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Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs Dell PowerProtect Data Manager comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
3.8
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is praised for cost-effectiveness, performance, and efficiency, though financial benefits vary among organizations.
Sentiment score
1.0
Dell PowerProtect DP offers cost savings, improved data protection, faster backups, reduced downtime, simplified management, and higher productivity.
I would recommend Dell PowerProtect Data Manager to other organizations because it is cost-effective and delivers good performance compared to alternative solutions.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I do find that with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, the ROI is good when compared to other Dell products, but when compared to others in the current market, such as Cohesity or Veeam, it is not as good.
Senior Principal at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager documentation minimizes tech support needs, excelling in simplicity despite responsiveness issues, especially in regions like Poland.
Sentiment score
8.5
Dell PowerProtect DP support is mixed, with slow frontline help but improved resolution upon escalation and partner level intervention.
Dell provides reliable support for PowerProtect Data Manager, with 24/7 availability and a qualified support team.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Delays in feedback and scheduling can affect interactions, but generally, support provides good solutions once engaged.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Organizations considering Dell PowerProtect Data Manager should be aware that customer support responsiveness could be improved.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Challenges exist in certain Linux-based cases.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
On the one or two occasions where we needed to engage with Dell support, they've been most helpful.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) support from Dell EMC is consistent.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers scalable enterprise data protection, flexible licensing, and efficient virtualization, but needs improved cloud scalability.
Sentiment score
3.5
Dell PowerProtect DP is scalable and adaptable, supporting varied data needs with easy upgrades and expansion options.
Its capability to back up existing environments can be improved, particularly when it comes to disaster recovery in the cloud.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager performs well from a scalability perspective and is functioning properly with our current implementation.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The product offers flexibility for scalability, making it user-friendly and adaptable to different performance requirements.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is stable with modern tech; minor update issues exist but are mitigated by good documentation.
Sentiment score
7.5
Dell PowerProtect DP is praised for stability and reliability, with minor network issues but effective patching and consistent operation.
It is extremely reliable and I have never experienced a crash.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Making sure the system is properly understood before deployment and handling upgrades efficiently would improve stability.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
I would assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager as quite stable; there are no issues with the workloads I am using.
Senior Principal at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is a stable solution because it's a mature product.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager needs better tape integration, UI, scalability, support, modern tech compatibility, and enhanced data recovery features.
Dell PowerProtect DP has authentication, space management, setup complexities, and lacks third-party integration, continuous backup, and AI innovations.
I would like to see improvements that include bare metal restore capabilities and enhanced data restore features in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Enhancements for microservices and container backups would be beneficial, enabling a more consolidated management platform for modern architectures.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The main issue that needs improvement is the support system.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) requires more updates and innovations in AI-powered cyber resilience.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Avamar.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
One area of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) that can be improved is probably more integrations with third-party software, particularly third-party backup software.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers flexible, competitive pricing with various licensing options, earning high user ratings for cost-effectiveness.
Dell PowerProtect DP offers flexible licensing and good value with bundled features, despite higher costs than some competitors.
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is cost-effective, as it is licensed per socket rather than by workload.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Overall, pricing does not significantly impact our decision.
Business Development Manager at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
compared to some other products, it is a bit more costly.
Senior Principal at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Pricing is competitive with other software vendors.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
The pricing of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is competitive compared to its peers in the market.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager excels in deduplication, user-friendly backup support, security controls, and integrates well with Data Domain.
Dell PowerProtect DP offers high deduplication, easy deployment, AI security, scalability, fast recovery, and multi-cloud integration.
It provides a seamless backup solution integrated with a dashboard full of capabilities, enhancing recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It satisfies my customers' scalability needs and provides interactive features, allowing efficient integration.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
Compared to other products such as Veritas, Dell offers more competitive pricing while other vendors charge significantly more.
Backup Administrator at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
AI integration enhances backup operations by analyzing data and ensuring malware protection.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) has a scalable architecture, offering flexibility, so you can always scale the capacity to meet any increased demands.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
It is easy for rebooting and upgrading since everything is managed from a single pane through DPA, where you can upgrade everything including your backup solution and backup storage in a one-touch interface.
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (6th)
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
43rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 2.6%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager2.6%
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Other96.7%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Senior Principal at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Streamlined VM protection has improved recovery speed and strengthened data security
The specific features and functionalities I find most beneficial in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager include good integration with other Dell products, such as Dell Data Domain, which makes it a very good use case for environments that already have Dell Data Domain or any other Dell products. My impression of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager's dashboard interface is that it is good, easy to use, and quite interactive, so there are no major issues there. The deduplication feature of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager has allowed me to reduce or save some 15% of storage compared to what I was using earlier.
Pranav Telang - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Integrated backup platform has simplified upgrades and centralized management for enterprise sites
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Avamar. Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) solutions are usually costly. When it is virtualized or comes with additional licenses and additional hardware, the cost increases. The pricing is defined by what kind of performance you are looking for, so based on that, you have to decide what type of disk you need. Scalability is based on how much capacity you have or what slots are available. After that, you have to include the DAEs and capacities. Again, you have to purchase an additional license for Data Domain if you are increasing the capacity.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
 

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?
I think the license for Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is the same as other backup software.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager?
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager should add support for Hyper-V and Nutanix VMs, as well as Kubernetes. Additionally, they should support tape library backup capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
The pricing of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is competitive compared to its peers in the market, and while it can always come down, I still think it's a fair price.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
You cannot integrate with any other third-party solution or your Data Domain since it is very tightly coupled and has limited licenses with respect to capacity that are integrated directly with Ava...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)?
We implemented Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) for one of our biggest enterprise customers across their 30 sites. The customer had hyperconverged infrastructure and was looking for a completely isolate...
 

Also Known As

PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.