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OpenText Data Protector vs Veritas Backup Exec 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

OpenText Data Protector
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
23rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Veritas Backup Exec
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of OpenText Data Protector is 0.6%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Veritas Backup Exec is 1.8%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user7077 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 17, 2016
 

Featured Reviews

Jeroen Vranckaerts - PeerSpot reviewer
Though a highly stable tool, it needs to be made easier to use and configure
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten. OpenText Data Protector is complex to configure correctly, but the areas concerning the data and compression are good. Once you get the product to work, it works, but it's much too complex to configure and troubleshoot, as it takes a lot of time and energy, making it not so efficient. Once the tool is configured in your environment, it provides good backup and compression features. In my company, we use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our servers, and we have a team of 20 people to take care of the data backup using the tool. My company doesn't use OpenText Data Protector as a backup for our client's computers. In my company, we have scheduled the process related to backup, which makes the tool run daily around 30 to 40 times.
Pawel Augustyn - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified interface with good performance but needs monitoring
I need to use PowerStore and Veritas Backup Exec. It is a direct backup to types, and it is supported by my backup. It offers good performance and stability, and it works properly. I am happy with this program. It is still working on aligning with security requirements and data encryption for Amazon or ATAC. It has a lot of functions and security measures, which ensure our backups are secure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of this solution were the features we worked most with which were telemetry, and the scheduler."
"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."
"What I like the most about this solution is that I can change and access the Oracle backup file."
"Micro Focus Data Protector's most valuable feature is its interaction with the fiber share. It is easy to use, we use it to back up without any problem to VTLs, and can use the Fiber Channel that is still the TCP."
"Deduplication implementation with CAPA is very good."
"I have used Micro Focus Data Protector for the file backup facilities. My primary use of the software is to backup file data."
"If you have an idea of what you are doing, it's very flexible and very stable."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The interface for this solution is excellent, and it is easy to restore files compared to other solutions."
"This is a very flexible product, which allows you to back up not only the physical environment but also the cloud environment."
"Setting up Backup Exec is straightforward. It took less than two weeks to get it up and running. You need maybe two people at most if you have a Veritas-certified engineer."
"The beauty of the solution is that you can rely on it. It offers a quick recovery time when it's backing up items. The way it recovers data is excellent."
"It offers good performance and stability, and it works properly."
"One nice feature with Backup Exec is mainly that disaster can happen to any server and the disk image can be destroyed very easily. It's also easy to fully email the backup image and restore the server."
"It has good stability. Its interface is very good, responsive, and easy for restoring data. I use it for backup, encryption, and restore operations, and it works. I am using many agents from VM to LMDP. I also use an agent for SQL Server, which has advanced options because it is the Enterprise version."
"Veritas is good for small environments."
 

Cons

"The solution is not intuitive enough. I think they should work on the user experience and the graphical interface. These can be a lot better."
"It can occasionally be inaccurate in its backup/recovery time estimates."
"VMware backup integration and cloud recovery is lacking."
"The product can be developed by including functionalities like DR, CDP, and SureBackup, which are currently unavailable in the solution."
"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."
"We have a lot of requests for the Micro Focus team, particularly in terms of the Japanese data pattern, as it's not as good now. The Japanese data pattern accuracy of the Micro Focus Data Protector needs to be improved because there are a lot of false negatives and false positives. We are currently testing this and our product team has been communicating with the Micro Focus team."
"The graphical interface needs to be improved."
"It would be ideal if they could improve their level of support."
"At the moment, we have a very complex environment. It would take some time to deploy an environment like ours from scratch."
"Doesn't include disaster recovery."
"I have experienced some errors, such as failures, but there have not been very many."
"The integration with SaaS applications like Office 365 needs to be improved."
"The pricing could be improved."
"It could provide better ease of management than one of its competitors."
"Veritas Backup Exec should be more user-friendly. The costs should also be much lower and it should be easier to go through the disaster recovery process."
"One area that needs improvement is SQL backup. Backup Exec doesn't support higher availability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"There is a perpetual license involved in addition to support which needs to be renewed annually."
"The product is cheaper than Commvault."
"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."
"Our licensing is on a capacity basis."
"The licensing structure provides cost savings to business."
"Its price is a bit high. There is only the standard fee. There is no additional fee."
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The pricing of Veritas Backup's license is comparable to Veeam."
"The product's price is reasonable."
"The product is inexpensive compared to enterprise software."
"Veritas comes with an annual licensing fee."
"It is a mid-range solution on the pricing scale."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Answers from the Community

it_user7077 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 17, 2016
Mar 17, 2016
I am using HP Data Protector since last 3 years. It is easy to use, install, configure and very less administration after initial setup. It is able to backup many different operating systems and virtual infrastructure. I personally liked HP Data Protector as a backup software. I have not used Symantec Backup Exec.
2 out of 5 answers
it_user94800 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 9, 2014
Hi Russell: We are an EMC vendor/MSP for backup and storage solutions. The following is some information that might assist you taken from Gartner's Magic Quadrant: HP The Autonomy name, which was used in the previous iteration of this Magic Quadrant, is replaced with HP in this update, as HP has integrated Autonomy into its organization. This Magic Quadrant evaluates HP Data Protector, HP Autonomy LiveVault cloud server backup and HP Autonomy Connected Backup endpoint backup, although the emphasis is primarily on server backup. HP StoreOnce appliances are not evaluated for this Magic Quadrant; however, they are considered in the breadth of HP's data protection portfolio, and the StoreOnce deduplication technology is factored into the overall product-related ratings. Data Protector is available globally from HP direct sales and a wide variety of HP partners and is often aggressively priced relative to other enterprise solutions. HP has been focusing on integrating Data Protector with StoreOnce deduplication technologies and appliances, as well as with its current flagship array 3PAR. It offers solid traditional backup and recovery functionality, such as synthetic full and virtual full backups. In the June 2013 release, HP revamped the Data Protector server architecture to make it much more scalable (able to handle 1 trillion filenames). HP was early in delivering snapshot integration and automation via its Zero Downtime Backup and Instant Recovery capabilities, which support HP, EMC and NetApp storage array snapshot and replication. HP's internally developed deduplication technology -- StoreOnce -- is offered as part of Data Protector 7 and above for client- and server-side deduplication, as well as for what the company calls "Catalyst-based replication," an API that enables Data Protector to control movement of deduplicated data across the enterprise without the need for rehydration. Data Protector can move data from StoreOnce appliances to tape and manage appliance replication. Data Protector provides agent-based granular restore for Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint in physical and virtual environments. HP has also started integration work between Data Protector and the Autonomy Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), a common information management platform for structured and unstructured information that provides conceptual understanding of information. With Data Protector 7's initial integration, IDOL can place a legal hold on a backup copy, index the backup dataset and provide search capabilities. Although IDOL can elevate backup datasets from inactive status to active use cases, HP will be challenged to translate value and benefit statements to traditional backup and recovery buyers. HP inherited cloud backup solutions from Iron Mountain (whose digital assets were acquired by Autonomy), and LiveVault provides midsize organizations and ROBOs with WAN-optimized, deduplicated backup to the LiveVault cloud, as well as WAN-efficient delta restore. Its Connected services offer customers a cloud-based and on-premises endpoint backup solution with proven large scalability. Both LiveVault and Connected are integrated with IDOL for legal hold and contextual search. However, LiveVault needs to improve its scalability to meet larger customers' desire to leverage the cloud, and Connected also needs technology enhancements, such as near-CDP support and more granular block-level source-side deduplication (beyond its current file-based single-instance capability) to be more competitive in the market. Strengths - HP customers can use the same StoreOnce code for source-side, server-side and target-side deduplication, without data hydration when performing data replication. Customers commented favorably on the deduplication ratio this technology offers. - Customers generally enjoy the simpler and less expensive pricing model for Data Protector compared with offerings from some competitors. - HP has extensive experience providing cloud backup services with LiveVault and Connected and offers many secure cloud data centers across multiple geographies. Cautions - Although Data Protector can manage StoreOnce appliances' replication and node failover, some customers cite their need for an integrated GUI with the same level of granular reporting. - LiveVault targets mostly small backup environments and is mostly adopted for the Windows environment. - For customers who are looking for an integration solution for both on-premises and cloud backup, Data Protector's integration with LiveVault cloud backup is still a work in progress and has limited capabilities. Symantec Symantec has two main backup product lines: NetBackup and Backup Exec. NetBackup and Backup Exec are market-share-leading solutions in the enterprise and midsize enterprise segments, respectively. NetBackup is the single largest revenue-producing product in Symantec's portfolio and in the overall backup software market. Symantec offers solid deduplication software, as well as a successful line of integrated backup and deduplication appliances (note that appliances are not the focus of this research). The Symantec OpenStorage (OST) interface allows integration with other backup hardware solutions to be managed under one console and to minimize data transfer. These product lines are largely different code bases targeted at two different audiences: NetBackup at the enterprise and Backup Exec at SMB and ROBO markets; however, in the last four years, there has been code sharing around deduplication, virtualization, OST APIs and Microsoft Windows, Exchange, SharePoint and SQL Server support. Symantec launched major upgrades in 2012 to Backup Exec (version 2012) and NetBackup (version 7.5) on the same day around the world. Backup Exec 2012 has received very mixed reviews, with many customers complaining about the removed features and incompatibility with previously defined backup jobs. Customer support for both products has taken a significant hit as well in the recent past, and Gartner clients and reference checks for this research were very vocal about this issue. Symantec's new CEO addressed these concerns in his first quarterly earnings call, explaining that overall product quality will be improved through enhanced testing, that Backup Exec will get corrected, but that this will take time. He also recognized that support needs to be improved. The CEO and executive team reorganization from the 3Q12 appear to be making positive changes, but while references point to the April 2013 beta of the delayed NetBackup version 7.6 as being the most solid release to date, Backup Exec customers are approaching a year for delayed support of the latest Windows OS and applications. Symantec is having success with its capacity-based licensing schemes to address historical concerns over pricing and maintenance, which have received positive feedback from Gartner clients and references. The late 2011 and strong 2012 marketing and awareness efforts by Symantec regarding its backup portfolio, which have continued in 2013, have been successful, with Symantec not only defending its installed base better, but also winning an increasing amount of new deals for NetBackup. With NetBackup version 7.5 released in 2012, product functionality is catching up to the marketing, and the new features are resonating in the marketplace, while also providing customers and prospects with confidence regarding the future road map. NetBackup improvements to its OpsCenter have been highlighted by customers as being very positive. Features such as NetBackup Accelerator for very fast backups, optimized synthetic backup for creating instant full backups, very solid VM support with robust granular item restore support, and Automated Image Replication for backup catalog and images across NetBackup instances and deduplication have been well-received by the NetBackup installed base. To address recovery time concerns in virtual environments, Symantec will also introduce an Instant Recovery feature in version 7.6, allowing VMs to be powered on from within the backup system, cutting restore times down to minutes. Gartner does continue to hear customer concerns about the amount of time required for deduplicated data to be rehydrated to physical tape and the continued delays in version 7.6 (originally targeted for 4Q12). Strengths - Symantec is a market share leader that offers end-to-end recovery capabilities from single machine to the largest enterprise, to cloud services via software or preconfigured backup appliances, and/or the ability to better-manage third-party backup appliances. - V-Ray technology for enhanced server virtualization support for VMware and Hyper-V offers very robust VM support, with a number of industry-exclusive features and capabilities. V-Ray integration with Replication Director in version 7.6 further enhances this. - The NetBackup Accelerator feature, first delivered in version 7.5 in 2012, reduces backup windows and will be further extended in the upcoming version 7.6 to provide for very fast, space-efficient backups that do not require any postprocessing roll-up of incremental backup to constitute a new full backup. Cautions - Customers and references have been very critical over Backup Exec code quality and especially customer support for both Backup Exec and NetBackup. - NetBackup Replication Director, launched in 2012 in version 7.5 and extended in version 7.6, still has comparatively limited storage array support and is slowly rounding out virtual and application capabilities. - NetBackup's SharePoint agent continues to receive mixed feedback; however, version 7.6 may have addressed this.
it_user8178 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 14, 2014
I have not tried HP Data Protector personally. However, Symantec Backup Exec seems to be a good product. It also seems that Acronis or Commvault are upcoming trends in replacing these traditional products.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Micro Focus Data Protector?
I haven't experienced any crashes while using the solution...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Data Protector?
Pricing is high compared to other solutions. If they offer suitable features and a compatible price, we can attract clients. If the tech support becomes good, the price becomes less of a concern. W...
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Data Protector?
Recently, clients have raised concerns about the lack of comprehensive documentation for Data Protector. This has been an issue, especially when troubleshooting or integrating with other vendor-spe...
How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?
Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...
What do you like most about Veritas Backup Exec?
The most important feature is the variety of backup applications it supports, including ERP systems and most other programs, such as Microsoft.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Veritas Backup Exec?
The price is one of the best. When I compare it with others, it is twice or three times cheaper, however, the functionality is the same.
 

Also Known As

Micro Focus Data Protector, Data Protector, OmniBack, HPE Data Protector
Backup Exec, Symantec Backup Exec
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GSK Vaccines, Repsol, Vodafone Group, Siemens AG, Medium Enterprise Transportation Services Company
Beta Offshore
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Data Protector vs. Veritas Backup Exec and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.