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Dell Avamar vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
11th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
13th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.5%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 4.6%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Sarangdhar - PeerSpot reviewer
Works excellently for on-prem backup but not the best for Azure backups
Avamar is not the best tool when it comes to taking Azure backups. Like Commvault, if Avamar can support VM-level backups for the cloud, that would make it a bit better. There is another Dell EMC tool called NetWorker, which is a bit centralized tool. If you deploy a storage node locally, you can use the same UI tool for central management, but in the case of Avamar, it needs to be deployed individually on a site, irrespective of whether it's small or big. So, if I have 10 sites, I have to manage 10 Avamar. That's a bit of a headache. The Dell EMC solution professionals who connect with the clients should suggest NetWorker to clients with multiple sites rather than Avamar. That's because NetWorker gives more centralized control, but they keep recommending Avamar, which isn't the best practice. There are no free or cheaper training plans. Unless your company is a partner with Dell, you don't get the student guide training, etc. Their administrator guide does not have all the information required for a new person. It doesn't cover the basics. The student guide is good, but it's not free. If you are a partner, only then it's free. Otherwise, there is a cost of $2,000 to $3,000. For people who are new to Avamar, there should be some resources to enable them to study on their own at least 50% of the basics. If I want to study Commvault, I get so many documents and resources to study, but in the case of Dell EMC products, there aren't any free resources. Only if you're a partner, the resources are available for you to learn. The user manuals and administrator guides are just for deployment. They aren't good for learning the basics for a fresher.
Pallava Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers good capacity management and product management
I am satisfied with the product. The tool streamlines our company's data backup and recovery processes since the solution fits into our landscape and portfolio, especially with what we have in our infrastructure, and it actually helps us comply with data regulations. The tool protects critical data by dealing with areas like unauthorized access. I don't have hands-on experience with the product to be able to comment on how its UI enhances our company's data management tasks. The tool is majorly used in our company's operations team. I only work on certain projects and help the teams to deploy the product. The tool has the ability to handle growing data volume since my company has not faced any scalability issues since we were able to manage areas like sizing and future capacity expansion. To date, my company has not found any scalability issues with the product. It is a good product that fits in the latest infrastructures very well. If you have legacy products in your environment or data centers, then it is better to consider some other product other than Dell PowerProtect Data Manager. I rate the overall tool a seven or eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We've found the product to be stable."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with Data Domain and your VM stacks."
"The solution scales well."
"What I found valuable in Dell Avamar is the deduplication feature. I also like that the solution can be integrated with Data Domain."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality."
"We have a lot of backups, and this tool helps us with the RMAN Backup."
"It's simple to configure."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"I would say flexibility is the most important feature of the product. The performance and speed are the best on the market."
"The solution adequately handles data storage."
"It's the perfect solution for virtual and container directives. The data reduction feature works well, and we haven't had any issues."
"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and data protection."
"The deduplication is the most valuable feature because it helps to control the overhead."
"One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solutions. It is highly user-friendly, allowing users to quickly learn and implement backup and restore processes within a week. PPDM represents the next generation of backup software and is comparable to offerings from other vendors. Furthermore, PPDM prioritizes security with various access controls, such as user and database access controls. Its deployment tool is also known for its simplicity."
 

Cons

"Compared with Cohesity or Rubrik, which have some continuous data protection for backup and replication, this solution tends to lack in this area."
"The product could be improved by simplifying the components available."
"There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved."
"When we used the solution, it was still new, and so the customer service/technical support was not the best."
"Dell Avamar could improve by adding more backup features."
"It's an expensive solution."
"The solution is not very strong on the Cloud. They should work out how they can use this as a backup as a service."
"The UI is not easy to use. There are other products such as Veeam that are easy to use for the end-user which is why they are moving away from Avamar or Networker."
"The solution should enhance its user interface and make it more flexible."
"As a new product, there are some things that still need to improve a bit as it matures."
"The interface is too complex."
"You need to use additional software to back up entire environments. It will be good if they could support entire tape libraries."
"The tool's scalability has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"A lot of improvement is required in Dell's first level of support."
"There is always room for improvement. The compression ratio should be improved as well as the efficiency."
"PPDM requires further development. It is primarily integrated with DevOps systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an expensive tool"
"The solution is expensive."
"I rate the pricing a seven out of ten because it is expensive."
"Avamar's pricing is quite competitive compared to other vendors."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"The solution is costly."
"It was approximately $70-80,000 when it was under support, but right now EMC has not been supporting this product for two years."
"Dell Avamar is a moderately priced solution."
"The price of Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is reasonable."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
"The solution is not less expensive than competitors but pricing deals are available."
"We offer monthly or yearly subscriptions. The price could be cheaper."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is not an expensive solution."
"The licensing costs and pricing model are based on capacity and the license is easy to upgrade."
"The product is offered at a very competitive price in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Dell EMC Avamar and Dell EMC NetWorker?
From the very beginning, Dell EMC NetWorker considers users and those who might potentially become users. In terms of both pricing and setup, this product offers an experience that is significantly...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC Avamar?
I don't currently have detailed knowledge about the pricing, however, it is geared towards enterprise businesses and might be on the higher side.
What do you like most about Dell Avamar?
Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solution...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
The solution's cost depends on the storage. Currently, the pricing for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is more flexible for customers. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is not an expensive solution. On...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
The tool's scalability has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required. The market and technology-driven factors will let the market know of any requirements of the user...
 

Also Known As

Avamar
PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample 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
National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,723 professionals have used our research since 2012.