Dell Avamar Reviews

Name: Dell Avamar
Brand: Dell Technologies
Rating: 3.8 (87 reviews)

3.8 out of 5

87 reviews
87% willing to recommend

3,266 followers

What is Dell Avamar?

Dell Avamar data protection software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery operations that can scale from daily backup protection for endpoints to high-performance protection for large enterprises with diverse applications and workloads. With application consistent recovery, automation and fast backup and restores, Avamar can help you meet your SLAs and optimize your backup and recovery processes

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Dell Avamar is the #3 ranked solution in top Deduplication Software and #12 ranked solution in best Backup and Recovery Software. PeerSpot users give Dell Avamar an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 87 most recent Dell Avamar reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 6.9. Dell Avamar is most commonly compared to Veeam Data Platform: Dell Avamar vs Veeam Data Platform. Dell Avamar is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 62% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 13% of all views.

Helped 817,354 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Sebastien Chene

Senior Business Development Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

My job is to provide solutions to my customers, so I compare different products to have a clear view of the differences between products. In terms of Dell products, I work mainly with Dell Avamar. My focus is on backup architecture, and I'm an integrator. Dell Avamar is recommended for midsize and enterprise businesses. My rating for Dell Avamar is seven out of ten. It's my day-to-day job to recommend solutions, especially new solutions from Dell, for example, cyber recovery solutions. I would recommend Dell Avamar to others because not much software can work well with CyberSense. Though I find PowerProtect Data Manager to be a good solution, it's not yet at the same level as Dell Avamar on many points. It couldn't back up all that Dell Avamar could back up.

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Vivek Jaiswal

Assistant Manager at Shriram Pistons

Previously, I also used Commvault alongside Avamar. Commvault is very challenging to configure. It is resource-intensive, whether as software or an appliance. Unlike Dell, they don't offer their own OEM box but rely on other servers. If clients purchase their servers and storage, Commvault only provides the software for installation on those systems. Furthermore, Commvault blames server or operating system quality issues, adding to the complexity. I encountered numerous problems with Commvault. Avamar is more satisfactory since all support responsibilities fall under Dell, simplifying the process compared to dealing with multiple vendors. This centralized support from Dell has been reliable over the past seven to eight years.

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Aamir Ilyas

Senior Presales Consultant at Mindware

Dell Avamar has significantly streamlined our data deduplication and backup processes across the board. When it comes to reliable backup solutions, we occasionally integrate Data Domain and Isilon, including Isilon RCS, into our backup strategy alongside Avamar. Integrating and managing Avamar with other systems in our IT environment is highly straightforward. The deduplication technology has significantly improved our storage efficiency, thanks to its embedded nature. It's a combination of hardware and software features working hand in hand, complementing each other. This synergy, based on deduplication and data compression, often results in impressive ratios, such as a 32:1 reduction in data footprint within the tenant domain.

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Dell Avamar mindshare

Product category:

As of December 2024, the mindshare of Dell Avamar in the Backup and Recovery category stands at 3.6%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Nov 21, 2024

Valuable Features

Dell Avamar provides exceptional deduplication to reduce storage needs, fast backup and recovery, and excellent integration with VMware and Data Domain. Clients appreciate its ease of use, scalability, and performance. It's praised for user-friendly implementation, high compression rates, and effective backup management. Its ability to handle virtual environments and cross-platform integration make it highly valued in diverse IT infrastructures, maintaining stable performance with minimal bandwidth requirements.

"It is very easy when you want to restore back to the original state."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The function I find most valuable in Dell Avamar is its ability to take differential backups for users. This feature is very effective for both backup and restore operations. We've had multiple cases where we needed to restore files directly from Avamar, and it worked perfectly. The Delta feature, which captures changes in user files, is particularly useful."

Room for Improvement

Dell Avamar requires enhancements in its user interface, troubleshooting, and integration with cloud platforms. Its backup and restore speeds need improvement alongside better Hyper-V and SQL integration. Users report challenges with metadata management, complex configurations, and expensive pricing. Avamar lacks scalability and has a dated UI, leading to difficulties in training and managing the system. Improved reporting, automation features, and a reduction in storage requirements are also necessary to meet expectations.

"The only concern is the cost."
"The tool's interface is very much in a spreadsheet format...reporting is an area with shortcomings requiring improvement."
"Reporting in Dell Avamar needs improvement. The current reporting tool is very basic, and you have to dig deep into each function to get the information you need. For example, getting the status of failed and succeeded backups is very difficult in Avamar compared to Veeam.As for additional functionality, I would suggest improving WAN optimization. It's very important for getting offline or off-site backups. It should also include a tool to check for ransomware which would be beneficial. If a backup is vulnerable to ransomware, there should be a way to detect it, like using ARR rules to ensure your backup is ransomware-free. I haven't had any experience integrating Dell Avamar with AI solutions. It’s also a good point that Avamar doesn't offer such integrations, which is an area where Dell could improve."

ROI

Dell Avamar demonstrates significant ROI through substantial data reduction, deduplication, and compression, offering cost savings of around $200,000 on storage. It secures data against threats, providing successful data recovery experiences. Users highlight its effectiveness and affordability, valuing its capacity to reclaim disk space efficiently. ROI is consistently rated highly, appreciating the time savings and financial benefits achieved with its implementation.

Pricing

Enterprises report mixed experiences with Dell Avamar pricing. Many find it expensive but note discounts and bundling options that make it comparable to solutions like Veeam. Licensing models vary and can lack flexibility, with some appreciating the all-inclusive approach for larger deals. Costs can be structured upfront for five years, including maintenance, which users appreciate for budgeting. While deemed high for smaller businesses, some enterprises find it competitive and cost-effective, offering satisfactory cost-to-value ratio.

"I rate the tool's price as a three out of ten if one means expensive and ten means it is a cheaply priced tool."
"Regarding pricing, I would say Avamar is slightly expensive compared to its functionalities. It's not high-priced or low-priced but somewhere in between."
"The solution is costly."

Popular Use Cases

Dell Avamar is primarily used for data backup across diverse environments, including virtual machines, Windows, Linux, and AIX servers. Organizations deploy it for endpoint protection, compliance retention, and virtualization, integrating with VMware and Data Domain. Users highlight its ease of use, robust data protection, and efficient deduplication. It serves managed service providers in offering multi-tenant platforms and facilitates seamless backups for large-scale enterprises and cloud environments, ensuring compliance and security.

Service and Support

Many users find Dell Avamar's technical support responsive and prompt, with some rating it as high as nine out of ten. However, they also report inconsistencies, noting delays in response times, language barriers, and a cumbersome escalation process. While support was better under EMC, several users believe it has declined post-acquisition by Dell. Some customers have experienced challenges with L1 support, but L2 and L3 support are generally considered effective.

Deployment

Opinions on Dell Avamar's initial setup vary, with some finding it straightforward and others encountering complexity. Some experienced easy deployments, taking a few hours to a couple of days, while others saw challenges involving complex network configurations and required expert assistance. User experiences suggest a mixture of simplicity and complexity, depending on familiarity and network intricacies. Deployment timeframes and ease are influenced by the environment and configurations, with some installations rated easy but others demanding more effort and expert support.

Scalability

Dell Avamar's scalability receives mixed feedback. Users find it generally scalable, with some praising its growth capabilities and ease of expansion. However, challenges such as difficulty adding nodes and high costs are noted. Some users rely on additional systems like Data Domain for better performance. The software suits mid to large enterprises but may not be ideal for very large deployments or specific environments requiring extensive scaling. Its effectiveness varies based on specific organizational needs.

Stability

Users report high stability with Dell Avamar, noting reliable performance, minimal bugs, and no crashes. Adherence to proper shutdown and startup protocols is crucial for maintaining stability. While generally stable, some mention sensitivity to incorrect operations and hardware issues. Ratings vary, with many scoring stability between 7 to 10 out of 10. Despite some concerns, especially with newer versions, users find Dell Avamar consistent in supporting diverse IT environments, including legacy systems.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Dell Avamar Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Educational Organization

University

Comms Service Provider

Insurance Company

Construction Company

Media Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Transportation Company

Non Profit

Outsourcing Company

Legal Firm

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Hospitality Company

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Engineering Company

Consumer Goods Company

Mining And Metals Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Compare Dell Avamar with alternative products

Learn more about Dell Avamar

If you are deploying all or part of your backup environment to the cloud, Avamar enables you to make the most of your cloud investment, enabling replication, disaster recovery and long-term retention for customers using AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.

Avamar is available as part of Dell Data Protection Suite, which offers comprehensive data protection software applications and tools. Avamar is delivered as software and as a virtual edition.

Dell Avamar was previously known as Avamar.

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Dell Avamar customers

Dodge County, St Laurence's College, FieldCore (a GE Company), Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Getronics, Lewisville Independent School District, EnvisionRxOptions, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions

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