Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Actifio vs Microsoft DPM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Actifio
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
50th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Test Data Management (7th)
Microsoft DPM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
27th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Actifio is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft DPM is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Anil-Sinha - PeerSpot reviewer
Actifio enables quick and efficient data refreshes
The product is scalable. However, to ensure optimal scalability, you need to work on the underlying hardware and resources. For example, if your network has limited bandwidth, you need to identify and address the bottlenecks by increasing resources. The product is designed to be scalable, but it requires attention to the underlying resources to ensure sufficient capacity. For example, they have the appliance on a given server. And that server would work till a certain stage. Then if you see that the resources are low or have reached the capacity, you have to next level of the VM, like, in terms of if there is a memory or CPU or from the appliance to wherever you are hosting, wherever you are presenting that virtual disk, that network traffic, if you see that network traffic is reaching capacity, then you have to add additional. So it's scalable from the design perspective, but you have to work on the underlying resources to make sure they also have that capacity.
RifkanHasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Backup and recovery that is stable but support is no longer in existence
The DPM is pretty good, but when it comes to external devices, you can't back up to the external device. It's a huge drawback because once everything goes down, it goes down fully. We can't take a snapshot and take it outside, which is a problem. Also, when it comes to recovery, the recovery process doesn't work properly. It doesn't recover. One of our drives failed and when we wanted to recover it from the other drive, it never worked. So, we couldn't recover the data. Recovery of data if the server goes down, is not very good. The DPM is good apart from the support services. We were told that the support was no longer in existence, which is why we are looking for another provider. In the next release, I would like to see backup to external devices, so it can always restore the backup and we can take it externally and store it somewhere that it is off-site and archived. Currently, it does not allow us to do that because it is required to be in one location.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"They will assist me in achieving whatever budget issue the client may be having."
"This product has unique capabilities that lead the product category in test data management, cloning and recovery."
"The solution helps reduce costs."
"Very user-friendly and the QSA is very good."
"Very user-friendly and the QSA is very good."
"Actifio was very stable. Whenever they identified bugs, they would promptly provide us with patches."
"The automated procedure is quite good for us, as it is able to capture all of the information that we require."
"The most important feature is that it's easy to use."
"This solution helps us to manage all of the operations across servers and different workstations."
"The most valuable feature is the recovery."
"One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
"It is almost perfect for Microsoft products. It is not a very powerful tool, but it is okay for small sites and small businesses with Microsoft products. It is easy to use for backup and restore. It is good for backing up Microsoft servers such as Exchange and SharePoint servers."
"I could back up all the stuff we had, even the VMs we have for Hyper V."
"One of the most effective features of Microsoft DPM is its integration with the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
 

Cons

"While the product does support various databases, the company needs to make more of an effort to support N-minus-one compatibility."
"Google has stopped supporting the on-premise version of the tool."
"Areas that need improvement would be the support for recovery in the physical environment."
"Lacks the option to price backup costs within the solution itself."
"The solution doesn't support AIX software or in-cloud, and we have a lot of servers running on AIX and Oracle."
"The initial setup is complex."
"Microsoft DPM could improve if it was available in a public or private cloud."
"Additional Hyper-V knowledge would be great."
"The user interface can be improved quite a bit."
"The data tagging feature needs improvement. The solution could be a bit more intuitive in certain aspects."
"There is a very poor online user community in terms of people blogging about their experiences with DPM."
"We can't take a snapshot and take it outside, which is a problem."
"Setting up the solution can be complex."
"The user friendliness could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Support is very good. They send out a VM link and help you fix any issues."
"Pricing is on a case by case basis."
"Actifio is cheaper than other tools."
"Microsoft DPM can be considered as an expensive solution for smaller or medium enterprises, but we have been satisfied with the price structure as it is fixed and it offers a variety of useful features"
"I think Microsoft DPM pricing is reasonable. The additional costs are related to storage and technical support."
"Microsoft DPM is a free solution. However, we pay approximately $3,000 annually for support."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.
848,396 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
21%
Retailer
8%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Actifio?
Actifio is cheaper than other tools. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Actifio?
The product must provide AI features. Google has stopped supporting the on-premise version of the tool.
What do you like most about Microsoft DPM?
This solution helps us to manage all of the operations across servers and different workstations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft DPM?
Microsoft licensing is complex, especially for enterprise or data center solutions. However, it's not more complicated compared to other competitors and the market is well balanced.
What needs improvement with Microsoft DPM?
I am not sure if I am competent enough to address areas for improvement in Microsoft DPM.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
DPM, Data Protection Manager, MS DPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

IBM, Waste Industries, Nasdaq, Verizon, Sharp, Rosetta Stone, Dakine, JBS Australia, Texas Wesleyan University, Cintra, People's Choice Credit Union, Lotto NZ, Electric Insurance, Tyler Technologies, Intility, Corporate One Federal Credit Union, Bryant University, pc/nametag, Isagenix, Sungard Availability Services, Databank, Electrocraft, Lifescript, Westfleisch, Interstate National Corporation, RestorePoint, Net3, Access Community Health Network, Newmarket International, Rezolve Group Inc., Piri Reis University, MC Assembly, Grass-Merkur, dbMotion, Christian Broadcasting Network, Bezeq, Abilene Christian University, CNW Group, Softcat, Migliori, City of South Portland, NaviSite, News-Press & Gazette, Comtec, Equity Insurance, Admirals Bank, Assistra, Dassault, Henry Davis York Lawyers, SAI Global, Audax Group, DSM, Triad Retail Media, Euronet Worldwide, Palm Beach County School District, iGate, Emerald Queen Casino
Medical Park, Centropol Energy, a.s., NCFE, D & H Distributing, Metalor, Colosseum, a.s., Sanitas S.A., Icebreaker
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. Microsoft DPM and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,396 professionals have used our research since 2012.