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Dell Avamar 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

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
65th
Ranking in Deduplication Software
12th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 11.0%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 2.6%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell Avamar11.0%
IBM ProtectTIER2.6%
Other86.4%
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

"Effective in protecting the virtualization system and end points."
"Dell EMC Avamar is very good with endpoint backups."
"We used Dell Avamar for backup and recovery of a virtual environment."
"The solution is easy to use."
"This combination makes Dell EMC one of the most perfect solutions available."
"I think the biggest advantage it offers is backup, for end-users as well as computers, not only servers and storage paths."
"Very reliable tool."
"With Dell, everything has been done for you; out of the box, it's ready to go, and it's very, very fast."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"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. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental backup."
"If you are looking for a reliable and scalable enterprise-class solution, you should consider this solution."
"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

"Avamar deployment is not admin friendly and its required to use help from professiona; services."
"The solution, in the future, should offer support for mobile."
"The licensing model is not very flexible. Every time we upgrade our storage size, we need to upgrade the Avamar license."
"The management of this solution is a little bit difficult for IT administrators. They have to be trained before going through the system."
"Restores should be faster. Backup image browse times should be faster."
"Technical support should be more knowledgeable."
"If there is a need to move the data from one backup solution to another, it might be difficult since there is no option for a straightforward migration."
"The configuration and expansion aspects of the solution need improvement. They're complicated and don't really integrate well."
"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."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"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."
"These days, we are thinking about pushing another solution because of the poor support from IBM."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"It is unmanageable. Support would be good."
"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

"I rate the tool's price as a three out of ten if one means expensive and ten means it is a cheaply priced tool."
"It is easy to use."
"The cost is high."
"Its licensing is weird. It is not just the licenses; we also purchase hardware. With most software products, such as Veeam, Commvault, and Data Protector, there is no hardware purchase at the same time. Because Avamar and Data Domain are tied together, they have an integrated pipe. You can separate them, but basically, they're designed to work as a couple. Because the Data Domain backend is designed to do dedupe and compression, we get 60:1. When you count it, you count it as a straight compression, but of course, that's with dedupe and some other stuff. You have to buy the hardware, the licensing, and the software at the same time. So, it's not just software."
"Dell EMC needs to lower Avamar's price and add more features to stay competitive."
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"The current pricing is generally satisfactory."
"I rate the pricing a seven out of ten because it is 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."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"This solution is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
22%
Manufacturing 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 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
Earn 20 points
 

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: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.