The perfect utility: Great functionality, great support, great value
Necessary information: Bought first PC in 1983. From MS-DOS to Windows 11, it's been my hobby and profession. Those who live this journey know how important utility programs are to your daily IT operation. And since 2003 when it was launched and I chance-discovered it, SyncBack Pro has been a cornerstone of my backup strategy. And not just backup, but "data management" may be a better term. I run three desktops and two laptops (and heap of test physical and VM hosts) - with three NAS boxes. Naturally I share data across them, and SBP does that for me. (Yes, I use four cloud providers, and SBP also helps keep them honest). Here's the thing: I use backup applications too, but proprietary backed-up data can never be as nimble and quick to recover with, as copied data. So all my hi-priority data gets the SBP treatment, and I can quote many instances of where it has proved a lifesaver. This current review was triggered by a support request - and let me quickly say that over the years, SBP support has been so efficient, quick, smooth, that you almost forget how good it is. That's the best kind of support. Before I stop, I must give SBP a plug in an unusual area because of the relevance here: My support request was not for a problem with backup, but because I find that I use it even for a non-backup, standard, copy operation - especially when the copy needs to be selective. I usually would PowerShell it - but SBP has a great UI, it allows a test "simulated copy", and it gives me a log report of the operation. In other words, it makes a great one-off Windows file copy utility. (I had a question about filters, hence the support request, answered within hours) I willingly accept that I am a SBP fanboy... umm.. fanman. But that is because it has hard-earned its spot in my very top utilities of the past four decades of PC-work.