Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Dell Avamar vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

Dell Technologies and IBM are both solutions in the Deduplication Software category. Dell Technologies is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #13. Dell Technologies holds a 9.6% mindshare in DS, compared to IBM’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 60% of IBM users who would recommend it.
Dell Avamar
Read 89 Dell Avamar reviews
  • 2,322 Views
  • 451 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
IBM ProtectTIER
Read 7 IBM ProtectTIER reviews
  • 277 Views
  • 190 Comparison Views
60% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

IBM ProtectTIER and Dell Avamar compete in the data protection market. Dell Avamar has a slight edge in features due to its versatility and ease of integration.

Features: IBM ProtectTIER offers high deduplication efficiency, strong storage space reduction, and robust data protection. Dell Avamar provides multi-platform support, ease of integration, and efficient performance. Dell Avamar's versatility is a key advantage.

Room For Improvement: IBM ProtectTIER needs enhanced reporting tools, simpler configuration, and improved user interface. Dell Avamar requires better support for newer applications, a more intuitive management console, and enhanced automation features. Each product has areas to refine.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM ProtectTIER deployment is resource-intensive but has positive customer service feedback. Dell Avamar is known for straightforward deployment and comprehensive support from Dell, making it a standout option.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ProtectTIER has higher setup costs but offers significant ROI through storage reduction. Dell Avamar features competitive setup costs and consistent ROI with efficient data protection capabilities. Users feel Dell Avamar provides tangible ROI benefits.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER
June 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 859,129 peers since 2012

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
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
87th
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 June 2025, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 9.6%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 0.9%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ayodeji Oyewole - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable with good backups but has occasional failures
I use Dell Avamar primarily for backup and recovery The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality. It gives large enterprises the comfort of knowing their workloads are being backed up. There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be…
Read full review
ValereFEUGWANG - PeerSpot reviewer
Protects data in hybrid infrastructures, but it is an expensive product with poor support
The main challenge for our customers is to replicate the virtual environment upon restart, without using any additional solutions such as VMware SLM. 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. It would be much better for us. This solution can be made easier to use. Technical support is very frustrating and we are considering other solutions because of it. Stability is something that should be improved. The product is expensive and the licensing should be changed.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have a lot of backups, and this tool helps us with the RMAN Backup."
"The solution scales well."
"It is a very complete product."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual backup."
"Dell Avamar has a push upgrade feature that lets you simultaneously push updates to thousands of clients. I also found the self-service part of Dell Avamar helpful."
"Dell EMC Avamar has many valuable features. It's very stable and it's easy to manage."
"We have seen huge data reduction and data deduplication and compression, which is very cost-effective and cost-reducing for the company."
"The backup and recovery speed is very fast."
More Dell Avamar pros
"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The solution is highly stable."
"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 command-line interface is good."
"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."
 

Cons

"The client caches and deduplication system have a few problems."
"Technical support should be more knowledgeable."
"Performance can sometimes be affected when tools are utilized for tasks like backup or deep archiving."
"Backup image browse times should be faster."
"Some integrations are not in place, such as the email alerts, which are not compatible with Office 365 SMTP gateway."
"More integration would be helpful, as well as the addition of more applications."
"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."
"It would be helpful if the product offered more integration potential."
More Dell Avamar cons
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"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."
"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."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dell Avamar is expensive."
"The price is the main thing I'd like to see them change. If they can come down in price, that would be a good thing. It's very cost competitive in the entry level range, because Veeam pricing is much cheaper than Avamar."
"There are licensing costs for Dell EMC Avamar and it is paid annually."
"Avamar's pricing is quite competitive compared to other vendors."
"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."
"This is a fairly expensive solution. It cost approximately 21,000 each year."
"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."
More Dell Avamar pricing and cost advice
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"This solution is very expensive."
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Deduplication Software solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
25%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC Avamar?
The cost is very significant, and it could be lower.
See all answers
What do you like most about Dell Avamar?
Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.
See all answers
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar Logo
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar
Compared 34% of the time
Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar Logo
Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar
Compared 15% of the time
Dell NetWorker vs Dell Avamar Logo
Dell NetWorker vs Dell Avamar
Compared 9% of the time
Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar Logo
Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar
Compared 6% of the time
Rubrik vs Dell Avamar Logo
Rubrik vs Dell Avamar
Compared 6% of the time
More Dell Avamar Competitors
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER Logo
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs IBM ProtectTIER
Compared 77% of the time
HPE StoreOnce vs IBM ProtectTIER Logo
HPE StoreOnce vs IBM ProtectTIER
Compared 23% of the time
More IBM ProtectTIER Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Dell Avamar
June 2025
Dell Avamar reportDownload Dell Avamar product report
Buyer's Guide
Deduplication Software
June 2025
IBM ProtectTIER reportDownload IBM ProtectTIER product report
 

Also Known As

Avamar
No data available
 

Overview

Dell Avamar data protection software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery operations that can scale from daily backup protection for endpoints to high-performance protection for large enterprises with diverse applications and workloads. With application consistent recovery, automation and fast backup and restores, Avamar can help you meet your SLAs and optimize your backup and recovery processes

If you are deploying all or part of your backup environment to the cloud, Avamar enables you to make the most of your cloud investment, enabling replication, disaster recovery and long-term retention for customers using AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.

Avamar is available as part of Dell Data Protection Suite, which offers comprehensive data protection software applications and tools. Avamar is delivered as software and as a virtual edition.

Dell Technologies

IBM TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway is designed to meet the disk-based data protection needs of the enterprise data center while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. The solution offers industry-leading inline deduplication performance and scalability up to 1 petabyte (PB) of physical storage capacity per system, and can provide up to 25 PB or more backup storage capacity. Combined with IBM or third-party storage, TS7650G ProtecTIER Deduplication Gateway provides a powerful disk-based repository to improve the performance, retention and availability of backup and archive data in a small footprint for energy and cost efficiency.

IBM
 

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
Buyer's Guide
Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER
June 2025
Free Report: Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Dell Avamar vs. IBM ProtectTIER report.
See our list of best Deduplication Software vendors and best Backup and Recovery vendors.

We monitor all Deduplication Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.