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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
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 June 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell NetWorker is 1.2%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Data Protector is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell NetWorker1.2%
OpenText Data Protector1.0%
Other97.8%
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

"Simple, stable and straightforward."
"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."
"We have found the stability to be quite good."
"It can support many different versions, both newer and older."
"It integrates well with Dell's Data Domain as a backup storage solution."
"Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable."
"The software is quite complicated and useful for large corporations using different information systems."
"Dell NetWorker allows for extensive customization, supporting various open-source databases like PostgreSQL."
"It is the best solution for general operations like backup and restore."
"Regarding scalability, it's unlimited with Data Protector. You can link multiple installations and let them work together. They can share backup devices. You have many possibilities with Data Protector. It's very proficient."
"Originally, the benefit from Data Protector was that it fitted in because we buy HPE storage."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to recover individual files."
"I cannot recommend a better solution for enterprise-wide data security and retention."
"It has the ability to backup both DB2 (IBM's RDBMS) and HP-UX (HP's Unix OS)."
"If others have a similar environment like we do, then I would suggest this solution for them."
 

Cons

"Sometimes just re-installing a client can be a nightmare."
"We pretend to start image backups from VMware, but we are also working with Xen and RHEV, and this product doesn't support those platforms."
"NetWorker isn't scalable - you can't add more nodes to it, although you can add some data zones."
"We would like support for tape space reclaim, using either the same or another pool."
"I haven't had a good experience with technical support. It takes them a very long time to resolve issues."
"Its console UI should be better. It should also have more out-of-the-box reporting functionalities."
"There are too many reboots and the software requires constant updating."
"Since the product is not on the front banner of Dell, the support may not be the best."
"I do not think that this solution is relevant in the current IT market. They have not upgraded their features and functionalities which makes it difficult for them to remain competitive."
"Many of our users complain about the GUI. You still need to rely on the command line interface."
"In SAP restoration, we faced issues with changing the SIDs and changing the path for every backup object. It is quite a lengthy process to do that."
"Every time there is a backup running, I cannot predict anything, so I cannot say if it will back up the first time."
"The HPE Data Protector may not be enough to support your RPO/RTO needs, specifically for application integrated backups."
"It's very expensive compared to Veeam and other similar solutions."
"When it comes to hardware support, HPE will help you in a minimal amount time. When in comes to software problems, you do not know when they will close your issues."
"The graphical interface needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price of the solution could be lower, it is expensive."
"The pricing is okay."
"The price of the license could be cheaper and it would be a benefit if they came up with a new pricing model. The competitors here in Oman sell universal licensing where a number of virtual machines are hosted at the customer place which can be licensed, or you can license the CPU sockets in those servers. However, NetWorker offers only CPU sockets or overall storage capacity to backup, but there is no universal licensing where you can provide a number of VMs. They should offer more options to stay competitive with other solutions, such as Veeam."
"Dell NetWorker has two types of licensing models."
"They are not cheap."
"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."
"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 is around $3,000 to $5,000. The charge additionally for support and to scale."
"The licensing cost is too high."
"Data Protector's pricing is very competitive and we have no issues in this regard. I would give it an eight out of ten in terms of pricing."
"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 pricing is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"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 license for the solution is very expensive compared to the other products in the market."
"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
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.
896,563 professionals have used our research since 2012.