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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

"It can support many different versions, both newer and older."
"It has lots of great features, and we don't find anything lacking."
"For a file system backup or one that is on disk or in a tape library, or for virtualization, I recommend using NetWorker because of ease of deployment, ease of use, and the user-friendly GUI."
"We have found the stability to be quite good."
"Taking backups is faster."
"The best feature of Dell EMC NetWorker is its wide spectrum of available plugins for each and every software that you can back up, such as SAP HANA, Oracle, AXI-based machines, or Dell-based machines, and whatever you want to back up, you can do it with Dell EMC NetWorker."
"Dell EMC NetWorker does what I need it to do, it's efficient."
"Dell NetWorker is easy to install, configure, and operate."
"It is really easy to backup and restore your data across all servers, something that IBM Spectrum Protect struggles to do."
"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."
"For us, disaster recovery is the most valuable feature."
"It is a traditional backup model. If you talk about file server and the official Windows database, it's a stable product."
"It is very easy to use and the interaction with various systems is very handy."
"We are required to send sensitive information offsite, and Data Protector has made it easy to meet this requirement."
"OpenText Data Protector is good for physical backup, specifically for physical servers."
"It's very easy to use."
 

Cons

"I would not recommend this solution, we are switching to Veeam, and I would recommend it."
"The UI is not user-friendly."
"There should be more vendors incorporated into the solution."
"The graphical user interface (GUI) of NetWorker needs improvement."
"The management of Dell Networker is quite cumbersome because we have to operate on a separate interface for reporting backup jobs."
"The licensing rules are difficult to navigate and understand."
"The initial setup is complex."
"I haven't had a good experience with technical support. It takes them a very long time to resolve issues."
"I recommend not to implement Data Protector, as it is not friendly and you need to have a dedicated person to administer it."
"In terms of what can be improved, I would say integrations with MongoDB. We use MongoDB and we need to go to scripts to do backups. We need more integrations."
"The new backup systems are using new mechanisms for the recovery phases; for example, VM, recovery and testing the backup before recovering it. These features are not available in Data Protector."
"OpenText Data Protector is not user-friendly, especially for cloud backup."
"Many of our users complain about the GUI. You still need to rely on the command line interface."
"The downside of the flexibility on offer is if you over-configure it, it may fail to function as some configurations may not match."
"Micro Focus Data Protector must improve its overall evolution record. They need to focus on hardware based instant recovery, client recovery, and cloud ability. Now there is no cloud ability."
"The GUI could be updated. The GUI hasn't changed since version 6. It's on version 10 now. The reporting could also be better. Also, while Data Protector is excellent for backing up physical hardware, it needs more features for backing up VM images because many environments use hypervisor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You have to buy the deduplication software separately from the license."
"The pricing is okay."
"They are not cheap."
"The tool is pricey."
"The licensing model can be traditional licensing or capacity-based licensing."
"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."
"It is inexpensive compared to new products."
"It is not very expensive and not very cheap."
"They have two types of licensing, one is for storage capacity and the other is client licensing. The capacity licensing here is a bit expensive."
"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."
"There is a perpetual license involved in addition to support which needs to be renewed annually."
"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."
"The license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
"The product is cheaper than Commvault."
"It is more affordable compared to other vendors."
"The licensing cost is too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
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.
895,990 professionals have used our research since 2012.