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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 initial setup is very easy. It's incredibly fast."
"The solution offers compatibility with many types of database systems. It is one of the largest backup solutions. Additionally, it gives important information about data domain systems with deduplication."
"The most valuable feature of Dell NetWorker is its quick configuration and handling of large databases."
"Taking backups is faster."
"When it was required that data had to be restored for our customer, it was accomplished successfully and this has kept our end users satisfied."
"Dell EMC Networker is really the best in the market! After evaluating the solutions, we automatically decided to use this solution."
"The software’s best feature is data backup for any system."
"The software implementation takes about 30 minutes."
"Ability to automatically detect and secure new data sources without requiring manual configuration intervention."
"I'm not sure in dollars our ROI, but the system has definitely paid for itself time and time again."
"If you are an enterprise, and you need a strong backup solution, Micro Focus is for you."
"The reliability of HP Data Protector is the most valuable feature for us."
"The feature I like the most is the deduplication implementation with CAPA; it's very good."
"What I like the most about this solution is that I can change and access the Oracle backup file."
"The most valuable feature of Data Protector is its integration with VMware. A lot of software these days integrates with VMware, and you can run some of these things on virtual machines. You can even have your backup manager running on a virtual machine and use physical managers to move data around. Their VMware integration isn't too bad, but Commvault has that feature, and many other backup products do."
"Data Protector allows us to improve our SLA in successful backups and the reporting tools integrated with our management console make possible 99% backup success in our clients."
 

Cons

"The price could be cheaper."
"This is a highly scalable solution, but on a larger scale, it is not very stable."
"The UI is not user-friendly."
"The tool should be more streamlined and simplified to create a backup to receive objects."
"They need to be compatible with the cloud because EMC NetWorker cannot compete with other products at the moment. EMC focuses only on their own cloud and do not take into consideration other cloud vendors."
"There should be total integration of the replication and cloud logistic back up on cloud."
"Since the product is not on the front banner of Dell, the support may not be the best."
"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."
"Every time there is a backup running, I cannot predict anything, so I cannot say if it will back up the first time."
"Data Protector isn't stable."
"There are lots of bugs around; inability to downgrade version, issues with version upgrades, etc."
"Recently, clients have raised concerns about the lack of comprehensive documentation for Data Protector."
"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 scalability could be a bit better, actually, because that connects to the stability question."
"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."
"Data Protector is great software, but after we started getting support from Micro Focus, it was taking too much time, there was too much delay."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell NetWorker has two types of licensing models."
"If you purchase Avamar, NetWorker is free with Avamar, for one terabyte license capacity."
"The licensing model can be traditional licensing or capacity-based licensing."
"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."
"Licensing is based on the number of terabytes, so you need to purchase packages."
"The solution follows a subscription model for licensing. We pay annually to use the solution and the price is high."
"It is a relatively inexpensive product compared to one of its competitors."
"You have to buy the deduplication software separately from the license."
"The pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good."
"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."
"The licensing cost was not annual. We didn't pay any license. We paid when we deployed and we didn't pay for anything after that. There were no additional fees after the initial payment."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"It is fast, reliable, and its licensing policy is great."
"The license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
"The pricing is around $3,000 to $5,000. The charge additionally for support and to scale."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
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.
886,906 professionals have used our research since 2012.