We are often asked how Rubrik Security Cloud differs from AWS Backup. It's a valid question because, at first glance, the two solutions seem similar. Both have cloud-first, API-driven architectures. Both are built specifically to ensure reliable backup and recovery for data stored across AWS. Both support a wide range of the most popular AWS workloads including EC2, EBS, S3, RDS and EKS.

However, there are several key differences that many Rubrik customers value: 

Over a series of articles, we will explore each of these differences in detail and why customers may choose one solution over the other. This article dives into one of the most valued benefits of any product, total cost of ownership (TCO).

Rubrik’s Laser Focus on TCO

When Rubrik embarked on the development of its Cloud Native Protection for AWS, we did so with a clear understanding that cloud costs can often be unpredictable and complex. Recognizing this, optimizing TCO became a critical factor in the design philosophy. This focus reflects a deep understanding of the challenges organizations face with fluctuating cloud expenses and the need for predictable, manageable costs—without compromising on data protection and operational efficiency.

There are fey functionalities embedded within Rubrik's solution that are a direct response to these challenges—functionality that turns cloud's cost variability into an advantage.

For example, policy-driven management simplifies the complex lifecycle of data backups—from creation through to expiration—reducing both the operational workload and the potential for costly human error. We also added storage tiering, coupled with value-added features such as Data Threat Analytics, to address TCO challenges. 

These features (among others) are illustrative of Rubrik's comprehensive approach to not just meeting the technical needs of AWS users but doing so in a way that directly addresses the critical importance of managing and predicting cloud costs. Through this lens, Rubrik's Cloud Native Protection for AWS is not merely a set of tools for data management but a strategic solution aimed at delivering security, accessibility, and efficiency in a cost-optimized manner.

Why Rubrik Comes Out Ahead

Let’s explore some of the key areas in which Rubrik provides an overall lower total cost of ownership compared to the native AWS Backup service.

Backup Storage

When processing S3 backups specifically, AWS Backup requires that all point-in-time copies directly write to warm storage before any other data management processes take place. This results in many customers having a hard requirement to shell out $0.05/GB/Month to store their backups. At that price, backup storage costs just as much, if not more, than that of the production storage being protected.

Rubrik does not have this requirement of directly writing to warm storage. In fact, customers can choose to directly write their backups to nearly all of the AWS object storage options listed below, resulting in a much lower cloud bill to host backups.

  • S3 Standard ($0.02/GB/Month)

  • S3 Standard-IA ($0.0125/GB/Month)

  • S3 Standard OneZone IA ($0.01/GB/Month)

  • S3 Glacier IR ($0.004/GB/Month)

  • S3 Glacier Deep Archive ($0.001/GB/Month)

In addition to leveraging lower cost storage, Rubrik further reduces your storage footprint by leveraging compression. While AWS does have the ability to tier data to an archive tier, it only supports full backup tiering. This, coupled with a 90 day minimum retention rate raises costs even further.

Alternatively, Rubrik supports tiering both full and incremental backups to archives, again, lowering the overall TCO for an organization. As a result, Rubrik offers an overall lower TCO than AWS Backup. 

Optimized Snapshot Retention

Both Rubrik and AWS Backup leverage an incremental-forever approach when storing backup data: the first backup is a full backup and subsequent backups contain only the incremental changes since the previous backup.

However, Rubrik requires much less storage capacity to host backups, especially when dealing with long-term retention requirements. 

The difference is in the dependencies of the snapshot chains. As illustrated below, AWS lays data down in a linear fashion, with one snapshot directly dependent on the one before it. When the time comes to expire snapshots or perform lifecycle management, snapshots can be removed from the chain, but the underlying data that hasn’t been modified in any of the future snapshots remains within the backup chain. 

For example, we can see the snapshot D2 has been removed, however the underlying data for block 1 remains intact and on your storage (and your AWS bill).

Optimized snapshot

Rubrik combats this with Optimized Snapshot Retention, a unique feature that lays data down in a tree format rather than a linear format. As shown below, rather than depending on preceding snapshots, Rubrik creates a branch for each frequency.

Below we see a new chain created for the weekly retention. Subsequent weekly and monthly frequencies would also result in a new incremental chain. As shown, this provides true lifecycle management and removes the dependencies to keep expired snapshots or their underlying data, while still delivering data consistency and lightning-fast recovery.

Linear snapshot

With Rubriik’s Optimized Snapshot Retention, customers can store one full backup with no need for expensive background consolidation, all while providing a fast and efficient restore process.

And of course, lower overall TCO in the process.

Backup Auditing and Reporting

AWS offers basic reporting functionality through AWS Backup Audit Manager, which allows for the reporting of the compliance status of your backup policies and activities. Backup Audit Manager leverages a fixed pricing model, charging $1.25 per 1000 evaluations per account per region.

But AWS Config is required to track backup activity—which drives your cloud bill up even higher. And if you want to activate alerting across various AWS Organizations, EventBridge is yet another required service coming at yet another additional cost.

Rubrik, on the other hand, takes a broader and more analytical approach to reporting, designed to offer deep insights into data management, security, and operational efficiency. And best of all, all Rubrik reports and alerting are built into the platform, requiring no extra services to be activated, ensuring a predictable cost model for organizations.

Rubrik’s reporting capabilities also extend beyond compliance and operational monitoring to include detailed analytics on data usage, cost trends, and optimization opportunities. These advanced analytics can be crucial for businesses looking to optimize their data protection strategies for cost, performance, and risk management. Rubrik's integration with various cloud and on-premises environments allows for a unified view across the data landscape, offering granular insights that can drive strategic decision-making, particularly in multifaceted IT environments. 

Storage Tiering

Rubrik further differentiates on cost when it comes to storage tiering. Rubrik's approach to storage tiering is intelligently designed to automate the movement of data across different storage classes, ensuring that data is stored in the most cost-effective manner without compromising on accessibility or protection. This allows organizations to ensure that frequently accessed data is readily available, while less critical or less accessed data is moved to more cost-effective storage options, such as Amazon S3 Glacier or Deep Archive.

In contrast, AWS Backup allows users to define lifecycle policies to transition backups to colder storage tiers, such as S3 Glacier or Deep Archive, which can help reduce costs. However, this requires more manual intervention and oversight to optimize cost-savings fully. Furthermore, AWS has a hard requirement that all data land on warm storage first, before any tiering or data movement can take place. This lacks the advanced automation and analytics capabilities found in Rubrik, which can proactively manage and optimize data across different environments and applications for cost, compliance, and performance in a more seamless and efficient manner.

In essence, Rubrik's storage tiering offers a more advanced, automated solution that can lead to substantial cost savings, particularly for enterprises with large volumes of data that need to be managed across varying levels of access frequency and compliance demands. This, combined with Rubrik's broader data management and analytics capabilities, positions it as a potentially more cost-effective solution than AWS Backup for organizations seeking to optimize their cloud storage costs and data protection strategies comprehensively.

Remember The Soft Costs

When assessing the TCO for backup and recovery solutions, it's easy to focus solely on the sticker price. However, soft costs—those not immediately apparent on an invoice—can significantly impact your bottom line.

Rubrik shines in reducing these hidden expenses, presenting a compelling argument for its cost-efficiency compared to AWS Backup.

First, Rubrik’s intuitive interface provides a gentle learning curve for those looking to implement data security around their AWS data. This allows organizations to optimize resources, driving focus on areas within the company that are revenue generating, rather than spending time on trivial backup and recovery tasks.

Second, Rubrik’s API-first architecture is a game-changer for organizations looking to automate their data backup and recovery processes. This design allows for seamless integration with your existing IT infrastructure and applications, enabling automation of repetitive tasks and freeing up your team to focus on more value-added activities. 

Whether you leverage Rubrik’s prebuilt integration for Infrastructure as Code toolsets such as Terraform, or you’re building out automation around our fully supported SDKs for PowerShell, Python, and GO, any process that is accomplished within the Rubrik UI can also be automated using your tool of choice.

And finally: Redundant, obsolete, or trivial (ROT) data can be a silent budget drainer, taking up valuable production storage space and incurring unnecessary costs. Rubrik's capacity to identify and manage ROT data stands as a remarkable advantage, enabling you to effortlessly move your redundant data to a lower cost tier of storage or delete it entirely. This translates into direct savings on production storage costs and minimizes your overall risk should a cyber attack ever occur. 

Maximizing TCO

In choosing between AWS Backup and Rubrik, it ultimately comes down to your organization's specific needs and how you value TCO. AWS Backup offers a straightforward, integrated solution for AWS environments but may lead to higher costs due to its warm storage requirement and additional charges for auditing and reporting features.

Conversely, Rubrik stands out for its focus on optimizing TCO. With its flexible storage options, inclusive reporting, and advanced storage tiering capabilities, Rubrik can potentially offer a more cost-effective solution for those concerned with both upfront and long-term costs.

For organizations looking for granular control and keen on optimizing their cloud expenditure, Rubrik presents a compelling case with its suite of features aimed at reducing TCO. If your priorities lean towards flexibility, advanced features, and overall cost savings, Rubrik could be the more advantageous choice for managing your AWS backups. Want to experience Rubrik Security Cloud for yourself? Take our self-guided, interactive hands-on-lab today!