No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Dell Data Protection Advisor vs Synology DSM comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 Data Protection Advisor
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
38th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
48th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Data Protection Advisor is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.3%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell Data Protection Advisor0.7%
Synology DSM1.3%
Other98.0%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

CanBolat - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at GlassHouse
Has provided centralized monitoring for backup operations and reduced deployment times
The benefits of Dell Data Protection Advisor are that deployment and enablement are very easy. You can see everything in the backup infrastructure centrally. The real-time data gathering and monitoring process is robust. The predictive analytics feature in Dell Data Protection Advisor provides predictions about backup size and capacity for future periods.
Michael Adejoh - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As an example, we improved our RTO and RPO."
"I have never found any glitch in any Dell solution to date."
"It generates very detailed reports, which makes things easier when it comes to IT auditing."
"DPA can provide daily report cards for our auditors, which fulfills our reporting requirements."
"The deduplication is probably the most valuable feature of that requirement."
"I can increase the tool's licensing as per my requirement with no conditions applied."
"The initial setup is very straightforward. Deployment typically takes about one hour. You just need one person to handle the deployment process."
"The platform's most valuable features are data protection and retention."
"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 most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."
"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."
 

Cons

"It's a bit difficult for first-time users."
"The product could be improved by addressing intermittent collector failures affecting status reports' accuracy."
"It is difficult to manage the solution with the available tools. You need to know exactly what are you are doing."
"Dell Data Protection Advisor is somewhat complicated, but this depends on the software limitations."
"From a service perspective, improvements are needed at Dell because when customers call, it takes a long time to get a response for calls or emails. Response time is the main problem that needs addressing."
"Some minor adjustments could be made regarding the graphical interface and customization options."
"The solution requires more integration with our other solutions. I know that they have full integration with VMware because it is also from EMC. However, we have to have better integration with Microsoft and Nutanix as well."
"There is a steep learning curve to use the interface and to create new reports, this could be made easier. If the solution could provide more drag and drop functionality to build more advanced reports that would be very helpful."
"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."
"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."
"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."
"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."
"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."
"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not very expensive — I think the price is fair."
"For pricing, I would rate Dell 2 out of 5. It's affordable."
"The product pricing has been satisfactory, particularly with the economy of scale in our agreement."
"If the customer has huge lineup of Dell Products then they receive discount on the pricing."
"You need to make an upfront payment for three, five, or seven years and renew the licenses for support. We can do an annual maintenance contract with Dell. I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."
"You have to procure the license when you are ordering or quoting for Dell Data Protection Suite (DPS). DPS is bundled with the suite and comes with a license. However, if you purchase NetWorker separately then you will have to procure the license for DPS separately."
"The product is affordable."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"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."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Performing Arts
12%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell Data Protection Advisor?
The pricing of Dell Data Protection Advisor is very competitive among other vendors, and the license model is more economical than other vendor products.
What needs improvement with Dell Data Protection Advisor?
Dell Data Protection Advisor is somewhat complicated, but this depends on the software limitations. However, you can scale it if you work on the virtualization platform. There are no limitations re...
What is your primary use case for Dell Data Protection Advisor?
We use Dell Data Protection Advisor for backup operations. Dell Data Protection Advisor is very useful for the central view of the whole backup process, monitoring success and failed backups, and t...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

DPA
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nielsen, Trek Bicycle, Cal-Israel Credit Cards
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Data Protection Advisor vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.