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Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Unitrends 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Deduplication Software (7th)
Unitrends
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
36th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is 4.6%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unitrends is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

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.
Todd Guthrie - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution can be used to back up servers and Hyper-V cluster nodes, but its support is super expensive
I wouldn't rate Unitrends a ten out of ten because we had some hard drive failures in the appliance. Typically, when you have OneDrive, you can get it replaced. For some particular reason, the situation caused the entire system to crash. We had to reinstall the CentOS operating system on it, and we lost all our backups. They said there was no way to retain it, and it was pretty devastating and concerning that a drive failure would cause the loss of all the data on the appliance. It was extremely disappointing, and we had to start from scratch after three years worth of backup data. I rate Unitrends a nine out of ten for stability.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would say flexibility is the most important feature of the product. The performance and speed are the best on the market."
"Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager is user-friendly and easy to use. it does what it needs to do."
"It satisfies my customers' scalability needs and provides interactive features, allowing efficient integration."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its integrated approach."
"It's the perfect solution for virtual and container directives. The data reduction feature works well, and we haven't had any issues."
"The management part of Dell PowerProtect Data Manager has improved significantly."
"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."
"The ability to backup both physical and virtual machines, along with having an appliance store the backups locally instead of on a file server, NAS, or SAN."
"It is fairly stable."
"I like the fact that you can recover the VMs inside the appliance. For example, they're basically running this appliance on a Linux-based distribution, and they're spinning off KVM virtual machines inside."
"Iinstant recovery (allows a spin-up of your image as a VM on the appliance)."
"VM backup is much faster and more reliable, as I can test my backups with Data Copy Access jobs."
"It is a quick and easy way to organize my backups and to keep track of them."
"What I found most valuable in Unitrends is its simple user interface. It also works reliably."
"They have great support."
 

Cons

"You need to use additional software to back up entire environments. It will be good if they could support entire tape libraries."
"When I raise a ticket, it sometimes takes a while to get a response."
"The solution should enhance its user interface and make it more flexible."
"The marketing strategy is lagging behind competitors such as CommVault. Dell needs to improve its market presence and communication with customers and solution providers."
"As a new product, there are some things that still need to improve a bit as it matures."
"The main issue that needs improvement is the support system. When I raise a ticket, it sometimes takes a while to get a response."
"A lot of improvement is required in Dell's first level of support."
"They should include a feature similar to S3 bucket."
"Support is great for small simple issues, but anything more difficult, it is hard to get good resolutions without having to badger them and their management."
"In terms of improvement, the UI, especially in the recovery section, is unclear about which repository it uses."
"It would be great to have the job throttle/limit the max number of backups on a single ESXi host."
"Unitrends can be challenging to scale."
"The ability to run just differentials without pulling the full on your archive."
"It seems like Unitrends moved away from enterprise customer engagement and moved more towards the managed service provider market."
"There are some questions as to how safely they are storing backup data."
"Making the seeding process more accessible and easier to understand. Also, make more of the undocumented best practices easier to find."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not less expensive than competitors but pricing deals are available."
"The product is offered at a very competitive price in the market."
"The solution is more affordable than other vendors."
"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."
"We offer monthly or yearly subscriptions. The price could be cheaper."
"Talk with the sales guys. They can work with you on the best package."
"You should be aware how much the monthly costs are to use, what the initial costs for hardware are, and what the options to expand are, if needed."
"The cost of Unitrends definitely draws you in. The licensing is all included in the appliance, which is a great incentive."
"We found that the cost of Unitrends was about the same as the Dell DR6300. We liked the fact that the Unitrends appliance was all-in-one."
"Initial pricing is competitive. Renewal pricing is steep, so make sure to project costs for the lifetime of the appliance(s)."
"Pricing model constantly changes."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten. The licensing is yearly and it depends on the customers."
"When you purchase initially, get into the program which gives replacement hardware for free when you renew your support agreement."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Non Profit
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Unitrends?
The most valuable feature of Unitrends for me is the automated feedback
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Unitrends?
Unitrends is an expensive solution. We've negotiated deals where they've given us the $ 62,000 to $ 64,000 appliance for free but charged $ 90,000 for three years of support.
What needs improvement with Unitrends?
In terms of improvement, the UI, especially in the recovery section, is unclear about which repository it uses—I had to hover over to find that information. Figuring out the scripting part wasn't s...
 

Also Known As

PowerProtect, Dell EMC PowerProtect
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Bank of Greece, USC Australia, PCS Publishing, Dell Digital IT, Rushmore Electric, Melanson Health, Arrow Electronics
NHL Players Association, Salvation Army, Sligro Food Group, Mason General Hospital, Tec Group, Saldab IT, Baker Tilly, Clinton Savings Bank, Ennit Magna Bank, Manukau Institute of Technology
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs. Unitrends and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.