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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
8th
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
22nd
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 April 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 solution has minimized the recovery time objective, and the recovery point objective, the RTO and RPO, and has helped customers minimize downtime."
"The updated graphical interface is better than it used to be."
"NetWorker is fast and reliable."
"The solution is scalable, and approximately 1,000 users utilize the solution in our organization."
"As far as performance is concerned, and the working functionality point of view, definitely it is a good solution."
"The compression ratio is very flexible for designing all the required policies for backup."
"Storage-wise, EMC is user-friendly."
"It is application aware for Meditech, Exchange and SQL."
"It is a very good application that does the job and provides everything any basic backup application should do."
"Data Protector is quite simple and easy to deploy. The deployment is always the same. It's on a server, and the agents are deployed to the machines in a straightforward way. We have two engineers who deploy and manage all our backup solutions."
"What we find most valuable in Micro Focus Data Protector is that it provides Japanese data protection, for example, it protects information such as the full Japanese name, address, etc."
"I would still recommend it as a comprehensive backup and recovery solution."
"Reliable Utility that would help a lot to automate backups and recovery operations"
"I cannot recommend a better solution for enterprise-wide data security and retention."
"In one of the projects involving a database and UCMDB integration, we needed to manage a large database. We used the scheduling feature in Data Protector to automate backups."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The initial setup process for the solution is easy."
 

Cons

"They need to take off the tape and allow us to use different repositories in order to keep the data for five to 10 years."
"Could have a better recovery system."
"It is a little buggy at times, which is the only thing that I dislike about this product."
"When you're working with VMware, you need to use vProxy machines. You have to install the vProxy for every host in the VMware environment."
"The front end of the solution could improve. The user-friendliness is lacking."
"Management of the software is a little bit hazy and not easy."
"The front end of the solution could improve. The user-friendliness is lacking."
"I would like to see encryption included in the next release to encrypt the data that we are backing up."
"The problem with HPE Data Protector is when it goes wrong, it's very hard to fathom why it went wrong."
"Faster VEAgent Restores"
"In general, you can say that Micro Focus Data Protector is behind in capabilities when compared with other backup solutions, such as Commvault, Symantec, NetBackup, but it is very strong for certain use cases such as array integration."
"The downside of the flexibility on offer is if you over-configure it, it may fail to function as some configurations may not match."
"We didn't know exactly where this solution would go a few years ago. It was in a storage department and then later in a software department."
"The major issue we are facing in this product is Sybase database integration."
"With the 11.0 release, there have been improvements in terms of security (Secure communication) however, the bar is still not high enough."
"Many of our users complain about the GUI. You still need to rely on the command line interface. Because it originated as a Unix system, Data Protector is still a command line-driven solution, which makes it seem rather dated compared to systems that are built around a GUI from day one. It doesn't affect the functionality, but some people don't find it user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a licensing fee."
"It is a relatively inexpensive product compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"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."
"We do need to purchase a license, but sometimes, it comes as a part of the Dell Data Protection Suite (DPS). It has a capacity-based licensing."
"The pricing for the telecom, government, and banking sectors is relatively affordable."
"The price is a little on the high side, but it's reliable and provides a good service."
"Licensing is based on the number of terabytes, so you need to purchase packages."
"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."
"The license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
"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."
"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."
"It is fast, reliable, and its licensing policy is great."
"The pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"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 for Micro Focus Data Protector is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
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.
890,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.