Always read the forums

Before buying any software I try to look at the forums. Are they easy to find? Are people struggling to solve problems? Do problems remain outstanding for a long time? Are there experts who provide assistance etc?

In many ways Acronis (ATI) and my trial worked without major issues. Though finding things was awkward but any new software can take time to find your way around, I felt it took too long.

ATI seems to reliably create backups in the 2019 version.

There are two problems I have had since purchasing.

First is the new file format which removes major important features and, had I realized what was being dropped, I'd never have updated to 2020.

The second problem is the backups. They seem to be created reliably and I have regularly check them to "Validate" the files. However when it comes to restoring I have all sorts of problems. In fact I've never been able to restore an OS disk backup when I needed to without major problems and often without any success. Most recently I can't restore a simple full backup, (no differentials which only work if you have every differential, which you should know) either doesn't work or takes hours of acknowledging useless messages. A simple backup which has been validated on multiple machines from its home on my server. It won't restore under Windows, WinPE or Linux on either of two machines. After finishing the backup it gives me a message that the "index was corrupted" and there it sits after weeks and sending multiple logs waiting for an online appointment (which, to be fair I had to cancel once, in advance, though they act like I never got back and have ignored alternate proposed dates and times).

My advice.

1) If you must use Acronis stick to 2019.

2) Never buy or trust Acronis' ATI product, it will lull you into thinking you have backups that you can restore reliably - you cannot.