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DD Boost vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

DD Boost
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (65th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of DD Boost is 3.8%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
DD Boost3.8%
IBM ProtectTIER2.5%
Other93.7%
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.
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

"Data Domain is valuable, especially for restoring data, as for normal data the restore from Data Domain is very efficient and fast."
"I like the tool set, it's easy to work on and the support is brilliant."
"This product is one of the best technologies available in the industry."
"It's a stable solution."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"This solution is very stable; it doesn't crash and there are no errors."
"It cuts down network traffic, and only the relevant parts move around because it is deduced and encrypted."
"DD Boost is a proprietary technology of Dell, which helps to store the data faster and in a more secure way compared to open protocols."
"The most valuable features are the self-service features and the ability to search the data."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"The solution is highly stable."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"The command-line interface is good."
"The cataloging is the best feature, as it takes millions of frames for the backup and, because it's incremental, it takes less time to complete."
 

Cons

"As far as improvement, the stability of the connection could be improved. The tool itself is okay, but not the gateway between the on-prem Data Domain and the cloud."
"DD Boost could improve the solution by offering additional customizations that build upon existing features such as deduplication ratios. The primary objective of the solution is to create backups of existing data and push that data out to clients' backup systems. If they can make the process faster and introduce more enhancements, it would greatly benefit the backup environment."
"DD Boost can improve by providing some sort of API to track the progress or the number of remaining data transfers."
"It should be expanded to include other databases and software. It should also be made easier to restore."
"DD Boost is a bit expensive."
"My customer was interested in ransomware protection. Currently, Dell offers the Cyber Vault solution, which is separate from Data Domain. Ideally, ransomware protection would be integrated directly within DD Boost, without requiring an additional out-of-the-box solution. This feature is currently available with HPE's Zerto and Huawei's Ocean Protect with third-party products like PradoNet. While Cyber Vault exists as a separate solution from Data Domain, having some standard protection for immutable backups into DD Boost would be a valuable addition and make it more competitive with other vendors."
"Integration could be better. Sometimes when integrating with different systems, it's not straightforward."
"The pricing for this solution is also expensive, so you have to look carefully at its pricing."
"My advice to anybody who is considering this solution is to conduct a proof of concept first because everybody's needs are different, and this product is not suitable for every kind of backup."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"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."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is high compared to the competition and should be reconsidered."
"DD Boost's price is good for its features."
"You don't have to pay additional costs."
"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."
"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 hardware platform is cost intense, so for small and mid-range, this product is not the best choice."
"My company must pay approximately 10,000 USD annually, making it an expensive product."
"The solution comes with a capacity license and it is a one-time purchase. There are additional costs, such as support."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"This solution is very expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

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 comes with Boost technology, with the DDoS feature. I don't know the price of D...
What needs improvement with DD Boost?
DD Boost can improve by providing some sort of API to track the progress or the number of remaining data transfers. For instance, in other Dell products such as storage, SRDF replication protocol i...
What is your primary use case for DD Boost?
I am handling the storage part, not the compute part. Through storage, I have Dell PowerMax 2000, Dell Unity, Data Domain, and Dell SAN switches. Additionally, I have two boxes from IBM FlashSystem...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 DD Boost vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.