Hitachi ShadowImage vs NetApp SnapMirror comparison

Hitachi Vantara and NetApp are both solutions in the Data Replication category. Hitachi Vantara is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0, while NetApp is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.0. Hitachi Vantara holds a 3.8% mindshare in DR, compared to NetApp’s 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Hitachi Vantara users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Hitachi ShadowImage

Read 2 Hitachi ShadowImage reviews

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461 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetApp SnapMirror

Read 26 NetApp SnapMirror reviews

1,906 Views
1,849 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Hitachi ShadowImage

NetApp SnapMirror

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

NetApp SnapMirror and Hitachi ShadowImage are competing in the data replication category. Hitachi ShadowImage often leads due to its comprehensive features and scalability, despite SnapMirror's competitive pricing and customer support.

Features: SnapMirror provides asynchronous and synchronous replication over long distances and efficient block-level data transfer for optimized bandwidth usage. ShadowImage offers zero-copy clones, fast recovery, and high scalability. The key difference is ShadowImage’s advanced recovery and scalability, suited for enterprise environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SnapMirror is known for its straightforward deployment and reliable customer service, with extensive documentation and support channels. ShadowImage has a more complex setup but benefits from robust support, offering dedicated assistance. SnapMirror's easy deployment is an advantage, although ShadowImage's comprehensive support helps with its more challenging installation.

Pricing and ROI: SnapMirror is cost-effective with strong ROI due to efficient data use and lower initial costs. ShadowImage, while having a higher setup cost, offers long-term value through superior data management. The difference in ROI highlights ShadowImage's advanced features, justifying its premium price for organizations with advanced needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Hitachi ShadowImage vs. NetApp SnapMirror Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi ShadowImage vs. NetApp SnapMirror

December 2025

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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

Hitachi ShadowImage

Ranking in Data Replication

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetApp SnapMirror

Ranking in Data Replication

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of Hitachi ShadowImage is 3.8%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 6.9%, down from 19.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Replication Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NetApp SnapMirror	6.9%
Hitachi ShadowImage	3.8%
Other	89.3%

Data Replication

Featured Reviews

Bratislav Petkovic

Team Lead for Core Infrastructure at Raiffeisen bank Serbia

Efficient replication and helpful for improving data processing and management

The technology behind Hitachi ShadowImage has been around for a long time, and while it works correctly, it does have some issues. We have experienced problems with it, even though Hitachi provides good hardware. Technical support could also be improved, as it sometimes takes a few days to resolve issues.

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Gabriele P

Storage IT Specialist at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

Achieves seamless business continuity with robust scalability

The features of NetApp SnapMirror that I have found most valuable include the possibility to stop synchronization in case of high network latency and to limit the bandwidth throttle. This means limiting bandwidth when less connectivity occurs or opening wide the throttling to use the full speed of network connectivity, which we can adjust according to our needs or the needs of our customers. All of this is done without limiting business continuity, so business continuity is always guaranteed. NetApp SnapMirror's data replication feature supports disaster recovery strategies, as it is incorporated into the business continuity feature. SnapMirror is strictly related to snapshot features, a core part of ONTAP, so it's very flexible. It allows us to start with just two snapshots as a simple backup and then use them as a replication point or base for both backup and business continuity. There is no right or wrong answer, it just depends on how it works for specific needs.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are its ability to handle large databases efficiently and the asynchronous replication capability."

"The most valuable feature of Hitachi ShadowImage is high-speed data transfer from one server to another. Other solutions would have problems with transferring 50 TB of data. I also like that Hitachi ShadowImage is easy to use."

"The most valuable feature is the data replication tool. There is also a lot of ability for data migration."

"The solution is very stable."

"With SnapMirror, the solution is the feature itself that is most valuable. It just replicates the data. It's very difficult to speak about, in the sense that it's similar to the features of a wheel. It is round and it's a part of an automobile."

"Data protection is a valuable feature."

"The product has good performance."

"The technology enables us to have a safe backup."

"NetApp SnapMirror stands out for its ease of management, efficiency, and scalability, which align well with our operational needs."

"The tool seamlessly moves data over the network without putting pressure on the network."

More NetApp SnapMirror pros

Cons

"We have experienced problems with it, even though Hitachi provides good hardware."

"API and script configuration in Hitachi ShadowImage is sometimes complicated, so this is an area for improvement. Another area for improvement is that the Hitachi ShadowImage interface isn't as user-friendly."

"They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product."

"The GUI can be improved to perform complex tasks"

"It is not as efficient as it needs to be. It doesn't compress the data really well when it is forwarded to a secondary site. The download performance could be better."

"The solution's dashboard and reporting could be improved."

"The user interface could be simplified. They might want to have fewer options on it, to make it less complicated. There are a lot of options we never use ourselves. They're often very specialized and don't apply to us."

"The tool should also work on third-party solutions."

"Synchronous replication with read-write on both sides in both data centers is powerful but risky since it is greatly affected by high network latency."

"At the moment, we are not using the synchronous mirror, but we can implement the synchronous mirror. The only thing is that it needs another license. This is the same issue we have with business continuity. It needs another license to be implemented. You need too many separate licenses for the features. They should add some of the aspects of the premium bundle into the basic bundle. Sometimes our customers choose other replication services because of the initial cost of the licenses."

More NetApp SnapMirror cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have pricing information for Hitachi ShadowImage because my manager handled it."

"The product price is reasonable."

"The pricing could be improved."

"SnapMirror is extremely expensive. We had a hard time adjusting to our budget. If rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I would definitely rate it ten out of ten."

"It's a highly cost-effective solution"

"The pricing can be improved."

"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."

"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."

"The cost is low compared to different vendors."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hitachi ShadowImage?

The pricing of Hitachi ShadowImage is reasonable, especially when you purchase Hitachi storage, as ShadowImage and Thin Image are part of the protector. The protector includes several components li...

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What needs improvement with Hitachi ShadowImage?

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What is your primary use case for Hitachi ShadowImage?

We use Hitachi ShadowImage for data replication processes. It is a practical tool for copying data from one LUN disk to another within the same storage. In our bank, we utilize it for making tests ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapMirror?

The product price is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp SnapMirror?

Some areas of NetApp SnapMirror that could be improved or enhanced include synchronous SnapMirror, which needs improvement as it suffers significantly from network latency. In particular, synchrono...

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What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapMirror?

My usual use cases for NetApp SnapMirror are primarily for business continuity reasons, allowing me to offer customers the chance to fail back services to another data center, from Milan to Rome an...

See all answers

Comparisons

Hitachi TrueCopy vs Hitachi ShadowImage

Compared 64% of the time

Hitachi Thin Image Advanced vs Hitachi ShadowImage

Compared 36% of the time

More Hitachi ShadowImage Competitors

NetApp Snapshot vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 43% of the time

Hitachi TrueCopy vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 11% of the time

Hitachi Universal Replicator vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 11% of the time

Dell RecoverPoint vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 10% of the time

INFINIDAT InfiniSync vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 10% of the time

More NetApp SnapMirror Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Data Replication

January 2026

Download Hitachi ShadowImage product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapMirror

January 2026

Download NetApp SnapMirror product report

Also Known As

No data available

SnapMirror

Overview

Nondisruptive, high-speed data replication within any Hitachi storage system or virtualized storage pool is a reality with Hitachi ShadowImage replication software. Use data immediately in modern data protection and copy data management operations.

Hitachi Vantara

NetApp SnapMirror technology provides fast, efficient data replication and disaster recovery (DR) for your critical data. Use a single solution across all NetApp storage arrays and protocols. SnapMirror technology works with any application, in both virtual and traditional environments, and in multiple configurations, including hybrid cloud.

NetApp

Sample Customers

K&H, NCF, Aokang Group

University at Albany, City of Houston, Yahoo Japan, Washington Employment Security Department, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd., AmTrust Financial Services, Sheridan College

Buyer's Guide

Hitachi ShadowImage vs. NetApp SnapMirror

December 2025

Free Report: Hitachi ShadowImage vs. NetApp SnapMirror

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