Dell Avamar vs Synology DSM comparison

Dell Technologies and Synology are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. Dell Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3, while Synology is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0. Dell Technologies holds a 3.2% mindshare in BRS, compared to Synology’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Synology users who would recommend it.

Dell Avamar

Read 89 Dell Avamar reviews

6,178 Views
5,560 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Synology DSM

Read 10 Synology DSM reviews

2,210 Views
2,188 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell Avamar

Synology DSM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Dell Avamar and Synology DSM are both prominent data protection solutions. Dell Avamar seems to have the upper hand due to its superior data deduplication capability and cost-efficiency, despite Synology DSM's robust integration and customization flexibilities.

Features: Users value Dell Avamar's efficient data deduplication, ease of data retrieval, and reasonable setup costs. Synology DSM is favored for its integration with various cloud services, extensive customization options, and long-term value through extensive features.

Room for Improvement: Dell Avamar reviews suggest improvements in performance speed, user learning curve, and initial setup. Synology DSM users point out the need for enhanced customer service, backup reliability, and easier deployment.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell Avamar is praised for its straightforward deployment but criticized for slow initial setup. Synology DSM has mixed reviews on deployment, with some users finding it complicated. Customer service is seen as adequate for Dell Avamar, whereas Synology DSM users express the need for improvement.

Pricing and ROI: Dell Avamar users typically report reasonable setup costs and quick ROI due to its effective deduplication. Synology DSM might have higher initial costs but is seen as providing good long-term value through its extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

July 2025

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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

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (5th)

Synology DSM

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

17th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 3.2%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Ayodeji Oyewole

Managing Director at Atlantic factorial

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…

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Michael Adejoh

Solutions Manager at Excel Connect Ventures

Reliable and cost-effective

One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

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

"They are extremely reliable and scalable — they provide the best de-duplication on the market."

"The entire system operates seamlessly, with minimal hands-on involvement, allowing us to focus on monitoring rather than constant adjustments or deployments, as seen in larger, more dynamic environments."

"Effective in protecting the virtualization system and end points."

"We used Dell Avamar for backup and recovery of a virtual environment."

"The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality."

"The tool’s ability to restore files discretely is useful."

"The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality."

"The most valuable feature is the virtual backup."

More Dell Avamar pros

"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."

"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."

"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."

"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."

"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."

"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."

"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."

More Synology DSM pros

Cons

"The recovery is a bit slow."

"The solution could improve by having better integration and more flexibility."

"The only concern is the cost."

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

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

"Interfaces need to be improved."

"Desktop-laptop backups and backup over the WAN needs lot of improvisation. For DTLT there must be a provision to push agents from the management console."

"The stability could improve, a lot of scheduled backups failed at one time."

More Dell Avamar cons

"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."

"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."

"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."

"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."

"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."

"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."

"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."

"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."

More Synology DSM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are paid annually."

"It might not be beneficial to smaller businesses due to its high cost."

"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 Avamar, including its virtual add-ons and cloud-based offerings, is cheaper than other solutions, but in the end, the price still depends on your use case. Price-wise, I'm rating Dell Avamar as six out of ten."

"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."

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

"There is a license required for this solution."

"There are licensing costs for Dell EMC Avamar and it is paid annually."

More Dell Avamar pricing and cost advice

"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."

"It is quite an affordable solution."

"Synology DSM is a free tool."

"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The price of the solution is very good."

"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."

"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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...

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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 do you like most about Synology DSM?

The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?

The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Synology DSM?

Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar

Compared 34% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar

Compared 14% of the time

Dell NetWorker vs Dell Avamar

Compared 9% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar

Compared 6% of the time

Azure Backup vs Dell Avamar

Compared 2% of the time

More Dell Avamar Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Synology DSM

Compared 15% of the time

NetApp SnapCenter vs Synology DSM

Compared 8% of the time

UrBackup vs Synology DSM

Compared 8% of the time

GoodSync vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

EaseUS Todo vs Synology DSM

Compared 3% of the time

More Synology DSM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar

July 2025

Download Dell Avamar product report

Buyer's Guide

Synology DSM

July 2025

Download Synology DSM product report

Also Known As

Avamar

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

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

Synology DSM (DiskStation Manager) is a comprehensive software platform designed for Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. It serves as the operating system for these devices, providing a wide range of features and functionalities.

The primary use case of Synology DSM is to centralize and manage data storage for organizations. It allows businesses to store, access, and share files securely across multiple devices and platforms. With its intuitive user interface, DSM simplifies the management of data, making it easy to create shared folders, set access permissions, and monitor storage usage.

One of the most valuable functionalities of Synology DSM is its robust data protection capabilities. It offers various RAID configurations, including SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID), which ensures data redundancy and safeguards against drive failures. DSM also supports advanced backup and disaster recovery solutions, such as Snapshot Replication and Hyper Backup, enabling organizations to protect their critical data effectively.

Furthermore, Synology DSM provides a wide range of productivity and collaboration tools. It offers applications like Synology Drive, which allows seamless file synchronization across devices, and Synology Office, a web-based suite for document editing and collaboration. DSM also supports various third-party applications, including popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, enabling organizations to integrate their existing workflows seamlessly.

Synology

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

July 2025

Free Report: Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

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