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

Dell Avamar vs Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Dell Avamar offers cost-effective data reduction and deduplication, improving ROI and data security during disruptions, saving storage costs.
Sentiment score
7.9
Dell PowerProtect DD offers cost-effective, reliable backup solutions with data compression, deduplication, and improved backup speed and recovery time.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Dell Avamar support is mixed; praised for helpfulness but criticized for response times, offshore issues, and complex query handling.
Sentiment score
7.7
Dell PowerProtect DD's customer service is praised for knowledgeable support and timely assistance, despite occasional regional quality variations.
I have encountered an issue before with other brands that would not have occurred with Dell.
I have dedicated support from Dell for Vietnam, and they are responsive.
They respond within 24 hours of case submission, which is crucial for maintaining the solution.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Dell Avamar is lauded for scalability, but experiences vary due to node complexity, compatibility issues, and cost concerns.
Sentiment score
6.3
Dell PowerProtect DD scales effectively, supports petabyte storage, integrates with cloud, and suits various business sizes with minimal maintenance.
The scalability depends on the IT department's strategy.
By keeping the increasing data in mind, we decided to go for Data Domain.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Dell Avamar is stable and reliable, effectively handling backups, with minor support and integration issues on older systems.
Sentiment score
8.5
Dell PowerProtect DD is highly stable and reliable, outperforming competitors, with minor software update issues occasionally reported.
Dell is especially more stable in the enterprise product.
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is stable in terms of software performance.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell Avamar needs interface, cloud integration, speed, scalability, cost-effectiveness improvements, and stronger security and technical support.
Dell PowerProtect DD needs improved security, integration, deduplication, licensing, and support, with enhanced features for backup and pricing.
There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved.
It is suitable for more customers since it is small, cost-effective, and a good start for any customer to know about Data Domain and DBS solutions.
The high availability feature is only present in the higher models of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).
If I were a manager for this infrastructure, I would look into load balancing for cost, maintenance after sale, and improving Dell PowerProtect DD.
 

Setup Cost

Dell Avamar is expensive, but offers flexible, cost-effective options for medium-to-large enterprises with capacity and CPU-based pricing.
Dell PowerProtect DD is expensive, but valued for performance and reliability, with discounts often available for enterprise customers.
I don't currently have detailed knowledge about the pricing, however, it is geared towards enterprise businesses and might be on the higher side.
The price for PowerProtect DD is not suitable for my customers. It is very high.
The pricing has become higher since July, and the license costs are more expensive compared to the past.
Pricing is sometimes reasonable depending on the discounts provided by the company.
 

Valuable Features

Dell Avamar offers efficient, reliable backups and recovery with deduplication, VMware integration, scalability, and user-friendly features.
Dell PowerProtect DD offers powerful deduplication, efficient storage, and seamless cloud integration for reliable, scalable data protection.
The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality.
The most valuable feature of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is its deduplication capability.
The backup window is also reduced, and recovery is definitely faster.
Retention for data, deduplication, and replication between sites are valuable features.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Deduplication Software
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (12th)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data ...
Ranking in Deduplication Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 8.9%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is 29.2%, down from 29.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user113067 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 11, 2016
 

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.
GopalSetia - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides backups, including long-term retention with increased uptime and compatibility
I was looking for a virtual edition, and that is now available. Many customers struggle to find a solution for ransomware protection, but we can set up an enterprise recovery vault for that purpose. These features are now part of Dell's overall offering. The solution has matured, and while I don't criticize technology, most of our technical and business requirements are met with the Data Domain storage solution. We can meet customer requirements easily with Data Domain. Some feedback has been received from our operations team. There’s always room for improvement. For instance, there may be suggestions regarding enhancements to the reporting dashboard
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Deduplication Software solutions are best for your needs.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

it_user113067 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 11, 2016
Feb 11, 2016
Avamar supports Extended Retention Media Access nodes -- A Media Access node exports backup data from an Avamar server to a tape library (physical or virtual) for long-term retention purposes. It has an HBA port that allows a tape device to be connected directly to the node via fiber-optic cable. It is not part of an ADS Gen4S server (not connected to the Avamar system’s internal network).
2 out of 4 answers
RI
May 18, 2014
TSM? Druva?
it_user8967 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 19, 2014
http://www.hds.com/products/storage-software/hitachi-data-instance-manager.html
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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 is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
PowerProtect DD is mainly used for backup target for Networker Veeam and Commvault. We also use it for AS400 backups.
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The product, a disk backup solution, improves our data application tasks. We used tape libraries with Dev drives in legacy architectures, resulting in slow backups compared to modern drives like NV...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
Pricing is sometimes reasonable depending on the discounts provided by the company.
 

Also Known As

Avamar
DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
 

Learn More

 

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
The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.