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Dell NetWorker vs OpenText Data Protector 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 NetWorker
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
10th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenText Data Protector
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell NetWorker is 1.3%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Data Protector is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell NetWorker1.3%
OpenText Data Protector1.0%
Other97.7%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

RaedHassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Specialist Backup/Storage at National Bank of Kuwait
Has supported flexible multi-platform backups and improved over time
Regarding the effectiveness of Dell NetWorker in terms of role-based access controls, I have experience with it, but I find it somewhat lacking in flexibility as it offers limited features, and I would rate it around seven out of ten. It is not that there is something wrong with the role-based access controls in Dell NetWorker, but it lacks many permissions or roles to assign, providing options only for administrator or user. To improve Dell NetWorker for the next release, I recommend enhancing flexibility in the policy, allowing selection of multiple options within the same policy, and addressing issues like the DNS lookup dependency to make it more controllable from Dell NetWorker itself rather than relying on other applications. Looking forward, I would like to see improved policy features and a more enhanced GUI, as it is still slow.
Ahmad-Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager And Technical Consultant at EEMC
Provides effective backup for physical servers and needs improvements for cloud compatibility
We use OpenText Data Protector for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security OpenText Data Protector is good for physical backup, specifically for physical servers. It is effective for direct backups to EMC library or storage without using a repository. However,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The backup software has been much faster since we've deployed the solution."
"Dell EMC NetWorker does what I need it to do, it's efficient."
"The solution is scalable, and approximately 1,000 users utilize the solution in our organization."
"Taking backups is faster."
"The possibility of recovering up-to-the-moment data is very useful."
"The technical support from EMC is 10 out of 10."
"Anybody could drive the GUI."
"The solution has minimized the recovery time objective, and the recovery point objective, the RTO and RPO, and has helped customers minimize downtime."
"Performs the backup properly and protects our data."
"Micro Focus Data Protector is a stable solution and, when compared to other storage or backup tools on the market, it is extremely competitive because it is user-friendly, has multi-vendor support, and also supports cloud platforms as well as local storage."
"Our complete Data Centre HP Data Protector deployment was AU$46,000."
"It is very easy to use and the interaction with various systems is very handy."
"Reliable Utility that would help a lot to automate backups and recovery operations"
"The most valuable features of this solution were the features we worked most with which were telemetry, and the scheduler."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The feature that was most valuable was that we could restore one mailbox and we could do different backups for different databases."
 

Cons

"I would like to see better support for the container systems, and we would like to see more support for image backups instead of pure file backups."
"Regarding improvements for NetWorker, I believe implementing cross-platform restore functionality is essential. This feature would allow for compatibility with various backup software solutions, similar to Veeam."
"The management of Dell Networker is quite cumbersome because we have to operate on a separate interface for reporting backup jobs."
"The configuration is too complex."
"I cannot see people choosing EMC NetWorker. At the moment everybody chooses to go for Veeam and Commvault."
"The technical support was slightly impolite in my experience."
"I haven't had a good experience with technical support. It takes them a very long time to resolve issues."
"The UI is not user-friendly."
"Virtualization."
"What we wanted was disk-to-disk replication. After we got that nailed down, we then wanted to replicate from disk to tape. We were told that we can't do that, and then we were told it doesn't let you do it unless you buy it with a license."
"I would like to see a better user interface in the next release."
"For me, the main weakness of Data Protector now is the Granular Recovery integrations, as they just don’t work as smoothly as they could."
"The scheduler setup could be better. We are facing some issues scheduling the job based on our requirements."
"It's very expensive compared to Veeam and other similar solutions."
"I really wouldn't recommend others to use this solution - especially when it comes to the technical support."
"The product can be developed by including functionalities like DR, CDP, and SureBackup, which are currently unavailable in the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is not the cheapest compared to other similar solutions. The Networker is available as a component of the Dell EMC Data Protection Suite package and it should have the ability to be purchased separately."
"It is excellent from the pricing point of view. It is free with Data Protection Suite. Similarly, when you purchase Avamar, Dell EMC NetWorker is free with one terabyte license capacity. Its price is very competitive."
"Licensing is based on the number of terabytes, so you need to purchase packages."
"It's approximate, but I believe we pay around $20-30,000 a month in licensing."
"Earlier, users had to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs of the product. The licenses were expensive but users used to get the best device to use."
"Pricing is cheaper for this product, compared to its competitors."
"The pricing is okay."
"If you purchase Avamar, NetWorker is free with Avamar, for one terabyte license capacity."
"The solution requires paying for a license."
"In Data Protector, if you need extra features, you need to buy the agents for these features. Some of the features are Terabytes, some of them are agents. There's some complexity in the pricing and licensing."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."
"The pricing is acceptable for enterprise level companies, but it's not acceptable for small- and medium-sized businesses. Micro Focus Data Protector is not an enterprise level solution, and it should cover small- and medium-sized businesses with acceptable prices."
"Pricing/licensing is Data Protector's single best offering. In its most basic environment, the only license required is for whatever target device is required."
"The license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
"The licensing structure provides cost savings to business."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise61
 

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 NetWorker?
Regarding the pricing of Dell NetWorker, it depends on the deal or negotiation we have with the vendor, making it reasonable, although I cannot make a definitive decision without knowing the specif...
What needs improvement with Dell NetWorker?
Regarding the effectiveness of Dell NetWorker in terms of role-based access controls, I have experience with it, but I find it somewhat lacking in flexibility as it offers limited features, and I w...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Data Protector?
The solution is expensive as it requires purchasing all features without the option to negotiate based on client numbers, unlike Veeam which offers flexibility in pricing.
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?
OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup. It lacks functions and facilities compared to Veeam, which offers more user-friendliness for virtual machine backups. Ther...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Data Protector?
We use OpenText Data Protector ( /products/opentext-data-protector-reviews ) for Oracle database backup and some applications that run for database security.
 

Also Known As

NetWorker
Micro Focus Data Protector, Data Protector, OmniBack, HPE Data Protector
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Republic Bank, Westgate Resorts, Macquire Cloud Services, Shriners, Panatonni, Qatar Islamic Bank, Eurosport
GSK Vaccines, Repsol, Vodafone Group, Siemens AG, Medium Enterprise Transportation Services Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell NetWorker vs. OpenText Data Protector and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,510 professionals have used our research since 2012.