which requires Lambda scripting. Documentation is available at N2WS RESTful API documentation. Note: API usage may require technical expertise; consult the Quick Start guide for implementation details.

What technical documentation is available for N2WS users?

N2WS provides comprehensive technical documentation, including a user guide, release notes, RESTful API documentation, upgrade guides, and troubleshooting resources. These are available at the user guide and release documentation. Note: Some resources may require login or support access.

Security & Compliance

What security and compliance certifications does N2WS hold?

N2WS is independently certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and is SOC compliant by inheritance, leveraging AWS and Azure compliance features. It also supports FedRAMP, ITAR, and CJIS compliance when deployed in AWS GovCloud. Customers can request a copy of the ISO certificate by contacting customer.success@n2ws.com. Note: For industry-specific compliance requirements, review your cloud provider's compliance documentation as well.

How does N2WS protect against ransomware and accidental deletion?

N2WS provides immutable, air-gapped backups and end-to-end encryption (TLS/HTTPS) to protect data from ransomware and accidental deletion. Multi-factor authentication, strong password policies, and network protection features further enhance security. Note: No backup solution can guarantee 100% protection; regular testing and layered security are recommended.

Use Cases & Customer Success

Who can benefit from using N2WS v4.4?

N2WS v4.4 is designed for enterprises, public sector organizations, managed service providers (MSPs), and businesses operating in multi-cloud environments. It is especially beneficial for those seeking cost-effective, compliant, and flexible backup and disaster recovery for AWS and Azure. Note: Organizations with highly specialized or on-premises-only environments may require alternative solutions.

What industries are represented among N2WS customers?

N2WS customers include organizations from retail & e-commerce (Skechers, Dressbarn), education (St. John's University), public sector (City of Oakland, Bahrain Ministry), transportation & logistics (Deutsche Bahn), nonprofits (Best Friends Animal Society, Goodwill), healthcare & pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson, Philips), finance & insurance (Allan Gray), IT & software, and managed service providers. For more examples, see the case studies page. Note: Industry-specific requirements may affect deployment options.

Can you share specific customer success stories with N2WS?

Yes. For example, Skechers standardized backup and recovery across a multi-cloud IT estate, saving costs and enhancing data protection (Skechers case study). St. John's University improved backup reliability and reduced costs by eliminating legacy tape storage (St. John's University case study). DB Systel automated backup for 1,500+ volumes and 700 servers, saving 20% operational time (DB Systel case study). Note: Results may vary by organization and deployment.

Implementation & Support

How long does it take to implement N2WS and how easy is it to start?

N2WS implementations can be completed in as little as two weeks, supported by dedicated Customer Success Managers, onboarding calls, and comprehensive documentation. Deployment options include AWS Marketplace AMI or CloudFormation templates. A 30-day free trial is available without a credit card. Note: Implementation time may vary based on environment complexity and internal processes.

Competition & Comparison

How does N2WS compare to Azure Backup for long-term storage?

N2WS offers direct backup to Azure Blob cold tier storage with transparent per-VM pricing ( per VM plus storage), compared to Azure Backup's pricing based on VM and volume size (e.g., plus storage for 1.2TB). N2WS enables up to 80% cost savings, supports cross-subscription and cross-region DR, and eliminates vendor lock-in by supporting Wasabi S3. Azure Backup may be preferable for organizations fully standardized on Azure or requiring native Azure support. Note: N2WS requires separate storage billing and may not support all Azure-specific features.

What are the advantages of N2WS over AWS Backup?

N2WS supports features not available in AWS Backup, such as DR backups of encrypted resources, 60-second backup intervals, multi-generation file/folder level recovery, intelligent storage tiering, and customizable compliance reporting. N2WS also offers a RESTful API for automation, while AWS Backup requires Lambda scripting. AWS Backup may be preferable for organizations seeking a fully native AWS solution. Note: N2WS is best fit for multi-cloud or compliance-driven environments; AWS Backup may offer deeper integration with AWS-native services.

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N2WS Launches v4.4 enabling direct backup to cold tier storage for Azure Blob and Wasabi S3

By combining optimal Azure storage tiering pricing and transparent per-VM pricing, customers can save up to 80%.
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New backup and recovery solution offering reveals major enhancements including lower, predictable Azure long-term cloud storage pricing, direct backup to Wasabi S3 for cost-efficient cross-cloud storage, elimination of uncertainty during a planned failover or failback and more.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — March 26, 2025 — N2WS, a leading provider of data protection solutions for enterprise-grade production environments in the public cloud announced today the general availability of N2WS Backup & Recovery 4.4.

Public cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), such as Microsoft Azure, continues to rapidly grow in adoption for production IT workloads. However, customers face significant challenges when locked into a single vendor storage services, including inflated, non-transparent pricing models and extended restore times.

With NEW N2WS Backup & Recovery, N2WS extends its broad platform support with a comprehensive, enterprise-ready solution for added cost effective data lifecycle management (DLM) in Azure, cross-cloud storage support with Wasabi, more failback and failover control and certainty, and updated API integrations for better-than-ever restore performance and savings.

Cost-effective long-term Azure storage with seamless Azure Blob integration

N2WS version 4.4 enables customers to move data and applications to an Azure repository (vault) storage and to cost-effectively and easily store for long-term retention. Customers can secure their data even more by choosing both cross-subscription and cross-region disaster recovery for fast and reliable offsite data storage.

This Azure DLM enhancement both optimizes costs for Azure long-term storage and ensures those costs are predictable. N2WS Backup & Recovery leverages optimal Azure Blob storage tiering, providing customers with the ability to choose less expensive tiers as compared to Azure Backup. N2WS also has transparent charges per VM ($5 for each), as compared to Azure VM pricing which is based on VM and volume size.

Revolutionizing Azure backup costs: save up to 80% with per-VM pricing

By combining optimal Azure storage tiering pricing and transparent per-VM pricing, customers can optimize policies, avoid excessive or unexpected charges and save up to 80% utilizing Azure Blob storage. Example: If you have 1.2 TB of data in one VM, then the cost using Azure Backup would be $30 plus storage consumed vs $5 plus storage consumed for the same VM using N2W. Customers can significantly lower their cloud Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) particularly as environments scale and retention requirements become stricter.

Similar to N2W’s successful AWS Backup DLM model, with seamless Azure repository (vault) storage, customers can concentrate on their core operations without the burden of storage complexities or hidden fees.

Cost-effective storage with seamless Wasabi S3 compatibility across Multi Cloud environments

In addition, customers can now automate archiving to Wasabi’s third-party S3 compatible storage repositories for simplified, hands-free multi-cloud storage management. By adding support for Wasabi’s third-party S3-compatible storage repositories, N2WS now offers customers highly cost-effective storage options at competitive prices, isolates their backup data from production in an entirely different cloud, and thereby eliminates any risk of vendor lock-in. It also provides fully automated rapid recovery, enhances cross-cloud protection strategy and meets regulatory requirements for off-site storage.

Advanced snapshot technology delivers speed and flexibility across repositories

The N2WS platform now leverages advanced cloud-native, platform-independent block-level snapshot technology to deliver maximum-speed read and write access across Azure, AWS, and third-party repositories. It enables rapid restores from any repository, providing unmatched reliability and flexibility. By integrating secure snapshot technology with Azure APIs, it offers seamless access to both Azure and third-party repositories. These features empower customers to tailor their backups and storage options to meet their unique needs, far surpassing Azure backup by eliminating vendor lock-in and ensuring superior performance.

Streamlined failover and failback remove uncertainty, ensuring efficient recovery during planned scenarios

The Enhanced Recovery Scenarios Functionality removes the uncertainty of identifying resources during a planned failover, ensuring a quick and efficient failback once operations are restored. The new functionality introduces Custom Tags for Recovery Scenarios, enabling the retention of backup tags and the addition of fixed tags, such as marking Disaster Recovery targets. This improvement also enhances the differentiation between original and DR targets during failover. 

Targeted retries save time and costs while boosting backup reliability

The Partial Retry for Policy Execution Failures feature enhances backup efficiency and reliability by retrying only the failed resources, without reprocessing the successful ones. This not only saves time and costs but also boosts reliability by targeting only the failed backups, minimizing unnecessary policy-wide failures. By offering greater flexibility, it helps align customer expectations, reducing frustration and improving overall backup success rates.

“Efficiency and affordability are at the core of what sets us apart and resonates with our customers,” said Ohad Kritz, CEO of N2WS. “Our mission is to provide exceptional protection while helping them cut costs, improve backup efficiency, and simplify restore and disaster recovery testing. This commitment to making things ridiculously easy and fast has been the cornerstone of our success, and we’re excited to continue supporting our customers in the years to come.”

“Our mission has always been clear and focused,” said Ohad Kritz, CEO and co-founder of N2WS. “We excel in protecting data—that’s our specialty and our core strength. While others may branch into endpoint security or threat intelligence, losing focus, we remain dedicated to ensuring our customers are shielded from the evolving IT threat landscape. These latest multi cloud enhancements are a testament to our unwavering commitment to data protection and delivering vendor neutrality to our customers.”

About N2WS:

Founded in 2012, N2WS provides data protection solutions tailored for enterprise-grade production environments in the public cloud. Built from the ground up, N2WS offers comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises utilizing AWS and Azure infrastructures. Its solutions empower organizations to restore entire servers, instances, volumes, or files across different regions or cloud services, ensuring seamless transitions back to operational activities. To learn more, visit n2ws.com. Subscribe to the N2WS YouTube Channel, and follow the company on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Gilad David Maayan

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