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Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain vs Dell PowerVault comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain offers cost-effective, reliable backup with significant savings, fast recovery, and high data integrity for enterprises.
Sentiment score
5.1
Dell PowerVault drastically cuts storage costs for disaster recovery, enhancing financial benefits and competitive pricing, earning high user ratings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain users generally find support effective but notice declines in service speed for complex issues.
Sentiment score
5.2
Dell PowerVault's customer service is highly rated for responsiveness, knowledge, and effective problem-solving, despite some logistical issues.
They respond within 24 hours of case submission, which is crucial for maintaining the solution.
I have dedicated support from Dell for Vietnam, and they are responsive.
I have encountered an issue before with other brands that would not have occurred with Dell.
Supporting Dell PowerVault is very easy.
The technical support for Dell PowerVault is pretty good and they usually get back to us in a couple of hours with a technical engineer.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain offers seamless scalability and integration, ideal for enterprises, despite some users wanting improved scalability.
Sentiment score
6.1
Dell PowerVault is scalable for SMBs but may face limitations and complexity challenges in larger enterprise environments.
The scalability depends on the IT department's strategy.
By keeping the increasing data in mind, we decided to go for Data Domain.
The solution is scalable to higher models, both vertically and horizontally.
I don't face any issues with security with Dell PowerVault.
The scalability is present but it is a bit complex to scale to the desired level.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain is highly stable, reliable, with seamless data replication, requiring minimal reboots and offering strong performance.
Sentiment score
7.0
Dell PowerVault is praised for stability and ease, though larger setups may need dual units for active-active configurations.
Dell is especially more stable in the enterprise product.
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is stable in terms of software performance.
Dell PowerVault has been stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Dell EMC PowerProtect users seek simplified VTL, better deduplication, improved UI, lower costs, and enhanced integration and support.
Dell PowerVault requires UI improvements, broader integration, better pricing, enhanced features, and greater customer outreach to remain competitive.
The high availability feature is only present in the higher models of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).
It is suitable for more customers since it is small, cost-effective, and a good start for any customer to know about Data Domain and DBS solutions.
Medium-level and SME-level businesses can easily utilize this feature, but Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a relatively expensive solution to propose to customers.
It would be beneficial for Dell to enhance outreach to new customers directly to prevent resellers from scaring them away with higher pricing.
There is room for improvement with Dell PowerVault as we did have some promises about dedupe and compression that did not turn out as promised.
I think expandability could be improved for Dell PowerVault.
 

Setup Cost

Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain is expensive, with costs depending on size, licensing, and is valued for performance and support.
Dell PowerVault pricing is viewed as competitive by some, but higher costs and licensing fees concern other users.
It is almost four times the earlier price.
The pricing has become higher since July, and the license costs are more expensive compared to the past.
The price for PowerProtect DD is not suitable for my customers. It is very high.
I don't think it's terribly priced, but Pure Storage is cheaper.
 

Valuable Features

Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain enhances storage efficiency with deduplication, fast transfers, user-friendly interface, and strong security features.
Dell PowerVault is praised for reliability, scalability, ease of use, cost-effective storage, and exceptional customer support.
The most valuable feature of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is its deduplication capability.
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is highly consistent, durable, easy to install, scalable, and compatible with any software today.
By using Data Domain, we get the advantage of data deduplication, reducing data size.
We've even used PowerVault series that we intended to use for five years for almost eight years, and it was still working fine, providing good ROI compared to any other brand.
The stability of Dell PowerVault is good; I would rate it a nine.
It has been pretty stable.
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell EMC PowerProtect Data ...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (1st), Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
Dell PowerVault
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise SAN (2nd), Fibre Channel (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain and Dell PowerVault aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain is designed for Deduplication Software and holds a mindshare of 26.6%, down 29.0% compared to last year.
Dell PowerVault, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise SAN, holds 28.6% mindshare, up 14.8% since last year.
Deduplication Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)26.6%
HPE StoreOnce18.6%
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager13.7%
Other41.099999999999994%
Deduplication Software
Enterprise SAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerVault28.6%
Dell PowerStore29.6%
Dell Connectrix5.7%
Other36.099999999999994%
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

Faisal_Zia - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers efficient data management with robust features and reliable performance
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) can be improved in terms of price. While Dell is providing a proper device, other solutions, such as Symantec, can replicate their data through any NAS storage. Although their deduplication and compression might not be as effective, they can still accomplish the task. Medium-level and SME-level businesses can easily utilize this feature, but Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a relatively expensive solution to propose to customers.
RichardLynch - PeerSpot reviewer
Administrative ease and dependable support consistently enhance our operations
I would say my favorite features of Dell PowerVault are that it's pretty easy to use. It has been pretty stable. Firmware updates have been pretty easy to install and updates are pretty easy to do. Replacing a bad drive is fairly simple. It is just fairly easy to administer it.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is an integrated backup appliance-based solution, and our installed base in Pakistan is substantial. We possess high expertise in both pre-sales and post-sales ac...
What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The product, a disk backup solution, improves our data application tasks. We used tape libraries with Dev drives in legacy architectures, resulting in slow backups compared to modern drives like NV...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)'s licensing cost was excellent in 2023, but after 2023, the operating environment licensing cost is huge. It is almost four times the earlier price.
What do you like most about Dell PowerVault?
Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
I don't get involved in the negotiations for price for Dell PowerVault. We get a pretty good discount. I don't think it's terribly priced, but Pure Storage is cheaper.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
I think expandability could be improved for Dell PowerVault. It should be easier to expand and get expansion on it.
 

Also Known As

DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
PowerVault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetApp and others in Deduplication Software. Updated: October 2025.
872,922 professionals have used our research since 2012.