

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain and NetApp FAS Series compete in the data storage and protection category. Dell holds the upper hand due to its industry-leading deduplication and compression capabilities, as consistently highlighted by users.
Features: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is renowned for its exceptional deduplication and compression efficiency, making it an ideal choice for backup savings. It offers integration with the Data Domain BOOST feature for enhanced source-side deduplication, and is known for its reliable and rapid data backup. NetApp FAS Series provides notable features such as SnapMirror and FlexClone, which improve data protection and replication. Additionally, it supports a range of protocols and maintains stable performance even under heavy load conditions.
Room for Improvement: Dell PowerProtect users suggest better integration with other platforms, enhancements to its cloud version, and a more flexible pricing model. There is also a call for ransomware protection and compatibility with fiber channels. NetApp FAS Series users recommend enhancing cloud environment integration, improving scalability, and adjusting pricing. Better documentation and support for switching between modes, along with improved monitoring tools, are also suggested.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerProtect supports both on-premises and hybrid cloud deployments, with the majority opting for on-premises setups. It is praised for its exemplary customer service and responsive technical support, although some users have reported recent delays. NetApp FAS Series, typically deployed on-premises, also receives positive feedback for support but users express a desire for faster troubleshooting and improved documentation. Dell is distinguished by its proactive customer service, whereas NetApp is commended for reliability and consistent support.
Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerProtect is perceived as costly, but the performance justifies the expense, with users noting significant ROI from storage savings and quicker recovery. NetApp FAS Series, though also expensive, receives praise for its fair licensing model, allowing customers to pay only for needed features. Dell exhibits a more substantive ROI from robust data management savings, while NetApp derives ROI from its scalable and flexible licensing options.
If you have the configuration well maintained and configured, you should have good efficiency and compression for the clients and for yourself.
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.
Sometimes, the support was inadequate because the initial architecture was poorly defined.
We are also using it ourselves for the SAN and CIFS protocol.
They often provide basic solutions, such as suggesting a failover or a power cycle, which are not the sophisticated solutions we expect from a vendor.
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.
We normally avoid current versions and use versions that have been running for at least two months in client usage before updating drivers.
NetApp FAS Series is scalable, and it is possible, but you need to pay.
The NetApp FAS Series is scalable and offers numerous solutions, but only if customers are willing to invest in the shelves.
Dell is especially more stable in the enterprise product.
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is stable in terms of software performance.
When panic occurs on the node, it reboots itself, and we have experienced numerous hardware-related issues.
Most things are tailor-made, and we avoid downtimes even with primitive CLI commands.
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.
Storage companies should create encrypted storage solutions between the OS and storage to protect against ransomware attacks.
Nutanix leads the business in this approach, and I feel that NetApp is missing some aspects, such as CPU, GPU, and RAM, in its AI portfolio.
There is an opportunity there for NetApp with Cloud Volumes ONTAP.
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.
The pricing of NetApp FAS Series is not cheap, but in comparison to other vendors, NetApp FAS Series is affordable.
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.
While NVMe disks are expensive and require three disks for parity calculations, hard drives in NetApp FAS Series are inexpensive, making it more cost-efficient per GB, even with RAID tech implementation.
Our IOPS are very high, reaching somewhere about 50k to 150k or 1.150k.
One important feature for customers is its ease of use and continuity, enabling seamless usage across on-premise and cloud environments.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) | 26.6% |
| NetApp FAS Series | 3.5% |
| Other | 69.9% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 32 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 21 |
| Large Enterprise | 32 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 31 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 37 |
| Large Enterprise | 57 |
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain ranks as the #1 Purpose-Built Backup Appliance. Known for its exceptional cyber resilience, it integrates well into any size organization's on-premises environment, optimizing data protection for traditional and modern workloads like AI and containers.
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain stands out with its patented data services, providing powerful protection and operational simplicity. By enabling seamless integration with a wide range of backup applications, it ensures efficient data management. Its flash and disk-based appliances support cost-effective operations with secure storage capabilities. Along with integration with cloud services, it assures excellent data handling and recovery performance for enterprises.
What are the key features of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain?Organizations across the financial, enterprise, and governmental sectors leverage Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for secure data backup and deduplication. It is essential in environments requiring data archiving and critical workload protection. With applications like Veeam, NetWorker, and Avamar, these appliances support both on-premises and cloud deployments, ensuring business continuity through effective disaster recovery strategies.
NetApp FAS series is an enterprise-level storage system that provides a wide variety of data management services, including data protection, block and file storage, and data management.
NetApp FAS is designed to be highly scalable, allowing your organization to grow storage capacity on demand. NetApp FAS also supports multiple protocols, including NFS, SMB, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel, as well as various storage architectures, including SAN (Storage Area Network) and NAS (Network-Attached Storage).
The FAS series has multiple data protection and data management features, including snapshots, cloning, replication, and deduplication, to help secure your data and manage it more efficiently. The system integrates with other NetApp products and solutions, to create a unified data management platform. The system can be deployed on-premise, on multi-cloud environments, or hybrid.
NetApp FAS Series Benefits and Features
NetApp FAS series provides its users with several key benefits and features, including:
Reviews from Real Users
NetApp FAS Series stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its speed, reliability, and a wide variety of features.
Adriano S., IT project and infrastructure service manager, writes, “The replication feature is noteworthy because it's faster than most and it uses little bandwidth. Then there's the friendly interface that the equipment offers. With this interface, it is very easy to manage.”
Temitope O., a NetApp product manager at Hiperdist Ltd, says, “I like the unified management feature because sometimes you end up running a single protocol on the entire system. You rather have a system for a particular protocol and another system for other protocols, especially in a big environment like mine.”
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