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Dell Avamar vs Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) 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
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (3rd)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
21st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.5%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.6%, down from 1.2% 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.
SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures data safety and effective cloud integration with AI-powered protection
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) offers a backup, recovery, and management tool that is very easy to use. It provides a flexible protection suite that accommodates scalability and performance needs. Integration with VMware and multi-cloud protection is effective. AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection. Customers also benefit from hybrid cloud options and tiers of backup.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The deduplication feature is the best aspect of the solution."
"The function I find most valuable in Dell Avamar is its ability to take differential backups for users. This feature is very effective for both backup and restore operations. We've had multiple cases where we needed to restore files directly from Avamar, and it worked perfectly. The Delta feature, which captures changes in user files, is particularly useful."
"The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality."
"Source based deduplication is the most attractive feature as it drastically reduces the backup window."
"I have found the product to be scalable."
"The solution is easy to use and has high performance."
"The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality."
"All the features in the system are highly valuable."
"The product is integrated with Huawei software and its backup and recovery time is very fast."
"We use it for complete backup and recovery. We have multiple clients and have created multiple large virtual capabilities and zoning backlogs."
"We don't need to manage different devices."
"The product is easy to troubleshoot and store data."
"Instead of four or five tools, consisting of backup software, storage where the backup resides, and a separate system for reporting and central monitoring, they all now come in the virtual edition for IDP."
"It is very simple to perform an upgrade of the system and the environment."
"The solution's most valuable features are networker and continuous data protection."
"IDPA's best feature is Turbo Boost Technology. The compression and duplication features are excellent, too."
 

Cons

"The user interface still needs to have some level of improvement. It could be more user-friendly and intuitive."
"The performance takes up a lot of resources, unfortunately."
"The stability could improve, a lot of scheduled backups failed at one time."
"There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved."
"A huge storage space needs to be bought with Dell Avamar, even when it's unnecessary for an organization"
"The support is very bad."
"Setup and deployment of this solution is complex and requires expert engineers."
"The screen design is a bit back-dated."
"The solution should be easier to use."
"The product's index master feature needs improvement."
"We would like to see the pricing drop a bit."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience."
"The price could be lowered slightly, to make it more competitive."
"After resizing and compression, the system continuously runs out of space. Dell EMC doesn't do automatic cleanup or other things, so we constantly have to manually go in there or work with Dell support on this. The solution has not been working as advertised."
"The solution's implementation was very complicated and could be improved."
"The two-factor authentication is missing from Dell products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive. Its cost is the main thing."
"Licensing was generally on a per VM or terabyte basis. They changed their licensing model a couple of times and turned it into socket-based licensing, which is an improvement in their licensing model."
"It was approximately $70-80,000 when it was under support, but right now EMC has not been supporting this product for two years."
"It is very expensive. It's a trust based licensing. So that's an ethical challenge."
"The current pricing is generally satisfactory."
"There are licensing costs for Dell EMC Avamar and it is paid annually."
"I'm not sure, but perhaps the pricing could be done better at the moment."
"The solution is costly."
"We have a perpetual license. It is a capacity-based license."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The licensing is billed on a monthly basis. Dell is bundled so that when you order IDPA, you get everything together with the license."
"Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a yearly subscription fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
35%
University
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software 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 do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
What I find valuable about Dell PowerProtect IDPA is its stability and strong performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors. The product's features, network, and VMware integration contribute to its value. There are different licensing options available, such as applian...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience. While technical support is generally not poor, there are challenges with expertise in Linux-based c...
 

Also Known As

Avamar
Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
 

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
Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.