Dell Avamar vs NetApp SnapCenter comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.1, while NetApp is ranked #53 with an average rating of 7.0. Dell Technologies holds a 2.6% mindshare in BRS, compared to NetApp’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Dell Avamar

Read 90 Dell Avamar reviews

5,260 Views
4,787 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

NetApp SnapCenter

Read 27 NetApp SnapCenter reviews

1,268 Views
1,192 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell Avamar

NetApp SnapCenter

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Dell Avamar and NetApp SnapCenter are key players in data protection and backup solutions. NetApp SnapCenter has an edge due to its robust feature set and seamless NetApp storage integration.

Features: Dell Avamar is valued for efficient data deduplication, ease of backup management, and user-friendly interface. NetApp SnapCenter provides strong integration with NetApp storage arrays, ability to perform application-consistent backups, and compatibility with varied environments.

Room for Improvement: Dell Avamar needs enhancements in scalability, support for newer technologies, and more detailed documentation. NetApp SnapCenter requires better documentation, streamlined upgrade processes, and improved scalability for large environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell Avamar has straightforward deployment but can be time-consuming, with efficient customer support. NetApp SnapCenter offers straightforward deployment with comprehensive guidance, and responsive, knowledgeable customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Dell Avamar has competitive pricing and users report reasonable ROI, especially with its deduplication feature. Extensive features justify NetApp SnapCenter's higher pricing, providing a strong ROI and better value according to user feedback.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter

September 2025

Download the complete report

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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

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (5th)

NetApp SnapCenter

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

53rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 2.6%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp SnapCenter is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell Avamar	2.6%
NetApp SnapCenter	0.7%
Other	96.7%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas

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.

Read full review

MervynMorgan

IT Storage Engineer at Unixque Solutions Pty Ltd

Enables us to save data for data projection but could improve its integration with other backup solutions

NetApp SnapCenter is highly efficient because it allows you to automate the creation of snapshots. Instead of manually creating snapshots using IMS or HMS, you can schedule and automate them, specifying the timing and frequency. This eliminates the need for daily manual intervention and streamlines the process. SnapCenter also enables you to assign specific user roles to manage these tasks, enhancing efficiency. SnapCenter ensures that your LPOs and RTOs are extremely quick. Although it may seem expensive initially, after using it for a while, you'll appreciate the efficiencies and gains it provides. I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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

"The performance of Dell EMC Avamar is good."

"Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup."

"The most valuable feature of Avamar would have to be the way it works over needing very little bandwidth to move data across a WAN or LAN."

"Dell EMC Avamar has many valuable features. It's very stable and it's easy to manage."

"Every product is good and bad, but its claim to fame is that it is scalable. We're doing more than 3,000 VMs. Every single night a complete image backup to disks and replication are easily done in under four hours."

"Its stability and deduplication capabilities are most valuable."

"The installation process is pretty straightforward."

"We have a lot of backups, and this tool helps us with the RMAN Backup."

More Dell Avamar pros

"The way that it interconnects with VMware is really handy, because you can go right into your vSphere client, where you spend a lot of the day anyway, right-click on one of the VMs where you have backups running for however long, and you can restore either some files or restore the entire thing."

"We have been very satisfied with the technical support's help. Their knowledge level is great. For a noncritical question, they will get back to us within a day."

"Most banks and financial institutions use the solution."

"The Exchange plugin is the most valuable because we have a lot of customers that use SnapManager Exchange and have to migrate to SnapCenter."

"It's integrated with VMware vCenter. You can also see the backups there and you can do a restore completely out of vCenter."

"You can quickly deploy new virtual environments. It provides efficient and easy-to-use data protection. If a file goes missing or corruption occurs, you can restore it swiftly using the snap restore feature, allowing you to return to work almost immediately."

"It's very helpful because SnapCenter is already integrated with VMware Snapshot, so it's very easy to use."

"Being able to add everything in as resource groups is a valuable feature... Having all the SQL servers put into specific buckets, based on their year of release - 2008, 2012, 2014 - allows us to get almost immediate backups that are easily seen and reported on."

More NetApp SnapCenter pros

Cons

"We don't trust the product 100 percent. Kaspersky has many features Dell Avamar doesn't support, such as granular backup and history."

"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 product could offer more integration capabilities."

"A huge storage space needs to be bought with Dell Avamar, even when it's unnecessary for an organization"

"The client caches and deduplication system have a few problems."

"In my opinion, the user interface and the user friendliness could be improved. The specific thing I have in mind are the graphics, which are not quite user-friendly."

"Setting up Avamar wasn't so easy, and we had a partner doing the installation for us. Though it was hard at first, it's getting better. The main difficulty was finding plugins for Oracle Database. It took some time to open a ticket with Dell, but everything was fine after that."

"It would be helpful if there was cloud support."

More Dell Avamar cons

"There is one area that needs improvement and that's in the alerting. When you set up your SMTP alerts, it only has - and I don't understand why - the ability to send an anonymous SMTP. It doesn't do basic authentication, which frustrated me for a while until I figured out that I'm not missing something. It's just not there."

"SnapCenter could improve its integration with other backup solutions, such as Veeam."

"Since the solution's initial setup is complex, it should make training documents available in the public space."

"I would like to see replication support between systems. Right now, it's kind of limited. We manage them separately from the storage system interface, not from SnapCenter. It would be nice if it was integrated into SnapCenter."

"The replication feature needs improvement in future releases."

"The interface usability needs improvement. It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use."

"I feel a little bit that during the whole process of putting this software into production we were like a beta program. It was full of bugs... For example, we had a problem with truncating our Exchange log files... It has improved over time."

"The Dashboard view needs to be more compressed with better ease of access and drill-down features. They should also reinstate Linux filesystem backups of storage volumes (which existed in the prior version)."

More NetApp SnapCenter cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is easy to use."

"Dell Avamar is free when we deploy the data protection. When we order data protection, this software is included in the hardware."

"The price of this product should be lower."

"It was very expensive before, but after integrating it with Dell EMC Avamar Data Protection suite licensing, we are getting better discounts."

"The solution is costly."

"This solution is less expensive than Veeam for us, although it depends on the customer because we get a great discount."

"Regarding pricing, I would say Avamar is slightly expensive compared to its functionalities. It's not high-priced or low-priced but somewhere in between."

"It's a very high-end solution and comparable to Rubrik and Cohesity."

More Dell Avamar pricing and cost advice

"Pricing is very good because if you already have NepApp controllers, then it's included."

"We have a site license, so it comes with the product."

"The product is inexpensive."

"We see a financial value with SnapCenter because we don't have to license Commvault, which is pretty expensive."

"The licensing is well-designed because it's already included in some packages with NetApp storage. Therefore, for most customers, it's okay as the SnapCenter license is already included in some NetApp bundles."

"It's free. The license is included with other NetApp products."

"The license for SnapCenter was included with the storage array."

"It comes free with the amount of equipment we purchase from NetApp. In terms of pricing, zero is my favorite number."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	48

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	11

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...

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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

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapCenter?

The product should be free because it is just software to administrate systems purchased from NetApp, which are already expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp SnapCenter?

The interface usability needs improvement. It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapCenter?

I help my customers to install and integrate NetApp SnapCenter ( /products/netapp-snapcenter-reviews ). The solution is used for central consolidation of NetApp ( /products/netapp-41749-reviews ) d...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar

Compared 38% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar

Compared 13% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

Rubrik vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

Dell NetWorker vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell Avamar Competitors

Synology DSM vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 22% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 14% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 14% of the time

Veritas NetBackup vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 11% of the time

Rubrik vs NetApp SnapCenter

Compared 11% of the time

More NetApp SnapCenter Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar

October 2025

Download Dell Avamar product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapCenter

September 2025

Download NetApp SnapCenter product report

Also Known As

Avamar

SnapCenter

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

Unified, scalable platform for application-consistent data protection and clone management. This software simplifies backup, restore, and clone lifecycle management with application-integrated workflows.

NetApp

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

All for One Steeb AG, Accenture

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter

September 2025

Free Report: Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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