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DD Boost vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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
6th
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 May 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of DD Boost is 4.2%, 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 Boost4.2%
IBM ProtectTIER2.5%
Other93.3%
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

"All of my clients are satisfied and have not asked for any additional features."
"Overall, scalability is great."
"Dell's support helped restore the hardware."
"The most valuable features of DD Boost include its speed, deduplication, and space savings."
"What I found most useful in Dell EMC Data Domain Boost is the encryption it provides; it exceeds 40x, and it can convert my data, which is a huge conversion."
"Overall, I would recommend DD Boost as it is reliable, stable, and offers financial benefits through data deduplication and performance improvements in backups."
"The backup aspect of the solution is its most valuable feature."
"Data Domain Boost is really efficient and compared to other products I found the efficiency of Data Domain Boost to be superior."
"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."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"The command-line interface is good."
"The most valuable features are the self-service features and the ability to search the data."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The solution is highly stable."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution."
 

Cons

"There are limitations when using the VTL protocol in extreme cases."
"The solution needs to be more user-friendly for the end-users."
"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 solution could improve by adding more flexibility for the customers here in Thailand. Some of the small capacity models of the solution are not needed by our customers. There should be a more flexible version of the solution."
"This product is expensive compared to other storage so the price can be improved."
"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."
"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."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution comes with a capacity license and it is a one-time purchase. There are additional costs, such as support."
"The hardware platform is cost intense, so for small and mid-range, this product is not the best choice."
"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."
"You don't have to pay additional costs."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution is very good because it is easy to use and it speeds up the backup and lowers the requirement for the storage rate. It is capable of encryption, compression, and deduplication and it is fast for sending all of the data over the network because it sends only the change blocks from the client to the DD server."
"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 pricing is high compared to the competition and should be reconsidered."
"This solution is very expensive."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
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 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 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...
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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: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.