Azure NetApp Files vs Dropbox comparison

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90% willing to recommend

Azure NetApp Files

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

Dropbox and Azure NetApp Files offer robust cloud storage solutions. Dropbox excels in user satisfaction due to its competitive pricing and user-friendliness, while Azure NetApp Files stands out for its advanced features and scalability, justifying its higher cost.

Features: Dropbox offers seamless file synchronization, straightforward sharing capabilities, and effective collaboration tools. Azure NetApp Files provides high-performance storage, seamless cloud integration, and advanced security features.

Room for Improvement: Dropbox should improve its complex folder permissions and limited storage options for free accounts. Azure NetApp Files needs better integration with non-Azure environments and simpler configuration tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dropbox is easy to set up and has responsive customer support. Azure NetApp Files has a more complex deployment but offers strong support and detailed documentation.

Pricing and ROI: Dropbox is cost-effective with clear ROI benefits in productivity. Azure NetApp Files requires higher initial investment but provides significant long-term ROI through advanced features and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure NetApp Files vs. Dropbox Report (Updated: January 2025).

Azure NetApp Files vs. Dropbox

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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

Azure NetApp Files

Ranking in Cloud Storage

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (3rd), Public Cloud Storage Services (8th)

Dropbox

Ranking in Cloud Storage

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 13.5%, down from 15.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 8.5%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Storage

Featured Reviews

Vladislav Malicevic

CTO at Jedox

We can expand our storage on-the-fly without the need to reprovision

Ease of provisioning: It's very easy to consume the product. We are not doing this manually. We are doing this programmatically, but it's very easy and seamless for us to consume it. It's like any other Azure component. It's very good and well-integrated into the ecosystem of Azure. There is tight integration. We didn't need to learn anything new. It feels like we know everything already, although under the hood, the product is something totally different. However, it seemed very easy for us. It's elastic, so it scales with our demands. We can start small, then with the addition of customer loads, we can expand on-the-fly without the need to reprovision something. The performance is quite good, so it's almost on par with the make of SSD storage. It provides a quick, scalable storage solution. We were looking for a supported solution. We didn't want to experiment. We didn't want to look for open source, though we did look into open source initially before we bumped into NetApp. We figured out that adding yet another unknown into our system was not going to bring us benefit. It would be another problem that we would need to tackle. So, we said, "Okay, let's look for a supported solution," and NetApp was one of them. Then, we turned to NetApp.

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Edgar Paez

Measurement Manager at A3E Ingenieros

Work from anywhere and backup easily while being practical

I recommend Dropbox, yet not for all of the features it has. I am a basic user. In a personal mode, we have about 100 employees, and maybe 20 of them use Dropbox as a personal backup system. ShareFile is more secure than Dropbox. Five years ago, ShareFile was qualified as having better security control, access privilege management, and version control recovery, among many features that we were using for private documentation. Overall, I would rate Dropbox an eight out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The critical features of this solution are SnapMirror for replication, data protection, and SnapLock."

"We use Azure NetApp Files mainly for backup."

"It's elastic, so it scales with our demands. We can start small, then with the addition of customer loads, we can expand on-the-fly without the need to reprovision something."

"Azure NetApp Files has been stable."

"The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring downtime, which is a strong point. Based on the money spent, we can get performance improvements and high availability."

"Its security and ease of use are most valuable."

"It has saved a lot of time. Because in the older, conventional hardware system, they need to raise a ticket to go to storage engineering, then storage engineering would increased the size. Now, it's dynamic. You don't have to do anything. This improved the time by more than 50 percent."

"I like the SnapMirror feature in Azure NetApp Files. It helps me create backups with snapshots and makes data recovery and compression."

More Azure NetApp Files pros

"Dropbox is an easy-to-use solution that has good stability."

"It is very practical and so easy to upload and download files and carry on without my computer."

"The solution is very fast and simple. If I want to share a file I can put it on the cloud or on-premise. It's user-friendly."

"It offers security, accessibility, and user-friendly features."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is user-friendly."

"For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions."

"It is straightforward and works seamlessly."

"The most valuable feature of Dropbox is its user-friendliness. You can drag and drop files you want to store easily. Additionally, the speed of the solution is great if you have a fast connection."

More Dropbox pros

Cons

"The main hurdle in promoting this solution is the price. Its price definitely requires an improvement. It is more expensive than other options, so customers go for a cheaper option."

"The main area for improvement is in the support ticket system. Since it's a SaaS platform, support tickets are managed by Microsoft or NetApp backend. This can sometimes lead to cross-functional challenges for organizations."

"We would like to see more paired regions for the replication."

"We were looking for a clustered solution that has over-complicated things because we had it in AWS, which is Amazon. There was a solution for clustered NetApp. That meant there would be two NetApps that were not clustered because there was no solution for a cluster. We would like there to be an HA cluster solution."

"We would like for the files which are coming in that we can version them. So, if a file is accidentally deleted, there should have a recycle bin option where we can go back, and at least once, clean it up."

"This solution would be improved with more innovation."

"I would like to see multi-zone redundancy so that I don't have to worry about it. I just back up my data to that one SMB share and I know that it's replicated to a different region."

"We would like to have backup functionality built-in so that we don't run into the issue where the replication process makes a copy of the corrupted data."

More Azure NetApp Files cons

"Improve the ease of use. Sometimes, occasional users struggle to login again and access documents."

"Dropbox needs to improve its integration with Google platforms, including Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides, which facilitate easier collaboration."

"The solution lacks sufficient storage capabilities."

"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"There is a potential improvement regarding storage capacity and offering more than its current four gigabytes."

"The search could be made more intuitive."

"The solution could be better integrated with other platforms."

"It would be good if they could market themselves as a safe solution for corporates. Currently, most corporates don't see it as a safe area to share within."

More Dropbox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our pricing has not been determined because we are still waiting on additional features."

"The licensing fees for this solution vary, ranging from a single shelf to a full suite."

"Its price is double the price of the premium disks, which is the main reason why customers don't go for this solution in the end."

"The performance has improved by about 30 percent."

"We are currently on a pay-as-you-go model with the storage that we use."

"NetApp is a premium offering, so it's not a cheap product, but it is well-priced. It combines a couple of properties which customers like us are willing to pay. Could it be cheaper? Yes, but if you combine fully supported, fully managed, easily provisioned, scalable, and quick all in one product, it's a good selling point. You can ask a lot of money for all these. If you have a use case like we do, it's a perfect match. It's like the Porsche of storage solutions in the cloud. It is totally worth the cost."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"In the cloud, pricing depends on how you manage it. It's not necessarily cheap, but it's all about optimizing charges and showing the cost back. So, it's more about managing the expenses rather than being inherently expensive or cheap."

More Azure NetApp Files pricing and cost advice

"Users need to pay to increase the solution's capacity."

"One area that has been a big issue for me is when I tried to close my accounts, it is difficult. We had small personal accounts, and we then wanted to consolidate everything to the business account, but then to cancel and close those smaller accounts, it's a big issue. I still haven't done it and it's quite a long process."

"I am using the free version of the solution."

"We pay a monthly subscription fee."

"Dropbox offers a freemium model which is very convenient and affordable. Beyond that, the pricing is favorable."

"I find their pricing to be fairly standard and competitive when compared to the rest of the market."

"We use a yearly license. The pricing is not a bad price. I'd rate it about a five out of ten, with ten being expensive and one being cheap."

"We pay for the license yearly."

More Dropbox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

34%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

61%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?

Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...

What do you like most about Azure NetApp Files?

The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure NetApp Files?

The solution's competitors like Oracle or Amazon are not cheap either. I think we're paying two million dollars for Azure NetApp Files. On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is exp...

What do you like most about Dropbox?

For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dropbox?

We are using the free version of Dropbox.

What needs improvement with Dropbox?

Dropbox needs to improve its integration with Google platforms, including Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides, which facilitate easier collaboration. I would also like to see features rel...

Microsoft Azure File Storage vs Azure NetApp Files

Comparisons

Compared 41% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 10% of the time

Nasuni vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon FSx vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive vs Dropbox

Compared 18% of the time

ShareFile vs Dropbox

Compared 14% of the time

LucidLink vs Dropbox

Compared 11% of the time

Google Workspace vs Dropbox

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Azure NetApp Files

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Also Known As

NetApp ANF, ANF

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NetApp

Overview

Azure NetApp Files is designed for unstructured data, virtualized SAP systems, SQL backups, NFS and CIFS protocols, Azure Virtual Desktop storage, and optimizing file share services. It supports high performance and networking integration in Microsoft Azure.

Azure NetApp Files offers features such as SnapMirror for data protection, rapid provisioning, elastic scaling, and ultra-fast SQL backup and restore. It provides a seamless experience with fast snapshotting, high availability, security, and ease of setup. Users benefit from significant performance improvements and the ability to manage substantial workload migrations effortlessly. This service is ideal for environments like Azure Kubernetes Service and cloud EPM platforms, where speed, flexibility, and performance are crucial.

What are the key features?

Flexibility: Adaptable to diverse storage needs.
Rapid response time: Ensures quick data access and operations.
SnapMirror: Provides replication and data protection.
SEC compliance: SnapLock ensures regulatory adherence.
Ultra-fast SQL backup: Quicker backup and restore operations.
Elastic scaling: Easily adjusts resources based on demand.
Fast snapshotting: Enables quick data snapshots.
High availability: Ensures consistent data access.
Security: Robust measures for data protection.

What are the expected benefits and ROI?

Performance: Notable improvement in processing speeds.
Simplicity of setup: Easy deployment and configuration.
Scalable management: Handles significant workload migrations with ease.
Cost efficiency: Allows comparing throughput versus cost effectively.

Azure NetApp Files is implemented in various industries requiring robust file storage solutions, from educational environments where performance boosts are critical to businesses leveraging Azure Kubernetes Service for containerized applications. It supports high-demand environments, optimizing data management and improving efficiency.

Dropbox is utilized for storing and sharing files, synchronizing documents across multiple devices, and ensuring data backups for both personal and professional use.

Users rely on Dropbox for collaborating on projects, managing personal storage, and exchanging files. It is often used for file version control, meeting notes, and as a central storage unit. Dropbox provides seamless data access across desktops, laptops, mobiles, and the cloud. It is valued for its accessibility, synchronization, strong security, user-friendly interface, robust sharing capabilities, Microsoft Office integration, efficient performance, and reliable storage. It supports multiple users, real-time editing, offers backup options, and has free usage tiers. Dropbox manages large files, maintains version history, and allows external sharing without extra costs. However, there are areas for improvement in security and privacy, pricing, storage capacity, and tool integration. Users experience synchronization issues, limited collaboration features, and a need for better real-time editing. Improvements are also desired in mobile access, search functionality, and setup complexity, alongside better performance and scalability.

What are Dropbox's most important features?

Easy accessibility from any device
Seamless synchronization
Strong security
User-friendly interface
Robust sharing capabilities
Integration with Microsoft Office
Efficient performance
Reliable storage
Real-time editing support
Backup options and free usage tiers

What are the benefits or ROI to look for in reviews?

Seamless data access across devices
Enhanced collaboration on projects
Strong security measures
Efficient document management
Real-time editing for teamwork
Cost efficiency with free tiers
Reliability in storage and backups

Dropbox is implemented diversely across industries, including legal, healthcare, and media. Legal firms use it for secure document storage and sharing. Healthcare professionals rely on it for maintaining patient records while ensuring compliance with privacy laws. Media companies utilize Dropbox for collaborative projects and managing large multimedia files efficiently.

Sample Customers

SAP, Restaurant Magic

Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab

Azure NetApp Files vs. Dropbox