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Dell Avamar vs NetApp SnapCenter 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
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
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
27
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
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell Avamar2.6%
NetApp SnapCenter0.7%
Other96.7%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MervynMorgan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The backup is the solution's most valuable feature. It's very reliable."
"All the features in the system are highly valuable."
"The most valuable feature for me in Dell Avamar is the automation, which is good for completion."
"Dell EMC Avamar has many valuable features. It's very stable and it's easy to manage."
"We used Dell Avamar for backup and recovery of a virtual environment."
"They are extremely reliable and scalable — they provide the best de-duplication on the market."
"We have a lot of backups, and this tool helps us with the RMAN Backup."
"Client deduplication."
"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."
"The support from NetApp is very good, and I would rate it as ten points."
"It has greatly improved our DR activity."
"The most valuable feature is that it's centralized. In the old SnapManager days, we had software for each server. Now, with a centralized system, we're able to manage all systems remotely, and all agents remotely, and update them remotely. That's a huge benefit for us."
"The central pane view is the most valuable feature. You have one console where you can monitor all your jobs, as opposed to going to different vCenters."
"Restoring and cloning are easy to do."
"Technical support has been very helpful when we have issues."
"It's very helpful because SnapCenter is already integrated with VMware Snapshot, so it's very easy to use."
 

Cons

"The challenges we do face typically revolve around aligning specific features with our accustomed tool usage."
"It's an expensive solution."
"Backup image browse times should be faster."
"When we used the solution, it was still new, and so the customer service/technical support was not the best."
"It's very slow to backup and store information. It has two consoles and an application which are more difficult to use than a solution like Veeam."
"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 user interface still needs to have some level of improvement. It could be more user-friendly and intuitive."
"Technical support should be more knowledgeable."
"The compatibility with other manufacturers, like Oracle and Hyper-V, could be improved. I would like to see it be more compatible with other software."
"It needs to support vSphere 6.7."
"The product lags in terms of availability."
"Plugins should be developed in shorter times. Performance generally could be a little bit faster."
"Groups might be helpful for each site or data center so that we know a given data center has these resources while another data center has those resources. It's not always easy to group hosts by type."
"We have hundreds of servers and systems and hundreds of customers and they're separated in a multi-tenancy way in NetApp SVM. Right now, the problem is that it always scan all SVMs. If I backup Customer A, it scans all SVMs, or tries to scan all SVMs, if there is a backup relationship on the storage. But it doesn't have the permissions, so we run into timeouts or the backup just takes too long. They're fixing that in the upcoming release..."
"I'm waiting for SnapCenter for hybrid solutions. Right now, we only have SnapManager for hybrid. I need agents for that. People are looking to install SnapCenter in a SQL environment, but where they're running SQL on Hyper-V and using virtual files. Currently, we don't have support for hybrid."
"What I did witness lately are issues with some Microsoft KBs, the updates. But it happened only once, and not on a major platform, it was on a small one."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is easy to use."
"The price of this product should be lower."
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"Avamar's pricing is quite competitive compared to other vendors."
"Dell Avamar is free when we deploy the data protection. When we order data protection, this software is included in the hardware."
"It's a very high-end solution and comparable to Rubrik and Cohesity."
"It's an expensive tool"
"Dell's pricing structure is not overly expensive."
"Pricing is very good because if you already have NepApp controllers, then it's included."
"It comes free with the amount of equipment we purchase from NetApp. In terms of pricing, zero is my favorite number."
"We have a site license, so it comes with the product."
"We see a financial value with SnapCenter because we don't have to license Commvault, which is pretty expensive."
"The product is inexpensive."
"It's free. The license is included with other NetApp products."
"The license for SnapCenter was included with the storage array."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise11
 

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 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.
What needs improvement with NetApp SnapCenter?
The interface usability needs improvement. It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use.
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...
 

Also Known As

Avamar
SnapCenter
 

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
All for One Steeb AG, Accenture
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. NetApp SnapCenter and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.