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Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs HPE Zerto Software comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

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
1.0
Dell PowerProtect DP offers cost savings, improved data protection, faster backups, reduced downtime, simplified management, and higher productivity.
Sentiment score
7.0
HPE Zerto enhances efficiency through automated disaster recovery, reducing downtime, saving costs, and providing significant ROI and resilience.
Before, it was a huge cost. It was several thousand dollars to do a DR test, whereas now, I click a button.
CTO at Erisa Administrative Services, Inc.
It saves us a lot of time and gives us the ability to perform other DR plans for other systems.
System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's not only in the cloud; it's DR as a service, which means that the recovery operations are performed by a dedicated team specializing in this area.
Founder & CEO at Itix Cyber Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.5
Dell PowerProtect DP support is mixed, with slow frontline help but improved resolution upon escalation and partner level intervention.
Sentiment score
7.5
HPE Zerto Software's customer service is praised for responsiveness and professionalism, though some desire quicker responses and improved documentation.
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
I have never had an issue that was not resolved, and I have never been in a situation where they did not respond.
Sr. Systems Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would give them a rating of ten because it represents the highest level of support based on the technical knowledge of the support team, response time, and effectiveness of the provided resolutions.
Disaster Recovery Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
When I open a ticket, I usually get a call within an hour or two.
Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
3.5
Dell PowerProtect DP is scalable and adaptable, supporting varied data needs with easy upgrades and expansion options.
Sentiment score
7.4
HPE Zerto Software is praised for its scalability, efficient licensing, and adaptability across various infrastructure sizes with minimal issues.
The product offers flexibility for scalability, making it user-friendly and adaptable to different performance requirements.
Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.
I would rate it a ten out of ten for scalability.
Head of IT at TWM SOLICITORS LLP
Customers need to follow good engineering practices for optimal product use.
Tech Lead, Storage and Data Protection at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
By adding more hosts and installing VRAs on each, tasks can be efficiently managed.
Senior Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Dell PowerProtect DP is praised for stability and reliability, with minor network issues but effective patching and consistent operation.
Sentiment score
8.0
HPE Zerto Software is highly stable and reliable, with minimal issues and responsive support resolving minor concerns.
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is a stable solution because it's a mature product.
Senior Systems Engineer at NTT DATA
I promptly delete the malfunctioning elements and set them up again to resume replication, ensuring stability.
Technical Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The ease of use was so good with Zerto that they were able to migrate things much quicker.
Inside Sales Representative at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
It is very reliable.
Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Dell PowerProtect DP has authentication, space management, setup complexities, and lacks third-party integration, continuous backup, and AI innovations.
HPE Zerto Software struggles with limited support, high costs, integration issues, and demands improvements in usability and flexibility.
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
If I have 350 objects that I am protecting, I would like Zerto to be able to fire them up in one order, rather than having to manually bring them up in a sequence.
Enterprise data management supervisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
If the host has a lot of VMs on it, there may not always be enough time to relocate all of the VMs from a protection group standpoint to other hosts before the replication appliance that Zerto uses to manage that powers itself down.
Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
If HPE Zerto Software has it built-in where we're going to vCenter and you click on it, it will build the VPG and indicate configuration requirements, that would be amazing.
Senior Converged Infrastructure Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Dell PowerProtect DP offers flexible licensing and good value with bundled features, despite higher costs than some competitors.
HPE Zerto is valued for its disaster recovery features, flexible licensing, and justifiable investment despite higher costs.
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
If you want a good-quality tool that is robust and does a good job for you, you have to pay a higher price to get that, and Zerto is no different.
IT Manager at American Pioneer Federal Credit Union
However, it can become quite expensive when you start looking at the number of workloads you have in the environment and what you would like to do.
Cloud and Infrastructure Services Manager at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Zerto is easier to set up and use, and it's less expensive.
Professional Services Engineer at US Signal
 

Valuable Features

Dell PowerProtect DP offers high deduplication, easy deployment, AI security, scalability, fast recovery, and multi-cloud integration.
HPE Zerto Software offers efficient disaster recovery with near-synchronous replication, user-friendly management, and enhanced cloud integration features.
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
Zerto offers excellent technical support with responsive and helpful experts.
Assistant Manager-Networks at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
If we were attacked, I could revert to a backup from five seconds before the attack, and no one would know we were attacked.
Senior Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
The replication time and the minor amount of time it takes to sync a new server outside of any of my huge 40-terabyte boxes is ridiculously quick.
Sr. Systems Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

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
HPE Zerto Software
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
346
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (1st), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 2.0%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE Zerto Software2.0%
Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA)0.7%
Other97.3%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

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.
reviewer2802231 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dev Ops Engineer at a media company with 201-500 employees
Near-zero downtime has protected critical workloads and now simplifies hybrid cloud recovery
The best features of HPE Zerto Software are mainly very sophisticated and relevant to the current market. The data protection CDP part has real-time replication, unlike other solutions that have snapshot backups. We can set it up hourly, making it ideal for use with workloads. Another attraction is the near-zero RTO, with automated failover within minutes and one-click failover and failback. Currently, we are using a hybrid cloud solution, and HPE Zerto Software supports multi-cloud environments, making it easy to migrate between on-premises and cloud. Regarding the impact of HPE Zerto Software on our RTOs, we have near-zero RTO, meaning the system must be back online within thirty minutes if we measure the time. It is very quick to recover services. With HPE Zerto Software's near-synchronous replication, we have some CDP protection, so we typically write interceptions along with some asynchronous replication. There is almost real-time replication available.
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 9, 2014
VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto
Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business90
Midsize Enterprise92
Large Enterprise195
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?
Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...
What do you like most about Zerto?
Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
From a pricing standpoint, HPE Zerto Software was reasonably priced initially compared to SRM, but now it is almost on par, if not better.
 

Also Known As

Dell EMC IDPA, Dell IDPA, EMC IDPA
Zerto Virtual Replication
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, Christian Brothers University, Presidio
United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerProtect DP (IDPA) vs. HPE Zerto Software and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.