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Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs NetApp SnapCenter 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
4.7
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers cost-effective performance but doesn't outperform Cohesity or Veeam in financial returns for all users.
Sentiment score
8.5
NetApp SnapCenter enhances efficiency and cost-effectiveness with quicker backups, saving 70% in time and reducing manual effort.
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.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager support is generally good but uneven, with room for improvement in responsiveness and local accessibility.
Sentiment score
9.0
NetApp SnapCenter support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, despite occasional process frustrations and documentation issues.
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
I would evaluate the technical support and customer service teams of Dell as adequate; I cannot say outstanding, but there is obviously some room for improvement there.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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
The support from NetApp is very good, and I would rate it as ten points.
IT Technical Architect at AVALIS
The technical support from NetApp is excellent.
Sr. engineer at Sify Technologies
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is scalable with licensing flexibility but faces cloud scalability and disaster recovery limitations.
Sentiment score
7.5
NetApp SnapCenter efficiently supports scalable backup solutions for small to medium businesses, allowing resource extension and role-based management.
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
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is stable and efficient, though some experience connection issues and minor bugs during upgrades.
Sentiment score
8.7
NetApp SnapCenter is stable and compatible, but updates for complex systems can occasionally introduce performance issues and bugs.
Making sure the system is properly understood before deployment and handling upgrades efficiently would improve stability.
System Engineer at Konvergenz
It is extremely reliable and I have never experienced a crash.
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
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.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Even though we have used multiple products in the private cloud, with NetApp, we haven't found any glitches.
Sr. engineer at Sify Technologies
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager needs integration, compatibility enhancements, improved UI, better support, and advanced features for modern infrastructures.
NetApp SnapCenter needs interface improvements, better integration, enhanced performance, and user-friendly documentation to address management and compatibility issues.
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
Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers.
Business Development Manager at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Additionally, other SaaS protection is required, as there are many SaaS applications these days, such as Salesforce, which need protection.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It should be more user-friendly and easier for customers to use.
IT Technical Architect at AVALIS
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers competitive, flexible pricing options, seen as cost-effective despite some viewing it as slightly expensive.
NetApp SnapCenter often includes licensing with hardware purchases, offering cost-effective solutions with Standard and Advanced Capacity licenses.
compared to some other products, it is a bit more costly.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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
The product should be free because it is just software to administrate systems purchased from NetApp, which are already expensive.
IT Technical Architect at AVALIS
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager offers flexible, user-friendly, and secure data protection for container and virtual environments with strong integration capabilities.
NetApp SnapCenter offers easy backup, centralized management, integration, and secure access, ensuring efficient data protection and quick restoration.
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
The product is very stable and easy to install, which saves a significant amount of time during deployment.
IT Technical Architect at AVALIS
Role-based access control and multi-factor authentication are security features available in NetApp SnapCenter.
Sr. engineer at Sify Technologies
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (6th)
NetApp SnapCenter
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
44th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
28
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 NetApp SnapCenter is 0.8%, up from 0.6% 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%
NetApp SnapCenter0.8%
Other96.6%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

MinaMagdy1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
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.
SaneeshC - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. engineer at Sify Technologies
Has reduced backup time for large workloads and supports smooth workload migration
Role-based access control and multi-factor authentication are security features available in NetApp SnapCenter. The one-time password comes to our multi-factor authentication tool; we work with Cisco Duo, and that OTP is generated through that tool, which we use to access the device. There are different options through which we can migrate workloads without downtime. The user interface is very easy to handle and not complicated. There are multiple features that make NetApp SnapCenter valuable. In case of any job failure, we get an alert over email. For jobs replicating from site A to site B, we know how long it will take to complete that replication. All that information is available in the console, and there aren't any difficulties or objections that need to be improved.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

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 Business8
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise12
 

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?
Regarding data recovery improvements in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, there are challenges with data sets larger than one terabyte that are not related to VM. While VM recovery functions adequate...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapCenter?
The product team handles the commercial aspects of pricing.
What needs improvement with NetApp SnapCenter?
We have not started much with the automation capability in NetApp SnapCenter. Regarding the integration aspect, I am not certain about its complexity, as this was built by the OEM NetApp team.
What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapCenter?
The major use case for NetApp SnapCenter is that our customer previously used Commvault. For huge VMs with sizes of five TB or 10 TB, taking the file level backup in Commvault took a long time, oft...
 

Also Known As

PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
SnapCenter
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
All for One Steeb AG, Accenture
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs. NetApp SnapCenter and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.