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Oracle Data Guard vs Zerto comparison

Oracle and Zerto are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. Oracle is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.3, while Zerto is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8. Oracle holds a 0.7% mindshare in BRS, compared to Zerto’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Zerto users who would recommend it.
Oracle Data Guard
Read 31 Oracle Data Guard reviews
  • 2,193 Views
  • 1,476 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
Zerto
Read 296 Zerto reviews
  • 9,404 Views
  • 4,699 Comparison Views
98% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Zerto and Oracle Data Guard compete in the field of data protection and disaster recovery. Zerto's pricing and ease of use seem to give it an edge, while Oracle Data Guard stands out for its robust features.

Features: Zerto users value its simplicity in disaster recovery operations, quick data replication to virtual environments, and overall efficiency. Oracle Data Guard is praised for comprehensive data protection features, robust failover capabilities, and seamless integration with Oracle databases.

Room for Improvement: Zerto users often mention the need for enhanced reporting features, better support for non-virtual environments, and improved versatility. Oracle Data Guard users would like to see improvements in ease of management, a more intuitive setup process, and enhanced user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zerto is commended for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. Oracle Data Guard, while often seen as complex to deploy, benefits from reliable customer support but could improve in reducing deployment complexity.

Pricing and ROI: Zerto is noted for its competitive pricing and quick ROI due to its ease of use and reduced operational overhead. Oracle Data Guard, despite its higher cost, is seen as delivering strong ROI through its extensive feature set and reliability in critical environments.

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To learn more, read our detailed Oracle Data Guard vs. Zerto Report (Updated: January 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Data Guard vs. Zerto
January 2025
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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

Oracle Data Guard
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zerto
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
296
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (4th), Cloud Backup (3rd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Oracle Data Guard is 0.7%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zerto is 2.9%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

IfeoluwaOshinowo - PeerSpot reviewer
Makes data protection and network management much easier
The initial setup is straightforward, provided you know the source, target, data version and format. You need to consider all those things. First and foremost, when deploying Oracle Data Guard, the number one priority is to ensure all parameters are correctly set. Two primary methods exist: using backups or recovering from services if the network is reliable. If the network is robust, backups from the source to the target may not be necessary. You must ensure that NIS names are correctly configured on both sides and that the failover and switchover processes are tested successfully from both production and standby environments. Once these steps are completed, the deployment process becomes straightforward. There's no need to copy the entire parameter file; only specific configurations, such as the SID or file structure, must be adjusted if necessary. Ensuring proper DNS name resolution, SID configurations, parameter settings, and understanding whether to convert the Data Guard are essential. Once these aspects are identified, the deployment process becomes more straightforward. I have implemented numerous Data Guard setups. Setting up Oracle Data Guard is performed within the Oracle CRS. Challenges may arise in establishing connectivity between the standby and production databases, necessitating troubleshooting. Apart from that, once configured within CRS, the setup is complete. The challenge with Oracle Data Guard is that it often takes some time for us to identify whether the issues stem from the disk or the network. If we report issues to the network or storage teams from the database end, we may not perceive any apparent problems, which can lead to confusion. We can convince the storage teams to investigate further until we delve into the disk I/O Guard and determine if specific disks operate at total capacity. When disks are operating at total capacity, it can significantly impact application processes. These difficulties in pinpointing the source of issues contribute to the challenges of maintaining and managing Oracle Data Guard.
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Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Leverage disaster recovery with reliable support and cost-effective future-proof features
Zerto is straightforward to implement because it only requires the installation of an agent on the VMs designated for migration. A service, typically a VM, must also be deployed at the disaster recovery location. This entire process is simple and can be completed within three days. Zerto's near-synchronous replication occurs every minute, allowing for highly granular recovery points. This means that even if interruptions or malware disruptions occur within that minute, Zerto can restore to the last known good state, effectively recovering the entire setup to the latest backup. This capability ensures high data security and minimizes potential data loss. One of the main benefits of implementing Zerto is its data compression, which significantly reduces the load on our IPsec VPN. Zerto compresses data by 80 percent before transmitting it across the VPN, minimizing the data transferred between geographically dispersed locations. This compression and subsequent decompression at the destination alleviate the strain on the VPN, preventing overload and ensuring efficient data synchronization. Zerto simplifies malware protection by integrating it into its disaster recovery and synchronization features. This comprehensive approach eliminates the need for separate antivirus setups in virtual machines and applications. It streamlines our security measures and removes the need for additional software or solutions, resulting in an excellent return on investment. Zerto's single-click recovery solution offers exceptional recovery speed. Through the user interface, a single click allows for a complete restoration from the most recent backup within two to three minutes, enabling rapid recovery and minimal downtime. Zerto's Recovery Time Objective is excellent. In the past, if a virtual machine crashed, we would recover it from a snapshot, which could take one to two hours. With Zerto, the recovery process takes only five minutes, and users are typically unaware of any disruption. This allows us to restore everything quickly and efficiently. Zerto has significantly reduced our downtime. When malware affects our data, Zerto immediately notifies us and helps us protect other applications, even those not yet implemented with Zerto. By monitoring these applications, we can quickly identify and address any potential malware spread, minimizing downtime across our systems. Zerto significantly reduces downtime and associated costs during disruptions. Our services are unified, so in the event of a disruption without Zerto, even a half-day disruption would necessitate offline procedures. This would lead to increased manpower, service delays, and substantial financial losses due to interrupted admissions and other critical processes. By unifying service processes, Zerto minimizes the impact of outages. Zerto streamlines our disaster recovery testing across multiple locations by enabling efficient failover testing without disrupting live services. Traditionally, DR testing required downtime of critical systems, but Zerto's replication and failover capabilities allow us to test in parallel with live operations. This non-disruptive approach ensures continuous service availability while validating our DR plan, even in scenarios like malware attacks, by creating a separate testing environment that mirrors the live setup. This comprehensive testing provides confidence in our ability to handle real-world incidents effectively. This saves us over 60 percent of the time. Zerto streamlines system administration tasks by automating many processes, thereby reducing the workload for multiple administrators. This allows them to focus on other university services that require attention and effectively reallocate support resources from automated tasks to those requiring more dedicated management. Zerto is used exclusively for our critical services, providing up to a 70 percent improvement in our IT resilience.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Data Guard, Oracle guarantees zero data loss, providing peace of mind for organizations relying on their data for critical operations."
"We use Data Guard for online replication from data center, to data center for high availability. This is the most important feature."
"The solution is quite stable. We haven't experienced any bugs, glitches, or crashes. We find it to be quite reliable."
"We have found the replication feature the most useful. We use this feature the most. The ability to recover a database with less effort and the use of Oracle Data Guard Broker to administer the complete environment are also very useful features."
"Data Guard also improved because customers with an active Data Guard license want to reduce the I/O in a production environment. Some application complaints to it for Oracle reporting purposes. It has a production environment that needs to be enhanced."
"We have not encountered any major challenges with replication. We were able to achieve near-real-time replication. Also, with the switchover failover, we were not getting any technical issues. It's a pretty stable product."
"The most valuable feature is the application or promotional code used in the production protocol to transfer data to the secondary database, situated on the DR site."
"Snapshot and Data Guard Manager are awesome features."
More Oracle Data Guard pros
"Zerto is a flexible and resilient business continuity and disaster recovery solution."
"One of the most valuable features of Zerto is its straightforward cost model."
"The most valuable features are the single pane of glass and the reduction in time it takes for our systems engineering team to manage the platform."
"The instant recovery at DR locations is the most valuable feature. We're required to do periodic DR tests of critical databases, including Oracle and Microsoft SQL. We have recovery point objectives set for specific databases and we need to be able to achieve them. Zerto helps solve that business problem."
"I like that the failover is simple and that it's a stable platform. It makes it easy for us to do failovers in the event that we have an issue. It also makes it easier to do test failovers because we can test it prior to actually doing a real failover. This means that we can pull things back or commit them over on the other side. Zerto streamlines the process instead of having to have a whole team of people who are dedicated to disaster recovery."
"The ease of setting up replication, the speed, and the ease with which I can fail over and fail back are all excellent aspects of the solution."
"Zerto is scalable."
"It is incredibly granular and I really appreciate that."
More Zerto pros
 

Cons

"Oracle could be improved by the ability to manage it on the cloud. This on-premises version is secure and reliable, but I'm sure that they will soon provide a cloud solution that will be even better. In one to two years, we will probably move to the cloud—we have already moved to the cloud with Microsoft Exchange, but our databases are still on-premises. I would prefer managing a cloud version of Oracle."
"Oracle Data Guard is stable, but you need to keep monitoring the system all the time. You need to keep monitoring the archives."
"The usage of block storage devices in the cloud or migration of a type of storage from one site to another site can be improved. Currently, we have to use multi-node to single node because of the lack of storage support on the Azure side. It did not really work. Our DBA had to spend a lot of time tweaking the Data Guard tools, or the underlying Oracle VMs, to make sure that Data Guard would run on top of different types of storage. So, if it can support transporting or getting from one type of storage to another type of storage in a different site or a different technology, it would be very helpful."
"The pricing of the solution is quite high. They should do what they can to bring it down so that it is more reasonable for customers like us."
"There is an issue with their application on ODG. There were a lot of edits in the logs. Sometimes, we only get a little cue from the Data Guard Broker logs if there's an issue."
"The product could improve its pricing."
"A significant improvement for Oracle Data Guard would be enabling the disaster recovery site to handle read and write operations, not just data storage."
"For every standby server you have, you must pay a licensing fee, which is the main disadvantage."
More Oracle Data Guard cons
"It would also be nice if you could update without having to download a new installation file for Zerto Virtual Manager. Within the app, it could prompt you to install and perform the installation from within the application. Generally, it's relatively easy to use, but it gets a little complex when customers have special network requirements and need to customize how long they want the save points to be retained. We need to work with the storage team on the backend to see what makes the most sense for the client."
"I would like for Zerto to improve reporting, provide more data on individual VMs and their performance, and maybe expand into backup with the ability to scan for malware or offline scanning."
"It would be nice if Zerto offered OVFs, which are custom-built VMs that you can install on your virtualized environment. At the moment, I have the Zerto sitting on two custom-built Windows servers, which creates a lot of overhead. I'm waiting for them to create an OVF file, which is a built and hardened version of their Zerto server that I can just install wherever with a couple of mouse clicks."
"The post-configuration part could be improved. For example, it would be super helpful to have the ability to modify DNS. Once the migration is done, we want to do some more modifications to the endpoint."
"We would like some of the real fine or granular things. We've submitted a few minor things for enhancements such as being able to control bandwidth utilization for each facility you replicate to versus overall. We just need a little bit more granularity on some of the things, but there is not a whole bunch that is in need of tweaking."
"Some of the cloud instructions around VNets and peering of networks could be clearer with some best-case examples. It is more complicated once you move into the cloud than running it on-premises. Actually doing these things is quite easy in the cloud and with Azure, but understanding how it fits in my environment can be quite a head-scratcher at times."
"When setting up Zerto, you have to set up VRAs. I would like to see those not be needed as much. They're a little cumbersome and take up a lot of VM counts."
"They definitely have room for improvement in a couple of areas. One is role-based access control. Right now, they don't have an identity source so they use the identity of the vCenter or the VMM. If they connected to an identity source like Active Directory and allowed for granular roles and permissions, that would be an improvement."
More Zerto cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is the best solution if you want something similar that's less expensive than Oracle Grid."
"The cost is expensive."
"The cost of the Oracle license will depend on the negotiations with Oracle."
"The licensing cost is significantly high."
"It is not a cheap product, but if you look at the price, features, availability, scalability, and maturity, it is a very good product."
"The pricing is on the higher side."
"It's a cost-effective solution."
"​Oracle Data Guard is a feature available only in Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, and is available for extra cost."
More Oracle Data Guard pricing and cost advice
"It is not cheap, but it is reasonable for what it is offering. It gives me the peace of mind that my data is protected. It is worth the cost."
"I do not have anything to compare it to. It is expensive, but I am not going to squabble about the price when I bring the system up in a disaster. It is what it is."
"I'd like to see better tiering for Zerto's pricing. We do multi-tier VMs. I don't think I should be paying a penalty and price for a tier-three VM where I don't need a really tight SLA like I do for a tier-one."
"Zerto’s licensing model has changed a bit over the last year and they are in alignment with others. It is pretty simple and more economical."
"We found that in an event that was massive enough to cause an entire cluster to go offline we would be happy with our core services up and running."
"It's very equitable, otherwise you wouldn't do it. It's something that we utilize for the licenses per core as far as what we're backing up. Therefore, it's very cost-efficient as far as the licensing goes. For the amount of stuff that we're backing up and what we're utilizing it for, the licensing is not very expensive at all."
"You are getting what you pay for, as this is a solution that requires minimal management after it is configured."
"When we purchased Zerto, we felt it was worth the cost as it would protect us from any potential problems and give us peace of mind knowing that any critical items could be recovered quickly."
More Zerto pricing and cost advice
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 9, 2014
VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto
Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...
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What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
It is a very useful administrative IT tool. It saves on costs. I strongly recommend Data Guard. I've been using it for eight years and I would strongly recommend it. I'd rate Oracle Data Guard a se...
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What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
We're Oracle partners. We've worked with databases 11G and 12C. If a company is planning to implement Oracle solutions, I would suggest they also implement Data Guard. I'd rate the solution nine ou...
See all answers
What do you like most about Zerto?
Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
It is not the cheapest product; it is not the most expensive product, but it works. It is a mid-range product, and it is justified in terms of being pretty quick and easy.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Zerto?
Some of the cloud instructions around VNets and peering of networks could be clearer with some best-case examples. It is more complicated once you move into the cloud than running it on-premises. A...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs Oracle Data Guard Logo
Veeam Data Platform vs Oracle Data Guard
Compared 24% of the time
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery vs Oracle Data Guard Logo
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery vs Oracle Data Guard
Compared 13% of the time
Veritas NetBackup vs Oracle Data Guard Logo
Veritas NetBackup vs Oracle Data Guard
Compared 11% of the time
Cohesity DataProtect vs Oracle Data Guard Logo
Cohesity DataProtect vs Oracle Data Guard
Compared 7% of the time
Commvault Cloud vs Oracle Data Guard Logo
Commvault Cloud vs Oracle Data Guard
Compared 6% of the time
More Oracle Data Guard Competitors
Veeam Data Platform vs Zerto Logo
Veeam Data Platform vs Zerto
Compared 16% of the time
VMware Live Recovery vs Zerto Logo
VMware Live Recovery vs Zerto
Compared 15% of the time
Commvault Cloud vs Zerto Logo
Commvault Cloud vs Zerto
Compared 9% of the time
Rubrik vs Zerto Logo
Rubrik vs Zerto
Compared 8% of the time
Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines vs Zerto Logo
Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines vs Zerto
Compared 6% of the time
More Zerto Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Oracle Data Guard
February 2025
Oracle Data Guard reportDownload Oracle Data Guard product report
Buyer's Guide
Zerto
January 2025
Zerto reportDownload Zerto product report
 

Also Known As

Active Data Guard
Zerto Virtual Replication
 

Overview

Oracle Data Guard ensures high availability, data protection, and disaster recovery for enterprise data. Data Guard provides a comprehensive set of services that create, maintain, manage, and monitor one or more standby databases to enable production Oracle databases to survive disasters and data corruptions. Data Guard can be used with traditional backup, restoration, and cluster techniques to provide a high level of data protection and data availability.

Oracle

Zerto is used for disaster recovery, business continuity, data migration, and ransomware recovery, providing continuous data protection and near real-time replication. Valued for ease of use, efficient failover processes, and versatile integration, it enhances organizational efficiency, reduces errors, and boosts productivity.

Zerto
 

Sample Customers

Athenahealth, Discover Financial Services
United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Data Guard vs. Zerto
January 2025
Free Report: Oracle Data Guard vs. Zerto
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