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

Dell Avamar vs N-able Cove Data Protection 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Dell Avamar offers efficient data reduction, cost savings, enhanced IT operations, and strong data security against ransomware threats.
Sentiment score
7.9
N-able Cove Data Protection enhances profit with fixed pricing, cloud-based automation, and efficient, cost-effective backup and recovery solutions.
I have experienced time savings and money savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Dell Avamar's customer service is mixed; praised for expertise but criticized for reliability and communication issues post-acquisition.
Sentiment score
7.6
N-able Cove Data Protection offers efficient, knowledgeable customer support, with effective resolutions and access to experienced teams including developers.
When their technical person is online, the quality of service and technical knowledge are very good.
If I raise a ticket, they get back to me.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Dell Avamar offers scalability for medium to large enterprises but requires costly node additions and has infrastructure limitations.
Sentiment score
7.8
N-able Cove Data Protection excels in scalability, easily managing numerous systems and seamlessly expanding storage through the cloud.
Dell Avamar offers very good scalability.
There are some limitations, such as storage, where I cannot support a large number of employees who need to back up their data.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Dell Avamar is praised for its stability, reliability, and effective performance in virtual and physical infrastructure backup and restore.
Sentiment score
8.1
N-able Cove Data Protection is highly stable and reliable, with minor issues mostly due to external factors.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell Avamar needs UI, backup speed, cloud integration, and scalability improvements, with concerns over pricing and technical support.
N-able Cove Data Protection requires enhancements in reporting, cloud integration, dashboard customization, and improvements in backup, recovery, and compatibility.
There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved.
While Dell Avamar is a good product, the pricing is very high.
N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve.
 

Setup Cost

Dell Avamar offers varying pricing experiences, with praised setup ease, but cost-effectiveness compared to competitors like Veeam is debated.
N-able Cove Data Protection offers flexible pricing and billing, pooling storage to avoid overage charges and support scalability.
I don't currently have detailed knowledge about the pricing, however, it is geared towards enterprise businesses and might be on the higher side.
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
 

Valuable Features

Dell Avamar provides efficient data protection, scalability, and seamless integration, offering user-friendly features and strong deduplication with minimal resource use.
N-able Cove Data Protection provides fast cloud backup, robust recovery, and a user-friendly dashboard for comprehensive data management.
The most valuable feature is the instant recovery capability.
The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality.
The most valuable feature of N-able Cove Data Protection is its ease of use.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (3rd)
N-able Cove Data Protection
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
30th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (17th), SaaS Backup (9th), MSP Backup (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.5%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.2%, up 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.
Jack Henson - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows us to back up workstations and servers, and saved us time when checking endpoints and the viability of backups
I have some issues with the agent failing on workstations. I've had to completely uninstall several of them, delete everything, and start over to get them to work. That's been the biggest source of my problems recently. The problem is that when we delete one, we lose the backup. Consequently, it means we're without a backup unless we have a local copy. When we delete the agent, there's the problem of how to go back and restore it. I haven't had to deal with it yet, because I haven't had a failure that occurred while I was doing that. I had a workstation that started failing, and we couldn't get the services to run. I don't know what caused it. I had to reinstall the agent, which didn't work. I had to go into the machine and delete everything and load another agent onto it. Once I did that, I was able to make it work, but 90% of the time I never have an issue. During the other 10% of the time when I have a problem, it's a mess. The ability to recover to a different workstation or a different data point is a little bit clumsy. It could use some work.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.
848,476 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

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 do you like most about Dell Avamar?
Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.
What do you like most about N-able Backup?
The initial setup of N-able Cove Data Protection was very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
What needs improvement with N-able Backup?
N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve. Additionally, there are some limitations on the storage side, where I cannot have a lo...
 

Also Known As

Avamar
N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup
 

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
Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. N-able Cove Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,476 professionals have used our research since 2012.