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Dell Avamar vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
7th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
18th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.4%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 4.6%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Sarangdhar - PeerSpot reviewer
Works excellently for on-prem backup but not the best for Azure backups
Avamar is not the best tool when it comes to taking Azure backups. Like Commvault, if Avamar can support VM-level backups for the cloud, that would make it a bit better. There is another Dell EMC tool called NetWorker, which is a bit centralized tool. If you deploy a storage node locally, you can use the same UI tool for central management, but in the case of Avamar, it needs to be deployed individually on a site, irrespective of whether it's small or big. So, if I have 10 sites, I have to manage 10 Avamar. That's a bit of a headache. The Dell EMC solution professionals who connect with the clients should suggest NetWorker to clients with multiple sites rather than Avamar. That's because NetWorker gives more centralized control, but they keep recommending Avamar, which isn't the best practice. There are no free or cheaper training plans. Unless your company is a partner with Dell, you don't get the student guide training, etc. Their administrator guide does not have all the information required for a new person. It doesn't cover the basics. The student guide is good, but it's not free. If you are a partner, only then it's free. Otherwise, there is a cost of $2,000 to $3,000. For people who are new to Avamar, there should be some resources to enable them to study on their own at least 50% of the basics. If I want to study Commvault, I get so many documents and resources to study, but in the case of Dell EMC products, there aren't any free resources. Only if you're a partner, the resources are available for you to learn. The user manuals and administrator guides are just for deployment. They aren't good for learning the basics for a fresher.
MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive integration and user-friendly dashboard enhance data protection workflows
PowerProtect Data Manager lacks the tape-out functionality, which is important for organizations relying on it for offsite backup. While PowerProtect Data Manager offers a workaround, it's not always accepted, notably by sectors like banking. Additionally, I would like PowerProtect Data Manager to provide microservices and container backup for modern applications.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The installation process is pretty straightforward."
"For the on-prem backup, it has all the necessary features that we require. They keep coming up with new scripts and new updates."
"We've found the product to be stable."
"The tool's most valuable features are backup management and speed."
"It's stable and offers good performance."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The backup is the solution's most valuable feature. It's very reliable."
"The solution's ease of use simplifies the disaster recovery processes in our company"
"I love that it has an interactive GUI, and it is not complicated to use."
"I would say flexibility is the most important feature of the product. The performance and speed are the best on the market."
"The management part of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager has improved significantly."
"The deduplication is the most valuable feature because it helps to control the overhead."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"It's the perfect solution for virtual and container directives. The data reduction feature works well, and we haven't had any issues."
"The solution adequately handles data storage."
"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and data protection."
 

Cons

"The interface has room for improvement. It's not ideal right now."
"It would be better if we could integrate easily with other platforms."
"It lacks support for certain plugins, like SAP HANA, for example."
"It's an expensive solution."
"The user interface still needs to have some level of improvement. It could be more user-friendly and intuitive."
"There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved."
"This solution could improve by introducing daily verifications and another repository."
"Avamar is still competitive because of the way we have deployed it, but we need to diversify and shift away from specific technologies. In addition to hypervisors, virtual machines, and bare metal servers, our customers need protection for Microsoft 365, SaaS, and the public cloud, so we need other technologies in the business to cater to those customers' needs. Those are the enhancements we would want from the Avamar platform, but that's not likely to happen. Dell has PowerProtect and Apex backup services. There are other Dell solutions that we'll use to fulfill our customers' requirements."
"Management is difficult and it is hard to determine when things aren't working properly."
"The Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager reports could improve. There should be different kinds of reports on failures, such as dashboards that we can submit to top management or auditors."
"You need to use additional software to back up entire environments. It will be good if they could support entire tape libraries."
"The main issue that needs improvement is the support system. When I raise a ticket, it sometimes takes a while to get a response."
"They should include a feature similar to S3 bucket."
"There is always room for improvement. The compression ratio should be improved as well as the efficiency."
"The interface is too complex."
"When I raise a ticket, it sometimes takes a while to get a response."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing was generally on a per VM or terabyte basis. They changed their licensing model a couple of times and turned it into socket-based licensing, which is an improvement in their licensing model."
"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."
"When it comes to competition the price is not what is important, it's not the problem."
"Dell Avamar is a moderately priced solution."
"Dell Avamar is expensive."
"It's an expensive tool"
"There is a license required for this solution."
"The solution is costly."
"The price of Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is reasonable."
"The product is offered at a very competitive price in the market."
"The licensing costs and pricing model are based on capacity and the license is easy to upgrade."
"The solution is not less expensive than competitors but pricing deals are available."
"We offer monthly or yearly subscriptions. The price could be cheaper."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is not an expensive solution."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Dell EMC Avamar and Dell EMC NetWorker?
From the very beginning, Dell EMC NetWorker considers users and those who might potentially become users. In terms of both pricing and setup, this product offers an experience that is significantly...
What do you like most about Dell Avamar?
Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solution...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision. The main concern is the solution itself, presales activities, and positioning it in the right place. Commercial aspects are secondary to...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers.
 

Also Known As

Avamar
PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dodge County, St Laurence's College, FieldCore (a GE Company), Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Getronics, Lewisville Independent School District, EnvisionRxOptions, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions
National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
852,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.