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Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs IBM ProtectTIER comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2025

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 PowerProtect Data Domain
Ranking in Deduplication Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
IBM ProtectTIER
Ranking in Deduplication Software
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (81st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is 26.6%, down from 29.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ProtectTIER is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Deduplication Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)26.6%
IBM ProtectTIER1.3%
Other72.1%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2776245 - PeerSpot reviewer
Uses advanced compression and deduplication to minimize storage footprint and improve backup efficiency
One of the areas we are looking at is interconnects for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. I know Dell PowerProtect Data Domain connects with PowerStore, but we are also potentially looking at PowerStore and PowerScale connecting or interacting with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain directly, so that we can leverage writing NAS level backup into Dell PowerProtect Data Domain rather than utilizing any other software tools such as Networker or any other tools.
AG
Provides a short-term backup, archive, and cataloging for 20,000 people in our organization
The backup for a large amount of data is slow. When there's a large amount of data, sometimes the backup isn't completed in time. I have a 24 hour cycle, so it doesn't get completed in 24 hours with the large amount of data. With Veritas NetBackup, I can take 20 terabytes of backup in a day.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When utilizing Dell PowerProtect DD for backup systems, Data Domain offers fast performance with low latency, providing high throughput for quicker backups compared to other vendors."
"The most valuable features of this product are its guaranteed reliability and its duplication capability."
"By using Data Domain, we get the advantage of data deduplication, reducing data size."
"It works within backup windows and has got good deduplication."
"Short backup window has made a difference in the way my organization functions."
"The most valuable features of PowerProtect DD are the immutable storage and the AI scanning."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most important feature is the level of data compression provided by Dell EMC. It's a leader in data compression and deduplication, and the level of compression isn't available with any other vendors in the market."
"The most valuable features are the Self-Service, and the ability to search the data."
"Overall IBM ProtectTIER is a great solution. It is easy to use."
"The command-line interface is good."
"The cataloging is the best feature. It takes millions of frames for the backup. It's incremental, so it takes less time to complete."
"In terms of stability, I've found it to be very stable. I've walked into the server room when it was at 60 degrees Celcius, and it was still running fine."
"The solution is highly stable."
 

Cons

"Dell PowerProtect DD could improve by having better integration with other backup solutions."
"Data Domain lacks compatibility with fiber channels and tapes. We can't use it with a tape library. That's an issue in Latin America sometimes because a lot of clients still use tapes for budget reasons. Maybe they have a lot of archives. In North America and Europe, they do a lot of archiving, but they use the cloud more than we do. Sometimes we have to put together a Frankenstein where we connect another server to the tape library and send all the data there."
"Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a relatively expensive solution to propose to customers."
"Dell PowerProtect DD does not have integration with the cloud and virtualization software."
"In terms of improvement for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, I suggest that the licensing structure could be clearer, as it is difficult to understand how capacity relates to the license capacity, which is not very transparent."
"DD Boost."
"PowerProtect DD should improve the hypervisor support on the DD system."
"They still have hardware different from the software."
"The configuration wizards are still complex and hard to navigate. These should be easier to manage."
"The backup for a large amount of data is slow."
"IBM ProtectTIER could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Setting up the system to work with legacy equipment is a bit complex at times."
"I would like the possibility to back up the infrastructure and then replicate it upon on restart, without having to orchestrate the starting of the VM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is cost-effective for the solution"
"The cost is expensive."
"The yearly subscription is very affordable for our customers, but the price could be a little cheaper overall."
"There are many options in the pricing structure which can cause some confusion and necessitate the purchase of additional licensing."
"The product is expensive."
"The cheaper device costs around $70,000."
"The price is on the high side."
"Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution."
"The customer can decide how they want to purchase a license. However, the price of the solution is expensive."
"IBM ProtectTIER is an expensive solution."
"We have a capacity-based license, which is managed centrally for all the sites of my company."
"This solution is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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.
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Also Known As

DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
Durham Police Department, Re-Store LLC, CenterGrid, pixx.io GmbH, Australian Government Department of Defence, QD, Refresco Gerber
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs. IBM ProtectTIER and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.
873,808 professionals have used our research since 2012.