Despite the availability of a small business edition, Backup Exec doesn't really shine as a small business product, especially when compared against alternatives specifically aimed at the SME which are both easier and simpler to use. Higher up the food chain the Symantec software has a lot more going for it and in a large enterprise the ability to spread backup processing across multiple systems and only buy the options actually required are real selling points. That said, CA's ARCserve is just as effective and comes with deduplication as standard. Moreover, Backup Exec faces stiff competition from its sister product, NetBackup, also from Symantec, calling for careful evaluation and testing before deciding which product to go for.