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Hitachi Thin Image Advanced vs NetApp Snapshot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

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

Hitachi Thin Image Advanced
Ranking in Data Replication
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp Snapshot
Ranking in Data Replication
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of Hitachi Thin Image Advanced is 9.2%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Snapshot is 23.0%, down from 23.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Replication
 

Featured Reviews

BP
Fast data transfer and quick setup for new servers
We use Thin Image to image new test servers, create new development servers, and test new servers. It is also used for fast data transfer to new servers Hitachi Thin Image allows us to quickly create new data snapshots. It speeds up synchronization and setup tasks significantly, which is…
Mir Gulzar Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers point-in-time copy functionality, restore process is very fast, and the resources are easy to configure
Snapshot doesn't work well when you're already backing up data with another software. For example, if a customer has backup software in their environment and wants to use Snapshot alongside it, that won't work effectively. It will bubble up back-end storage space. Also, if a customer frequently deletes data, Snapshot will take up a lot of space. For example, if they write one terabyte of data and delete it at the end of the day, and then rewrite it the next day, scheduling a snapshot in that scenario will cause it to take up a lot of space. So, in scenarios where you need data protection, you have to use NetApp Snapshot exclusively and not use any other product for that. Secondly, where there's a lot of data deletion or overwriting, NetApp's Snapshot will not be an effective way to provide backup and recovery. I've told a lot of my customers this because I've seen the problems firsthand. They call me saying their storage is full, and I find that they are deleting and then copying the data repeatedly. I ask them why they're doing it, and they say it's their daily work to archive, delete, and copy. So I have to disable the Snapshot and tell them that if they're already copying the data with other tools and deleting it, then the data isn't important, and they don't need a snapshot or backup of it. For additional features: NetApp is already a visionary company. They analyze their deployed products and change them according to customer requirements. To me, it's not about technical improvement, but the price factor is important for selling the product. So, the price factor is challenging. Snapshot is a ten out of ten. If the whole product needs improvement, I think one feature they could add is an alarm or notification in the NetApp management console if you're frequently deleting data or using a volume for backups. The alarm would indicate that you don't need to enable Snapshot in that case. That kind of alarm, notification, or indication could be added. If a customer is deleting data very frequently, there should be a mechanism to notify the administrator. A message should be triggered if the customer has enabled Snapshot, advising them to disable it, as it will use unnecessary storage. This would be a helpful feature. Otherwise, administrators or deployers should know to discuss this with the customer during deployment. They should advise the customer not to enable Snapshot on volumes where they frequently delete and copy or archive data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most beneficial feature is its fast data transfer capabilities."
"Hitachi Thin Image is stable."
"The most important feature to us is creating live snapshots without impacting user access to the file. NetApp's processes are transparent to users and allow us to create point-in-time snapshots, enabling us to replicate that data into the cloud in real time without any impact."
"We are able to easily do Azure backups and restores."
"It doesn't occupy a lot of space and is very easy to use once you schedule the snapshots."
"The solution is fast and it doesn't use any disc space at all. You can also take as many snapshots as you like. These are the solution's most valuable features."
"One of the best features in the industry is that data snapshots can be synchronise for database consistency."
"Snapshots are space-efficient and consistent across all applications."
"The replication and SV protocol features are valuable."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
 

Cons

"We are having problems with the speed of synchronization and transferring of data."
"Hitachi needs to improve their management software, especially the Ops Center."
"The dashboards are in need of improvement."
"The initial setup of NetApp Snapshot is not straightforward. It's not something that you can do just by clicking on the next step button. It has to be designed and it has to be implemented according to your network capabilities and the use case scenario."
"I would like some sort of notification that lets me know when a snapshot is done or not done."
"The price could be improved a little bit."
"I think the automation needs some improvement."
"The solution could include more databases and make it accessible to the DBAs. The automation process should be run in a way where it could be run from the database itself."
"The initial setup process of NetApp Snapshot is not easy and needs improvement."
"The licensing cost could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It's not too expensive."
"Snapshot is free and comes with the NetApp storage software. It's purely free of cost."
"The price of the solution is reasonable but could improve. However, if you are in a country that has a poor currency then the price will be considered expensive."
"As far as their licensing costs, the licensing is paid on a yearly basis. The organization pays for the licensing based on the software and the capacity that they choose."
"If there is a way to save more on the number of snapshots, it should be included in the next release."
"The price of NetApp Snapshot depends on the use case. They charge by how much data you need, the capability, and for snap licenses."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"NetApp Snapshot is expensive since you need to buy an additional premium license for it which is an extra cost over the payments made for NetApp...The license works during the entire life cycle of NetApp Snapshot."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
37%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Non Profit
6%
Manufacturing Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Hitachi Thin Image?
Hitachi needs to improve their management software, especially the Ops Center. Better management could enhance the overall experience.
What is your primary use case for Hitachi Thin Image?
We use Thin Image to image new test servers, create new development servers, and test new servers. It is also used for fast data transfer to new servers.
What advice do you have for others considering Hitachi Thin Image?
Thin Image is suitable for both small and big companies. It is highly recommended for its fast performance. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
What method of data replication does NetApp Snapshot use?
Here's a breakdown of how the data replication by NetApp Snapshot works: it's through the snapshot replication method. What does that mean? Well, in simple words, the software creates copies of dat...
What is the storage scale of NetApp Snapshot?
Last time I checked, the NetApp Snapshot data replication software could go up to 255 snapshot copies. I'm not sure how familiar you are with similar software, but that's a pretty good number. It g...
Will NetApp Snapshot recover data in an emergency?
Well yes, the snapshots that NetApp Snapshot creates are your backup. But then there's also their feature for advanced backup. This allows you to copy backups to offline locations and also make arc...
 

Also Known As

Hitachi Thin Image
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Net Credit Financial Group
Mazda
Find out what your peers are saying about Hitachi Thin Image Advanced vs. NetApp Snapshot and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.