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Actifio vs Dell NetWorker 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Actifio boosts productivity by reducing storage costs, improving data management, and enhancing disaster recovery, offering substantial ROI.
Sentiment score
5.0
Dell NetWorker delivers cost savings, enhanced recovery, and efficiency, proving invaluable for business continuity and operational efficiency.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Actifio's customer support is mostly praised, though some users report expertise gaps, especially when involving IBM or Google.
Sentiment score
6.1
Dell NetWorker customer service is praised for quick assistance but criticized for delays and variable expertise, especially regionally.
Their knowledge isn't great.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
quick responses whenever we log a complaint
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
Technical support from Dell is excellent.
Solution Architect at Apollo Telecom
They are very responsive and helpful.
System Engineer at NCCPL
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.3
Actifio excels in scalable data management across sectors with optimal performance reliant on network and hardware resources.
Sentiment score
6.8
Dell NetWorker offers scalability but faces challenges in VMware connections, storage, licensing, and large-scale stability for some users.
While the solution is scalable, the cost involved in upgrading or enhancing the solution can be significant.
Solution Architect at Apollo Telecom
It is scalable enough for our environment.
System Engineer at NCCPL
Dell NetWorker is very scalable and flexible, deserving a high rating for its scalability.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Safaricom Ethiopia plc
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Actifio is stable and reliable, with robust support and positive user feedback on performance and quick bug resolution.
Sentiment score
7.6
Dell NetWorker exhibits stability, rated high by users, improving with updates, while older versions faced occasional challenges.
Once we sorted out all our problems with Actifio and our configuration of our database and other components, I would probably rate stability about a seven.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The stability of Dell NetWorker is excellent.
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
In terms of stability, I would say it is about 80% stable now.
Senior Specialist Backup/Storage at National Bank of Kuwait
Dell NetWorker is stable.
System Engineer at NCCPL
 

Room For Improvement

Actifio needs workflow flexibility, platform support enhancements, better integration, improved support, pricing features, AI, and seamless upgrades.
Dell NetWorker users seek improved interfaces, cloud integration, and security, citing deployment challenges and a need for modern enhancements.
I do see some problems with Actifio, specifically keeping current with operating systems.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The interface on the Java application makes it difficult, whereas the web interface is simple to use.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Safaricom Ethiopia plc
I recommend enhancing flexibility in the policy, allowing selection of multiple options within the same policy.
Senior Specialist Backup/Storage at National Bank of Kuwait
To connect to a server, it's necessary to install a client on the server, which is challenging.
System Engineer at NCCPL
 

Setup Cost

Actifio is praised for its supportive pricing and professional services, offering affordability and rapid implementation despite learning curves.
Dell NetWorker offers complex licensing, with varied pricing; included in bundles, often costly but comprehensive and flexible for sectors.
The licensing cost is somewhat expensive.
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
 

Valuable Features

Actifio is praised for its Golden Copy, cloud integration, user-friendly interface, cost efficiency, and excellent support team.
Dell NetWorker provides robust backup solutions with automation, deduplication, scalability, and wide compatibility for various environments and systems.
What really stands out in Actifio is that it can provide us full copies of the database without having full copies of the database.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The new deduplication feature helps significantly with data compression and saves disk space by using pointers for repeated data, improving backup speed.
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
The most useful features of Dell NetWorker for me are its support for all platforms, allowing me to take backups of Oracle, SQL, and AS/400, so it is flexible.
Senior Specialist Backup/Storage at National Bank of Kuwait
Dell NetWorker is versatile, allowing server backups and IBM tape library backups.
System Engineer at NCCPL
 

Categories and Ranking

Actifio
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
51st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Test Data Management (8th)
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
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Actifio is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell NetWorker is 1.7%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell NetWorker1.7%
Actifio0.6%
Other97.7%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Jeff Poulton - PeerSpot reviewer
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Has reduced storage requirements for development environments but presents challenges during upgrades and support interactions
The most concerning issue is IBM support. The issue I have with IBM support is that sometimes they don't seem to know their product very well at times. I don't know where the support is coming from, whether it's from IBM or from Google through IBM. I'm not sure who physically does the support. Their knowledge isn't great. Plus, the way we use it is not the focus of Google nowadays. Google, as I understand it, bought the product as an add-on to Google Cloud or whatever as a backup and that's not how we use it. I do see some problems with Actifio, specifically keeping current with operating systems. It can be tricky to upgrade Actifio. It can be a challenge. When we've had to do it, we've had to work with their support people, and some of them are just people reading a sheet of instructions. When those instructions are obviously wrong at times because you can tell if you have half a knowledge of what you're doing, it takes ages for them to go off and find someone to explain what's going wrong. So it can be very laborious.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Retailer
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise38
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Actifio?
Actifio is cheaper than other tools. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Actifio?
The most concerning issue is IBM support. The issue I have with IBM support is that sometimes they don't seem to know their product very well at times. I don't know where the support is coming from...
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 do you like most about Dell NetWorker?
The feature that offers the greatest benefits in ensuring data integrity is its backup capability.
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
NetWorker
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

IBM, Waste Industries, Nasdaq, Verizon, Sharp, Rosetta Stone, Dakine, JBS Australia, Texas Wesleyan University, Cintra, People's Choice Credit Union, Lotto NZ, Electric Insurance, Tyler Technologies, Intility, Corporate One Federal Credit Union, Bryant University, pc/nametag, Isagenix, Sungard Availability Services, Databank, Electrocraft, Lifescript, Westfleisch, Interstate National Corporation, RestorePoint, Net3, Access Community Health Network, Newmarket International, Rezolve Group Inc., Piri Reis University, MC Assembly, Grass-Merkur, dbMotion, Christian Broadcasting Network, Bezeq, Abilene Christian University, CNW Group, Softcat, Migliori, City of South Portland, NaviSite, News-Press & Gazette, Comtec, Equity Insurance, Admirals Bank, Assistra, Dassault, Henry Davis York Lawyers, SAI Global, Audax Group, DSM, Triad Retail Media, Euronet Worldwide, Palm Beach County School District, iGate, Emerald Queen Casino
Republic Bank, Westgate Resorts, Macquire Cloud Services, Shriners, Panatonni, Qatar Islamic Bank, Eurosport
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. Dell NetWorker and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.