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DD Boost vs Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of DD Boost is 4.0%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is 24.7%, down from 28.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 1.8%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain24.7%
DD Boost4.0%
IBM ProtectTIER1.8%
Other69.5%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

Brijesh Pillai - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Manager - Enterprise Sales at Noventiq
Provides robust data protection solutions with room for better pricing options
Dell is a strategic partnership for us as resellers. We rarely focus on PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM). Every data protection solution vendor offers encryption as part of their solution. This is one of the default standards required for data protection. Regarding Network Efficient Replication on disaster recovery operations, it is definitely effective. Customers get native capability out of the box to do a restoration. Typically, customers look at a secondary copy in the cloud, but primary will be on-premise. While we have a partnership with AWS, we do not buy from the AWS Marketplace. I would recommend this product to medium enterprises to large enterprises. On a scale of 1-10, I rate DD Boost a 7.
Branko Cirovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Storage Engineer at Comtrade Group
Provides seamless backup integration and long-term reliability for enterprise data protection
The price is quite high; this product is not considered cheap. Additionally, if you use higher availability boxes, they also come at a premium price. However, they provide business continuity, which is the main reason why companies invest in this solution. Tape is slow; when restoring several virtual machines or databases amounting to several terabytes, Dell PowerProtect Data Domain represents the fastest and most reliable solution, ensuring great integration with backup software. If a customer has limited budget constraints, they may opt for cheaper external storage comprised of just a bunch of disks and utilize it for backup, as backup is not a business-critical service. However, I see great value in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain because it is fully automated, features great integration with backup software, and provides good value for money. I would rate software support as a ten, while I would give hardware support a seven. I never give any product a perfect score; I think Dell PowerProtect Data Domain deserves a nine. The only minor problems are the certificate issue and the price. These certificate issues are quite rare and mainly arise when we forget to restart and upgrade the box for several years.
AG
Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution can scale."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"The most valuable features are the performance and the duplication."
"The time taken for backup is very fast."
"The product is necessary in order to communicate with both Data Domain and NetWorker devices."
"Overall, I would recommend DD Boost as it is reliable, stable, and offers financial benefits through data deduplication and performance improvements in backups."
"DD Boost's best features are deduplication and compression."
"This product's unique protocol make it superior to competing products and alternate solutions."
"We have never had any issues with Data Domain. It has been stable."
"The tool's performance is very good. DD Boost can improve its performance and backup."
"My advice about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is straightforward: I recommend this product to all clients, because it provides the best deduplication, compression, and security."
"The most valuable features of Dell EMC PowerProtect DD are the duplication security and uptime."
"By using Data Domain, we get the advantage of data deduplication, reducing data size."
"The most valuable features of this product are its guaranteed reliability and its duplication capability."
"In every instance where we've proposed and won a project based on PowerProtect, the customers have been highly satisfied and confident in their backup processes."
"The integration of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) with leading backup applications within the infrastructure is very good."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The solution is highly stable."
"The command-line interface is good."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."
"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."
 

Cons

"There are some limitations where you cannot use it as a shared server or as a file server, it is limited for the only backup."
"The main issue I've identified is that when backing up a final backup from the branch server, we don't have deduplication functionality."
"A disadvantage could be in terms of price points because price points are a hindrance at times when we position it with customers."
"The solution must provide better deduplication."
"One area that requires improvement is the time needed for cleanup processes."
"The solution needs to be more user-friendly for the end-users."
"It would be good if the product could be useful not just for general backup. Its pricing is also expensive, and it can be a difficult application, particularly when you need to write a script for anything you would like to do."
"The performance of the backup software with connection to DD Boost could be improved."
"It can probably have integration with other OEMs. It should also have more features for ransomware protection."
"The only problem is that it's more expensive than any other vendors available in the market."
"The price for PowerProtect DD is not suitable for my customers. It is very high."
"PowerProtect DD should improve the hypervisor support on the DD system."
"The Data Domain solution appliance is quite expensive."
"The solution's cost, scalability, and licensing model could be improved."
"I would appreciate improvements primarily in the PPDM backup software because I still feel it's lacking the features of a proper backup solution and is a bit simplistic."
"We have some problems with backing up on the Power Platform. PowerServer is an IBM product, and it forces us to back up over LAN, which is not suitable for us."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The price of the product is on a higher scale, meaning not everybody can afford it."
"Dell EMC Data Domain Boost is an expensive product. There are extra costs for support because every year, you have to renew your SLA for support, and the cost is always increasing."
"The pricing is high compared to the competition and should be reconsidered."
"You don't have to pay additional costs."
"The solution is expensive."
"The cost is monthly."
"My company must pay approximately 10,000 USD annually, making it an expensive product."
"The pricing is definitely competitive and unmatchable. The price of Data Domain is very attractive compared to HPE, StoreOnce, or its current alternative, which is probably more expensive."
"The price of the backup appliance is slightly expensive. Compared to other vendors, the pricing will be slightly higher."
"There are many options in the pricing structure which can cause some confusion and necessitate the purchase of additional licensing."
"The cheaper device costs around $70,000."
"The price is on the high side."
"It is expensive, but the performance and deduplication cover for the cost."
"Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution."
"The yearly subscription is very affordable for our customers, but the price could be a little cheaper overall."
"If we do not move to the cloud solution and stay with our on-premise version we will miss some new features."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"This solution is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about DD Boost?
The time taken for backup is very fast.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DD Boost?
It's complicated for me because when we buy, we buy a package, so I don't have the DD price. Every Data Domain we buy...
What needs improvement with DD Boost?
Disadvantages could be in terms of price points because price points are a hindrance at times when we position it wit...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
I work as an implementer of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain systems, storage, and backup systems, serving as an adminis...
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The product, a disk backup solution, improves our data application tasks. We used tape libraries with Dev drives in l...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
Regarding the pricing for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, it is expensive. For small clients, it is very expensive. La...
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Also Known As

No data available
DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetApp and others in Deduplication Software. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.