What is Virtual Server Backup? 6 Virtual Server Backup Solutions

Virtual servers are a type of virtual machine and are increasingly common in IT environments. They occur in virtualization environments and are typically observed in enterprises. Virtual servers are an alternative method for running a server system, and backups of these virtual servers are just as essential as physical server backups.

According to IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach for U.S. companies reached an all-time high of $11.5 million, a figure that underscores exactly how costly inadequate data protection can be.

These solutions are designed to protect entire virtual environments, including VM data, configurations, and system states. With capabilities like agentless backups, snapshot integration, and instant recovery, modern backup platforms enable IT teams to restore operations quickly and minimize downtime.

The virtualization strategy itself is also shifting. Since Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware, vSphere licensing has moved from perpetual, per-socket pricing to subscription-only, per-core bundles. This pushed many IT teams to add Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, or Proxmox VE alongside (or instead of) VMware. That makes the breadth of a backup solution’s hypervisor a bigger selection factor in 2026 than it was even two years ago.

In this guide, we’ll break down how virtual server backup works, the key benefits for IT teams, and the top virtual server backup software solutions to consider based on your environment and recovery requirements.

What is a virtual server backup?

A virtual server backup is a type of backup specifically designed to protect data stored on virtual servers, and it is an essential part of server management. It may include anything from certain files and applications to server configurations and snapshots of the entire virtual server system.

A virtual server backup is built using either a server virtualization hypervisor or an external backup application that connects to the designated storage to complete the backup.

What are the benefits of a virtual server backup?

Virtual server backups are highly specialized, as they are designed to serve only virtual servers. However, there are several advantages to using this type of server and its associated backup type. The major benefits of using virtual server backup are:

Virtual data protection

Virtual servers store vital information for the operation of an organization’s IT environment. The data can include anything from software and system files to server configuration settings. Regularly creating virtual server backups protects this important information and ensures that organizations can easily access any essential virtual server data.

Improved server reliability

Virtual server backup provides a copy of your server data in the event of accidental deletion, server hardware failure, or a software glitch. It acts as a safety net for the data on your virtual server, ensuring that the server remains functional and accessible. A virtual server’s reliability is critical for all the users and systems that depend on it.

Lower costs

The operating costs of virtual servers are much lower than those for physical servers. Supporting virtual servers by backing up the data on those virtual machines helps keep overall costs down. When your organization saves money in one area of IT management, you can invest that money elsewhere without sacrificing overall IT efficiency.

Minimized downtime

If your business cannot access or use its physical servers, virtual server backups can be recovered, allowing you to access your data and ensure business continuity. Virtual servers are also easier and faster to deploy and configure than physical servers, which streamlines disaster recovery processes.

Enhanced compliance

For some industries, businesses are required to maintain vital data for a specified period or for auditing purposes. Virtual server backup allows organizations to remain compliant with these regulations.

Key features to look for in virtual server backup software

When evaluating virtual server backup software, IT teams should focus on features that improve recovery speed, security, and scalability across virtual environments.

Agentless backup support

Agentless backups leverage hypervisor APIs (such as VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V) to protect virtual machines without installing agents on each VM. This simplifies deployment, reduces overhead, and improves scalability.

Image-based and granular recovery

Look for solutions that support both full image-level backups and granular recovery options. This allows you to restore entire VMs, specific disks, or individual files depending on the recovery scenario.

Instant VM recovery

Instant recovery enables IT teams to boot a VM directly from backup storage while restoration occurs in the background. This dramatically reduces downtime and helps meet strict RTO requirements.

Immutable backup storage

Immutable backups prevent data from being modified or deleted, even by administrators. This is a critical feature for defending against ransomware and ensuring reliable recovery points.

Automation and policy-based management

Advanced backup platforms allow you to automate backup schedules, retention policies, and testing procedures. This ensures consistent protection across environments and reduces administrative workload.

Multi-hypervisor and hybrid environment support

Modern IT environments often include a mix of on-premises and cloud workloads. The best virtual server backup software supports multiple hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, KVM) and integrates with cloud platforms for hybrid backup strategies.

Incremental and changed block tracking (CBT) backups

Incremental backups and CBT technology ensure that only changed data blocks are backed up after the initial full backup. This reduces backup windows, storage consumption, and network impact.

Built-in ransomware detection and scanning

Some solutions include malware scanning and anomaly detection within backup workflows. This helps identify compromised backups before restoration and improves overall security posture.

Reporting, monitoring, and alerting

Comprehensive reporting provides visibility into backup status, failures, and storage usage. Real-time alerts help IT teams quickly address issues and maintain backup reliability.

How this list was evaluated

We evaluated each tool against the criteria IT teams and MSPs raise most often when choosing virtual server backup software: hypervisor and platform coverage, ransomware protection, recovery speed, ease of deployment, and third-party user reviews on G2 and Capterra. NinjaOne is included and evaluated on the same criteria as every other tool on this list.

At a glance: 6 best virtual server backup solutions

The 6 best virtual server backup solutions

1. NinjaOne Backup

NinjaOne Backup is a cloud-native backup solution built into NinjaOne’s unified IT operations platform, protecting endpoints, servers, and SaaS applications (through the NinjaOne SaaS Backup) from a single, powerful platform.

Following its acquisition of Dropsuite in 2025, NinjaOne has been consolidating SaaS backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace into the same console.

Best for

Enterprises and mid-sized IT teams that want backup, endpoint management, and VM monitoring unified in one platform rather than managed across separate tools

Features

• Zero-trust storage: Data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with immutable storage protected by MFA.
• Ransomware rollback: NinjaOne Backup adds rollback capability to recover from ransomware events.
• Custom policies: Scheduling, retention policies, and alerts are configurable per device or group.
• VM monitoring: NinjaOne monitors VMware and Hyper-V hosts and VMs alongside physical endpoints in a single pane of glass, and protects the guest operating systems running on those VMs with the same image and file-based backup used for physical devices.
• Proof and recognition: Trusted by nearly 40,000 customers in 140+ countries, NinjaOne earned a 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader designation for Endpoint Management Tools.

Shortcoming

• Hypervisor-level backup: NinjaOne’s VM protection works at the guest OS level (image and file backup), not through agentless, host-level VM backup and replication across the hypervisor layer. Teams standardizing purely on hypervisor-native VM backup and replication should weigh that against NinjaOne’s device-level model.

What users say

Ernie Turner, Director of IT of Vetcor, needed an enterprise-ready IT management tool to handle the company’s hypergrowth. With the NinjaOne Platform, including its native backup tool, Turner and his team were able to replace 15 tools and experienced 20x faster new-clinic onboarding.

“NinjaOne Backup runs weekly on our servers,” said Turner. “We’ve had instances where servers fail, and thanks to NinjaOne Backup, we could recover and restore that data. NinjaOne Backup saved our bacon many times.”

Read more NinjaOne customer stories or check out NinjaOne reviews.

2. Veeam Backup & Replication

Veeam Backup & Replication is another type of backup solution available for IT environments. They currently offer image-level backups and can backup data on machines whether they’re virtual, cloud-based, or physical. The restore and recovery options include image-level restore, file-level restore, and more. Veeam can backup multiple types of devices including physical machines, virtual machines, cloud VMs, and NAS file shares.

Read this article on Veeam alternatives or check out NinjaOne vs. Veeam.

Best for

Enterprises with complex, multi-hypervisor environments that need deep VMware/Hyper-V/AHV integration and advanced recovery options and have the technical resources to manage setup and configuration.

Features

• Ransomware recovery: With instant recovery and secure storage, Veeam safeguards sensitive information and critical data from cyberattacks. It can also scan backed-up files to ensure they’re not compromised before restoration.
• Data backup: Veaam allows IT teams to create copies of business data for recovery purposes in the event of a cyberattack or disaster.
• Monitoring: This platform provides tools to monitor backup infrastructure and generate insightful reports.

Shortcomings

• Set-up and learning curve: Veeam’s initial setup can be challenging, especially for newer IT professionals. (Verified G2 review)
• Reporting: Users say that the platform’s generated performance reports lack some vital information. (Verified G2 review)
• Out-of-box features: Some of the more advanced features are behind higher tiers. (Verified G2 review)

3. Hornetsecurity VM Backup

Formerly Altaro VM Backup, Hornetsecurity VM Backup is a backup solution built to protect data on Hyper-V and VMware. It uses immutable cloud storage for ransomware protection, ensuring that backed-up data cannot be altered or deleted. VM Backup also provides features such as deduplication, continuous data protection, and centralized management of your VM backups.

Best for

SMBs running Hyper-V or VMware (and increasingly Proxmox) that want straightforward VM backup with strong ransomware protection and responsive support, without enterprise-level complexity.

Features

• Ransomware protection: VM Backup utilizes immutable cloud storage, protecting backup files from ransomware attacks.
• Granular restoration: Data restoration through Windows virtual servers provides users with file-level recovery for files and folders.
• Automation: Backups can be scheduled through VM Backup’s automation tools, streamlining data protection processes.

Shortcomings

• User interface: According to reviews, Hornetsecurity VM Backup’s interface is not as user-friendly as other alternatives in this article. (Verified G2 review)
• Initial setup: Capterra user reviews state that the platform can be complex to initially set up. (Verified Capterra review)
• Granular options: Reviews on both G2 and Capterra note that the simplicity of the platform is also a shortcoming, as Hornetsecurity lacks granular and customization options. (Verified G2 review)

4. Unitrends Backup and Recovery

Unitrends Backup and Recovery, a Kaseya company, is an all-in-one data protection and disaster recovery solution. The platform integrates backup, replication, deduplication, archiving, and instant recovery into a single interface. Users can protect physical, virtual, and cloud environments, with AI-based detection to identify and resolve security attacks and other software issues before they occur.

Read about Unitrends alternatives or check out NinjaOne vs. Unitrends.

Best for

Organizations that need a centralized, all-in-one backup appliance covering virtual, physical, SaaS, and cloud workloads under one interface.

Features

• Automation: Unitrends allows users to automate data protection processes, including backup creation and testing.
• Deduplication: To reduce storage usage, Unitrends’ deduplication scans for redundant data and deletes it.
• Cloud backup: Virtual machines, files, and virtual servers can be backed up and stored via the cloud for off-site storage.

Shortcomings

• Interface: Multiple G2 reviews state that the platform could improve its user experience, particularly its current level of intuitiveness. (Verified G2 review)
• Performance: The platform can occasionally slow down when backing up larger sets of data. (Verified G2 review)
• Customer experience: Users have reported difficulty connecting to technical support and sometimes not receiving responses to their inquiries. (Verified G2 review)

5. Acronis Cyber Protect

Acronis Cyber Protect is a backup software that integrates with ransomware protection to keep your data safe and secure. It provides file and disk-image backup, continuous data protection, and flexible storage options. Unique features of Acronis Cyber Protect include anti-malware scanning of backups, a data protection map, forensic data collection, and additional capabilities.

Note: Acronis offers this as Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud for MSPs and service providers, and as Acronis Cyber Protect for organizations that manage their own environments directly.

Read about Acronis alternatives or check out NinjaOne vs. Acronis.

Best for

Security-conscious organizations that want backup and endpoint protection integrated into a single product, particularly in regulated industries.

Features

• Disk-image backup: Acronis Cyber Protect can create an exact copy of a virtual server or machine, allowing for more granular restoration.
• Physical-to-Virtual Recovery: Users can boot physical workloads onto a virtual server with on-demand and scheduled conversions.
• Disaster recovery: With Acronis Cyber Protect, IT professionals can create copies of virtual servers and host them in the cloud for added data protection.

Shortcomings

• Integrations: A G2 review noted occasional issues when integrating with AQS or Azure. (Verified G2 review)
• Resource-heavy: Acronis can consume significant system resources, which may slow down older machines. (Verified G2 review)
• Ease of use: The interface can be complex to navigate, especially for new users. (Verified G2 review)

6. Nakivo Backup & Replication

Nakivo Backup & Replication offers VM data protection for a wide variety of organizations like MSPs, SMBs, and enterprises. It is an agentless solution that uses one platform to manage backups and perform routine backup tasks. Nakivo also offers the option to be installed on a supported machine or deployed as a virtual appliance, depending on what works best for your organization.

Best for

SMBs and MSPs that need lightweight, agentless VM backup across multiple hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, Proxmox), with flexible deployment options.

Features

• Ransomware protection: With Nakvio, users can backup virtual servers to secure storage and scan backups for malware before restoration.
• Physical-to-Virtual Recovery: Users can boot physical Windows and Linux machines onto virtual servers and machines, allowing for better business continuity.
• Automation: Nakvio enables IT professionals to automate and schedule backup processes for improved efficiency.

Shortcomings

• Recovery time: Some G2 users have stated that recovering large (or older) files can take longer than expected. (Verified G2 review)
• Replication: Reviews state that the platform’s real-time replication feature could be improved, as users need to restart it manually. (Verified G2 review)
• Advanced features: Organizations that need more advanced features need to access the platform’s higher tiers. (Verified G2 review)

Virtual server backup is key to effective server management

A virtual server backup is critical to ensure that the data that resides on the virtual machine is protected and secure. There are a variety of virtual server backup options to choose from, and each solution comes with its own strengths. Finding the virtual backup software that best suits the needs of your organization will lead to more efficient server management.

NinjaOne provides software that helps you back up virtual server data, while also providing the ability to monitor and manage those virtual servers across VMware and Hyper-V environments from a single pane of glass. With immutable cloud storage, chainless image backups, bare-metal recovery, and real-time visibility into key metrics, NinjaOne gives IT teams everything they need to keep virtual servers protected and recoverable.