Backup Agent for SQL Server

We perform full backup every night and then copy the BAK files to tape.
The backup vendor suggests us purchasing backup agent for SQL Server. We
would like to know what is the advantage of those agents ?
What will happen if we don't use the backup agent but just copy the MDF file
?
ThanksOn Jul 27, 5:20 am, "Peter" <Pe...@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> We perform full backup every night and then copy the BAK files to tape.
> The backup vendor suggests us purchasing backup agent for SQL Server. We
> would like to know what is the advantage of those agents ?
> What will happen if we don't use the backup agent but just copy the MDF file
> ?
> Thanks
We use a third party backup tool that greatly compresses the database,
and thus speeds our backups tremendously. In regards to the backup
agents, one example I can think of, but don't personally have
experience with is the Veritas SQL Backup agent. The only thing I can
tell you is that our backup team decided to uninstall that particular
agent and simply backup the .bak files as you mentioned.