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Actifio vs N-able Cove Data Protection 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
7.8
N-able Cove Data Protection provides high ROI, efficient backups, cost savings, seamless transitions, and reduced downtime compared to competitors.
I have experienced time savings and money savings.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
We think the ROI is very good; we are very satisfied with our return on investment, even though I don't sit and calculate what would be better.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
 

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
7.6
N-able Cove Data Protection offers fast, knowledgeable support via multiple channels, ensuring high user satisfaction despite minor frustrations.
Their knowledge isn't great.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
if it gets complicated, the backend support comes in quickly
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
If I raise a ticket, they get back to me.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

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
7.8
N-able Cove Data Protection is praised for adaptability, ease of integration, scalability, advanced features, with minor storage issues.
There are some limitations, such as storage, where I cannot support a large number of employees who need to back up their data.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

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
8.1
N-able Cove Data Protection is praised for stability, minor issues, compatibility, and reliability with minimal downtime over years.
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
 

Room For Improvement

Actifio needs workflow flexibility, platform support enhancements, better integration, improved support, pricing features, AI, and seamless upgrades.
N-able Cove Data Protection needs improvements in dashboard, cloud integration, backup speed, disaster recovery, and support response.
The most concerning issue is IBM support.
Tech Lead / Informix DBA at a wholesaler/distributor with 5,001-10,000 employees
There should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Actifio is praised for its supportive pricing and professional services, offering affordability and rapid implementation despite learning curves.
Enterprise users appreciate N-able Cove Data Protection's fair pricing, flexibility, no lock-ins, and competitive costs compared to others.
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Actifio is praised for its Golden Copy, cloud integration, user-friendly interface, cost efficiency, and excellent support team.
N-able Cove Data Protection provides reliable cloud-based data protection with easy management, fast setup, and seamless integration for diverse needs.
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 integration of N-able Cove Data Protection into our existing infrastructure is easy.
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
The most valuable feature of N-able Cove Data Protection is its ease of use.
Senior Product Owner at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
 

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)
N-able Cove Data Protection
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
36th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (17th), SaaS Backup (8th), MSP Backup (3rd)
 

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 N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
N-able Cove Data Protection1.1%
Actifio0.6%
Other98.3%
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.
Per MøllerJacobsen - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
Delivers cost-effective data backup with room for search improvements
The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for something—you need to know where it was and when it was there to restore it, plus it would be nice to take out data from Microsoft 365 in some portable format, which is currently not an option. I would like to extract the data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format, something like a database or maybe just to take out a PST file or SharePoint and Teams files to the file system. Especially in these times, where we discuss potential risks with the Microsoft cloud for European companies, companies would want to know how to access their data from the backup if they suddenly don't have a tenant. I believe there should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format. I know that Cohesity is working on making such a thing. It's not there yet; I asked last week for something for forensics, and the support team said it's not possible yet, but I know from our technical account manager they are working on some solutions.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Retailer
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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 Business19
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
What needs improvement with N-able Backup?
The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for s...
What is your primary use case for N-able Backup?
Our main use cases for enabling N-able Cove Data Protection include backing up our customers' data on servers hosted in data centers and servers hosted in our own data center, as well as a few onsi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup
 

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
Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about Actifio vs. N-able Cove Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.