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Actifio vs Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) 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
2.7
Dell PowerProtect DP offers cost efficiency, malware protection, and reliable features, providing users a beneficial return on investment.
I see it as both time-saving and money-saving.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
 

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
8.4
Dell PowerProtect DP support is highly rated, with improved logistics, though some communication and scheduling challenges remain.
Their knowledge isn't great.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
If I were to rate customer service from zero to ten points, I would give it ten out of ten.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Challenges exist in certain Linux-based cases.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
On the one or two occasions where we needed to engage with Dell support, they've been most helpful.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
 

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
5.5
Dell PowerProtect DP is highly scalable, easily upgraded, supports large datasets but may require hardware updates at capacity.
Scalability is great here, and it achieves this without downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Because it is all based on the controller, which has a limited number of expansions.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The product offers flexibility for scalability, making it user-friendly and adaptable to different performance requirements.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
 

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
8.3
Dell PowerProtect DP is stable, reliable, with seamless scalability, minor network issues, and strong support, rated highly by users.
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
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is a stable solution because it's a mature product.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
None of the customers has experienced any downtime.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
 

Room For Improvement

Actifio needs workflow flexibility, platform support enhancements, better integration, improved support, pricing features, AI, and seamless upgrades.
Dell PowerProtect DP is costly with setup challenges, needing better security features, AI tools, and improved integration options.
The most concerning issue is IBM support.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Avamar.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
The solution is quite expensive, but when it comes to manageability or interaction with the solution, it is great.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
 

Setup Cost

Actifio is praised for its supportive pricing and professional services, offering affordability and rapid implementation despite learning curves.
Dell PowerProtect DP provides flexible, capacity-based licensing with competitive pricing, offering discounts for partners and simplifying purchases with monthly billing.
In fact, as I know, even give details inside Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and how much it costs every single component in it, I am going to say it is somehow a bit expensive, why? Let me tell you.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
The only disadvantage I can see with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is the cost.
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
 

Valuable Features

Actifio is praised for its Golden Copy, cloud integration, user-friendly interface, cost efficiency, and excellent support team.
Dell PowerProtect DP offers easy management, high deduplication, scalability, hybrid cloud, and fast recovery in a comprehensive platform.
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
AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a scalable architecture, offering flexibility, so you can always scale the capacity to meet any increased demands.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
The concept of pre-integrated solutions was very nice, allowing a customer to have a single dashboard to manage everything, which includes backups for desktops, laptops, enterprise applications, virtual and physical servers, along with comprehensive cloud-based backup capabilities.
Pre Sales Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Actifio
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
48th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Test Data Management (9th)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
36th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 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 PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Actifio0.6%
Other98.7%
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.
LANRE OGUNDARE - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Engineer at Tenece Professional services
Centralized backups have simplified daily management and improved recovery for our customers
The only disadvantage I can see with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is the cost. In terms of the usage and also the management aspect of it, it has been great and fantastic. The solution is quite expensive in this regard. That is what most of the customers say. The solution is quite expensive, but when it comes to manageability or interaction with the solution, it is great. If tomorrow brings the next release of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA), I would like to see some additional features included and some new functionalities. At the moment, the solution is great, so I do not know if there will be any additional functionality for the solution, but I would not mind. For now, it is acceptable. Apart from price, I would say there are no other issues or areas for improvement other than cost. Only price could be slightly less.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Construction Company
11%
Retailer
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software 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 Business6
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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 is your primary use case for Actifio?
The main use case for me with Actifio is to provide databases to our development teams. We utilize snapshots or images to manage multiple copies of our production database efficiently without using...
What advice do you have for others considering Actifio?
I do not work with the point-in-time recovery feature in Actifio. Our database has that capability. We don't use Actifio as a backup per se. In terms of Actifio's impact on reducing downtime for pr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
The pricing of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is competitive compared to its peers in the market, and while it can always come down, I still think it's a fair price.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Ava...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
We implemented Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) for one of our biggest enterprise customers across their 30 sites. The customer had hyperconverged infrastructure and was looking for a completely isolate...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
 

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
Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.