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Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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 Manager
Ranking in Deduplication Software
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (10th)
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data ...
Ranking in Deduplication Software
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Disk Based Backup Systems (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Deduplication Software category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 14.0%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is 27.4%, down from 29.5% 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)27.4%
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager14.0%
Other58.6%
Deduplication Software
 

Featured Reviews

MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive integration and user-friendly dashboard enhance data protection workflows
PowerProtect Data Manager lacks the tape-out functionality, which is important for organizations relying on it for offsite backup. While PowerProtect Data Manager offers a workaround, it's not always accepted, notably by sectors like banking. Additionally, I would like PowerProtect Data Manager to provide microservices and container backup for modern applications.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is user-friendly and easy to use. it does what it needs to do."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is a comprehensive backup software that integrates with Dell backup storage to enhance data protection."
"The solution adequately handles data storage."
"It satisfies my customers' scalability needs and provides interactive features, allowing efficient integration."
"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and data protection."
"I would say flexibility is the most important feature of the product. The performance and speed are the best on the market."
"One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solutions. It is highly user-friendly, allowing users to quickly learn and implement backup and restore processes within a week. PPDM represents the next generation of backup software and is comparable to offerings from other vendors. Furthermore, PPDM prioritizes security with various access controls, such as user and database access controls. Its deployment tool is also known for its simplicity."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager helps to reduce the amount of data being transferred and stored."
"I find the data to be most valuable."
"It's very easy to use the domain once it's been set up. The interface is also user-friendly."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the integrated deduplication function."
"Deduplication and compression are the best features of the solution, which are popular and very effective."
"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."
"It securely protects data against threats like Trojans."
"The compatibility within the Dell PowerProtect DD portfolio makes data management more seamless. This integrated solution improves efficiency in our data center and simplifies operations by relying on a single company for servers and storage."
"The most valuable features of this product are its guaranteed reliability and its duplication capability."
 

Cons

"PowerProtect Data Manager is missing a feature for takeout, which means I cannot store backup data off-site within the software. This is a limitation for organizations that require off-site solutions."
"PPDM requires further development. It is primarily integrated with DevOps systems."
"A lot of improvement is required in Dell's first level of support."
"Management is difficult and it is hard to determine when things aren't working properly."
"The solution should enhance its user interface and make it more flexible."
"There is always room for improvement. The compression ratio should be improved as well as the efficiency."
"You need to use additional software to back up entire environments. It will be good if they could support entire tape libraries."
"The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers."
"Dell PowerProtect DD does not have integration with the cloud and virtualization software."
"The firmware upgrades could be simplified. I'm in the process of struggling to upgrade right now."
"If we lose the admin password, Dell always asks for separate charges."
"The downside of PowerProtect's flexibility is that you have so many options. It can be a little confusing. It's like having a car with too many buttons on the dash. You can do so much with it, but it takes some time to learn what everything does."
"The usage of this solution is a bit difficult to develop processes, and it takes a long time to market permits."
"Improvement is needed in terms of telemetry and high availability as the high availability feature is only present in the higher models of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)."
"The price of the product is high."
"DD doesn't have Intel's air gap technology."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is offered at a very competitive price in the market."
"We offer monthly or yearly subscriptions. The price could be cheaper."
"Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is not an expensive solution."
"The price of Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is reasonable."
"The licensing costs and pricing model are based on capacity and the license is easy to upgrade."
"The solution is not less expensive than competitors but pricing deals are available."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
"Becoming more expensive."
"The pricing is cost-effective for the solution"
"Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution."
"There are many options in the pricing structure which can cause some confusion and necessitate the purchase of additional licensing."
"The cheaper device costs around $70,000."
"Its price is reasonable."
"The cost is expensive."
"It could be more competitively priced. Its licensing was for five years. Obviously, the support will get renewed at some stage, but that's it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
One notable feature is its robust backup support for Kubernetes and container environments. Additionally, PPDM stands out for its ease of deployment and management compared to other backup solution...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision. The main concern is the solution itself, presales activities, and positioning it in the right place. Commercial aspects are secondary to...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers.
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)?
The typical use case for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is for backup purposes; it is disk-based backup, which provides fast backup capabilities. Additionally, data can be replicated from site ...
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...
 

Also Known As

PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
DataDomain, Dell EMC Data Domain, PowerProtect Data Domain
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
The US Army, City of Houston, Lloyds TSB, TiVo, Teck, Ingram Entertainment, The New York Mets
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.