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Dell Avamar vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

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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

Dell Avamar
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
22nd
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
62nd
Ranking in Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 10.9%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell Avamar10.9%
IBM ProtectTIER2.6%
Other86.5%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Have supported critical environments despite room for improvement in legacy backup options
It is very efficient in cyber resilience. Deduplication, automation, and everything is very efficient. It is multi-cloud enabled and has broad protections. The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features. Dell PowerProtect Manager provides insights in managing backup processes. Its encryption mechanisms are very efficient, helping to secure sensitive data. Its integration with Dell EMC Data Domain is very good. It is easy to integrate with Data Domain. Multi-cloud options are enabled, and backup in cloud options exist in Dell Avamar.
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

"It's very cost effective and affordable when compared to other solutions."
"The installation of the solution is easy."
"The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features."
"It's a good solution."
"I think the brand is very good. Support is also very nice for end users and integration with EMC products for businesses."
"The solution is very stable."
"Stable and scalable backup and recovery software, with good technical support."
"I found the most valuable features of Dell Avamar are the user-friendly interface and ease to use, as our clients have administered this software without additional training and the training materials have been very helpful for installation, troubleshooting, and upgrading."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"I will highly recommend this product for excellent and quick backup solution in small and large IBM I Series environment."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"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 solution is highly stable."
"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."
"The command-line interface is good."
 

Cons

"Setup and deployment of Dell EMC Avamar is complex. It requires expert engineers."
"The performance takes up a lot of resources, unfortunately."
"It was challenging to back up our Exchange database, which is one of the reasons we did not continue using this solution."
"Avamar deployment is not admin friendly and its required to use help from professiona; services."
"Like any other company, many of the support calls go to places on the other side of the world. It is sometimes difficult to understand them."
"It's an expensive solution."
"This solution could improve by introducing daily verifications and another repository."
"The bare-metal restores could be improved."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"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."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"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."
"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."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price should be reduced. It would be good if you could pay as per usage, and there is a subscription model like VMware. There should be some flexibility because sometimes, the customer only uses the backup for one month or three months. Currently, I have to pay whether I use it or not. Its licensing should be flexible and based on consumption."
"The cost of the solution is very expensive."
"The cost is high."
"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."
"The price is fair."
"There are licensing costs for Dell EMC Avamar and it is paid annually."
"The solution is not expensive for the value one gets."
"It is expensive. The maintenance comes with it for five years. So, you buy the whole thing for five years, and your maintenance is included with it, but it's a big chunk of change upfront. We like capital expenses because we can CapEx them. We pay once every five years, so we spend a big chunk of change. You'd have to divide that out by the five years to come up with how much it costs. It's just about three-quarters of a million dollars for five years."
"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."
"This solution is very 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
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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 needs improvement with Dell Avamar?
It is a very good product. My only concern is that there is no tape backup. For tape backup, we have to use Dell NetWorker. They could add more features for cyber resilience and multi-cloud options...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Avamar
No data available
 

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
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 Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.