Azure NetApp Files vs Dropbox comparison

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90% willing to recommend

Azure NetApp Files

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: December 2024).

Azure NetApp Files vs. Dropbox

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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 December 2024, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 13.6%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 8.4%, down from 10.3% 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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Anton Krivonosov

Application Security Architect at Kuehne & Nagel Inc.

An easy-to-use solution that can be used to store files in the cloud and share them with different people

Dropbox is a cloud-based solution. Dropbox is a nice solution to use if you have nothing to hide or aren't afraid that others will view some secrets because you don't know how the company protects them. If you store normal files you don't care much about, you can use Dropbox. Overall, I rate Dropbox a nine 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

"This solution definitely makes us more efficient in being able to provide storage quickly to our customers in the Azure Cloud."

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

"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 most valuable feature of this solution is its flexibility."

"I think the easiest part is, when you do a comparison, it is the throughput versus the cost. And it's much easier to set up."

"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."

"The most valuable features of the solution is replication to another region and the performance. The solution is stable. The solution is scalable. The initial setup is straightforward."

"Using NetApp Files got us out of a really difficult situation quickly, effectively, and at a reasonable cost."

More Azure NetApp Files pros

"Availability of dedicated Apps on any kind of OS."

"It offers convenience. It can connect with all devices that you own."

"It is straightforward and works seamlessly."

"The setup was straightforward."

"The small business version gave us ample capacity."

"I like how user-friendly the solution is."

"I think Dropbox is a good option for Windows users because it's easy to use in Windows and a user can access all other products and software."

"The initial setup was very easy."

More Dropbox pros

Cons

"I don’t like the solution’s configuration and support."

"This solution would be improved with more innovation."

"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."

"Azure NetApp Files could improve by being more diverse to integrate better with other solutions, such as Splunk and the on-premise version. There are some use cases that are not covered natively by Azure. It is not the best solution because it is not external from the cloud which for me is the best type of solution."

"Reserved Instances for Azure NetApp Files would improve more use cases, making them more valuable in Azure as the cost would be reduced."

"The deployment process is somewhat complex compared to other storage solutions."

"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."

"I have a hunch that storage could be now the most expensive portion of our monthly bill. So I can imagine that, not this year, but next year we will be talking about looking deeper into ways how we can optimize the cost."

More Azure NetApp Files cons

"I would like to be able to unarchive my files online."

"I would like to see integration with Office products, it would be very helpful."

"It could be more secure."

"2 Gb of free space and then a not so cheap subscription (also if the competitors have similar proposals for customers)."

"The Security and privacy of this solution need improvement."

"The pricing could be better and/or more clear. Right now, they have a strange way of splitting pricing. It's a bit complicated and not clear for users."

"They can maybe provide a bit more free space. By default, they give you 2 Gigabytes. The storage space could be a bit more."

"It could be more secure."

More Dropbox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

"The performance has improved by about 30 percent."

"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."

"This solution is very expensive compared to the alternatives."

"It is expensive in small environments, which could be better. The reason is the four terabyte minimum. A one terabyte minimum would be better."

"The pricing depends on your scaling and consumption."

More Azure NetApp Files pricing and cost advice

"I need to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."

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

"The pricing varies depending on the version, and the one we currently utilize is the business version."

"You pay as you go, which is a good thing. There is a monthly fee, and you can also pay annually. This flexibility makes the subscription easier and affordable for some of us. I prefer yearly pricing, which is also slightly cheaper than monthly pricing."

"The solution is expensive."

"It has some free features, but for some of the features, you need to pay. If you need more storage, then you need to pay. Its licensing probably is on a monthly basis."

"My company makes monthly payments towards the licensing charges associated with the product. I think it's a reasonably priced product."

More Dropbox pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Storage solutions are best for your needs.

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824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

33%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

60%

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

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Compared 23% of the time

Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 11% of the time

Nasuni vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon FSx vs Azure NetApp Files

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

ShareFile vs Dropbox

Compared 15% of the time

LucidLink vs Dropbox

Compared 9% of the time

Google Workspace vs Dropbox

Compared 6% 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